Brand or fit?
By Anna
Picture by Zhu Lijun
Translated by Raindrop




Learning that a great many stylish garments of famous brands would be on discount of more than 50% in several stores, I couldn't wait to call my American friend Joanne and ask her to come shopping with me, since she always wears clothes which seem made just for her and which set off her beauty and elegance. I take it for granted that she always spends large sums of money to buy and maintain her clothes. Regarding her as an expert in fashion and a good buyer, I believed she would give me the best advice. Being keen on shopping, Joanne immediately agreed on the meeting time and place with me.

Meeting on time, we started our shopping adventure immediately. A jean jacket caught my eyes as soon as we entered a brand-name clothes shop. The jacket was neither too long nor too short, yet thick enough to keep out cold and wind. It seemed to be my dream jacket. Besides, it fitted me very well. I asked Joanne for her opinion, expecting her to say "yes".

Looking at me in that jacket for a while, she finally said, "Well, this quality jacket is well designed. And you look great wearing it. But if I were you, I wouldn't buy it. Even though it is 60 percent off the original price, it is not worth it. At that price, you could buy several well-made jackets without the famous brand names."

Feeling a little disappointed, I said, "But it's a good time to buy such brand clothes at such a reasonable price. A lot of people favor brand products because they represent not only quality but also status. Wearing quality clothes one feels comfortable and confident. I can't deny it's all about vanity and I can't deny being the exception."

Listening to me quietly, Joanne smiled: "I understand. It seems to me that Chinese put emphasis on Mianzi and associate almost everything with it. We westerners are not like you. Being comfortable is the first priority when we buy clothes. Most of our clothes are not brand-named and are cheap. We wear them for only a season and then throw them away. Brands can't give you more confidence because we have faith in our beauty and individuality. Clothes are only clothes worn for cover and warmth."

"But all your clothes seem to be brand products and they fit you perfectly." I defended timidly.
"Thank you for your appreciation. But I must say that my clothes are not what you think. They are cheap. But they all have something in common: they fit me. I believe how they fit is the most important no matter what brand it is. Come, let's go and find something that fits you." With those words, Joanne took my arm and we walked out of the shop.



听说很多名牌时装打折, 我迫不及待地打电话给我的美国朋友乔安, 约她一块去淘衣服. 在我看来, 乔安的衣服总能衬托出她的美丽高雅, 仿佛都是为她量身订做的. 我理所当然地认为她在购置保养衣服时砸了大把银子. 我相信这样一个时尚专家兼购物能手定能给我最好的建议. 于是, 很快我俩就约好了碰面的时间地点.

准时碰头, 我们迅疾开始了购物旅程. 刚走进一家名牌时装店, 我就看上了一件牛仔外套. 那件外套长短适中, 而且也够厚. 这是我梦寐以求的外套! 我问乔安的意见, 希望她能肯定我的选择.

乔安瞅了我好一阵子, 才说: "这件外套的设计不俗, 你穿起来也很好看. 但如果我是你, 我是不会买的, 因为尽管现在打四折, 这件外套还是不值这个价钱. 你可以用买这一件衣服的钱去买好几件没有牌子但质量不错的衣服. "

我有些失望: "现在可是以合理价格购买名牌衣服的最佳时机. 很多人青睐名牌产品就是因为它们意味着质量和地位. 穿上名牌衣服, 人们感到舒适自信. 我不否认这是虚荣心在作祟, 但我也不能免俗. "

静静地听我说完, 乔安微笑道: "我能理解. 我觉得中国人很看重 ‘面子', 也会把很多事情跟‘面子'联系起来. 我们西方人可不一样. 我们买衣服时, 舒适是首要条件. 我们的很多衣服都不是名牌产品, 也很便宜. 穿完一季后, 我们就会扔掉这些衣服. 因为我们对自己的美丽和个性有信心, 而这与名牌无关. 穿衣服只是为了蔽体保暖. "

"但你的衣服看起来都像是名牌的, 而且他们很适合你. "我辩驳道.

"谢谢你的赞赏. 但我的衣服并不是像你想的那样. 我的衣服都很便宜, 却有一个共同点--合适. 我相信合适的才是最好的, 名牌无关紧要. 走, 我们去找最适合你的衣服吧. "说完, 乔安拉着我的手, 走出了那家名牌店.

 

 

After shocking news
By The Chef

衣食住行,学英语要从身边的小事开始. 本栏目将带给您最实用的日常口语.

如何表示惊讶

■ This isn't happening! 这不可能.
■ I can't believe this. 我真不敢相信.
■ You gotta be kidding me. 你肯定是在开玩笑.
■ Man, what am I gonna do with this? 天哪 , 我应该怎么做?
■ What the heck? 什么玩意?
■ Un-freaking-believable! 难以置信!

 

 

Hot Word
Collected by Jianjiang

● newsstand
Fortune magazine's 2005 ranking of the 500 largest publicly traded U.S. companies are included in the edition arriving at newsstands on April 11. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. retained the top spot.
美国最新一期《财富》杂志公布了美国最大的500家公司最新排名榜, 沃尔玛公司连续第四年位居榜首.
newsstand, 报摊、书报亭. stand做名词有"摊位"的意思.

● red
A U.N.-sponsored study warned of the Earth's health. The report is essentially an audit of nature's economy and the audit shows that we have driven most of the accounts into the red.
联合国主持的一项"地球健康状况"研究活动对人们发出预警. 这份报告本质上是对"自然的经济"的一次审核, 结果显示地球生态的大部分账户上已经出现了赤字. "
red, 赤字、亏空. be in the red, 负债.

● coverage
The Los Angeles Times shared the international reporting prize with Newsday, whose reporter Dele Olojede was honored for his coverage of Rwanda a decade after the genocidal slaughter.
2005年普利策新闻奖的评选中, 《洛杉矶时报》与《新闻日报》分享了"国际报道奖", 《新闻日报》记者德勒·欧洛杰迪由于报道了卢旺达种族大屠杀十年后的情况而获此殊荣.
coverage, 新闻报导,如TV coverage of the election campaign. 原意是"覆盖".

● time frame
We have no clear time frame, but it has become very clear that 3G should be kicked off soon if China is to keep pace with the development of 3G worldwide.
有消息称, 信息产业部将研究制定第三代移动通信(3G)产业发展战略, 并在今年适当的时候发放3G牌照.
time frame, 期限. 也可以说time limit. frame是"框架".

● speculative
Shanghai introduced a capital gains tax of 5.55 per cent on homes being sold within a year of their purchase. This measure was taken to discourage speculative investment.
为了抑制楼市投机炒作, 上海市政府规定个人购买本市行政区域范围内的普通住房, 居住不满一年出售的, 销售时要增收5.55%的税率.
speculative, 投机的. speculative brokers, 投机经纪人. 动词是speculate.

● foot
It comes as no surprise that Denmark is marking the bicentenary of its most famous son in grand style with the government and private firms footing a $40 million bill for a year-long event.
作为丹麦最著名的人物, 难怪安徒生200周年诞辰排场会如此巨大: 政府和私营公司出资四千万美元, 整个庆典活动将持续一年.
foot, 付钱、支付. foot the expense of education.

 

 

如何用英语向老总辞职
By Suky

辞职需要理由吗? 需要吗? 最近几个朋友遭遇辞职事件, 闹得有点不愉快. Suky在这里也希望他们能够走出困境, 就像老外们常说的move on.

1. I'm running out of steam. I need to take a break. 我精疲力竭了. 我需要好好休息.

2. I quit because I don't want to be stuck in a rut. I want to move on. 我不想陷入窠臼才辞职. 我希望能向前迈进.

3. I've been trying, but I don't think I'm up to this job. 我一直很努力, 但我觉得无法胜任这个工作.

4. I've made a tough decision, sir. Here is my resignation. 长官, 我做了一个相当艰难的决定. 这是我的辞呈.

5. First of all, I'd like to say that I've really enjoyed working with you. However, I think it's about time for me to leave. 首先, 我要说的是, 我真的很高兴能与你共事. 但是, 我觉得该是我离开的时候了.

 

 

畅饮言欢 Cool drinks
By Ivan

当耀眼的阳光洒落双肩, 我们已能嗅到灿烂夏季的味道, 而超市里的冰柜又将成为大伙频繁光顾的对象. 解渴消暑之前, 先来了解下各种饮料茶水的名称吧.

coke, 可乐.
coke原义是"可卡因", 其声名远播要归功于coke cola. 其实更为常用的是cola, "可乐"就是cola的音译词, 比如pepsi cola.

Sprite, 雪碧.
它和上文的coke一样, 都属于碳酸饮料, 也就是苏打水soda. sprite原指"小精灵、调皮鬼", 那些在你唇边跳跃的小气泡确实挺调皮呢.

sundae, 圣代.
都是从KFC知道这个名词的吧. 圣代是一种加有水果、甜汁、果仁的冰淇淋ice-cream. 而一样受欢迎的甜筒, 是ice-cream cone.

lemonade, 柠檬水.
在餐前倒上茶水已是小餐馆不入流的作法了, 稍有情调的餐厅, 都会为你倒上一杯漂浮着黄丝几缕的柠檬水, 通常会加冰on the rocks.

fruit jelly, 果冻.
jelly指的是软的有弹性、稠度大的半固体食品. 像QQ糖这样的胶质糖果有个很可爱的叫法: jelly baby. 冰品店里用高玻璃杯盛装的冰淇淋果冻, 我们叫它parfait.

water ice powder, 刨冰.
红豆、芒果、菠萝, 鲜嫩的颜色、清纯的味道, 难怪刨冰总与浪漫的夏日之恋联系在一起.

punch, 宾治.
又是一个让人目眩的外来词. 所谓"宾治"其实就是混和饮料, 比如杂果宾治. 现在这个词常被引申到其他领域, 比如把混和专辑称作"杂歌宾治".

green tea, 绿茶.
一到夏日, 冰绿茶和冰红茶的广告便随处可见. 红茶是black tea.

jasmine tea, 花茶.
jasmine原是"茉莉花", 芬芳美丽吐枝桠, 难怪花茶现在是美容养颜的新宠. 看过张爱玲小说的都知道, jasmine tea应还有一个更小资的名字--香片.

 

 

伦敦帝国理工学院
Imperial College London



伦敦帝国学院(Imperial College London), 此乃最新的官方名称. 原名Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine(帝国理工学院)是隶属于伦敦大学(University of London)的一个独立学院. 学校坐落于伦敦的富人区--南肯辛顿, 与著名的海德公园(Hyde Park)、肯辛顿宫(Kensington Palace, 戴安娜王妃生前住处)仅咫尺之遥.

早在1907年, 此校已有多个学院: The Royal College of Science, The Royal School of Mine, The City and Guilds College, The Imperial College School of Medicine. 总体来说, 帝国理工以其工程和医科专业而闻名于世. 帝国理工在英国享有和美国麻省理工(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT)同等的声誉, 其研究水平被公认为在英国大学三甲之列. 它拥有大约2800名研究员, 其中53名为皇家院士(Fellows of Royal Society), 57名为皇家工程学院院士(Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering). 同时帝国学院过去的成员中, 其中有16个诺贝尔奖(Nobel Prize)和2个费尔兹奖(Fields Medals)得主. 学生总数超过10, 000人. 如果你认为身处这种环境只有一天到晚埋头苦读的话, 不妨了解一下帝国理工学生的格言: "Work hard, play hard!"

本栏目特约协办:
厦门友好国际·留学游学
国家教育部批准国有留学服务机构
厦门湖滨北路118号振兴大厦20楼
Tel: 5151212
www.xmfsc.org.cn

 

 

■每天一块钱, 轻松英语便实现
■A yuan a day keeps Chinglish away
Common Talk诚邀读者 相聚"双语"英语沙龙
双语周刊读者俱乐部入会须知
欲加入双语周刊读者俱乐部, 请登录www.common-talk.com
双语周刊俱乐部会员可以享受如下权益
每月两次的英语沙龙, 最新的时尚话题, 中外主持人英语大碰撞
地点: 报业大厦9楼会议室
时间: 周五晚7: 30-9: 00
赠送全年双语周刊
赠送2003年精华合订本
每月两次原声电影观摩
地点: 厦门天地开明电影城(江头北路69号)
时间: 周六早上10: 30?G
更多户外活动, 专题讲座等您一一揭开(非会员可当场办理入会手续)

 

Guide to CT Wednesday Edition
精彩早知道 敬请关注下周三双语周刊
欢迎登录我们的网站www.common-talk.com

Dr Li Yue, President of Xiamen Linde Gas Co Ltd, made a remark on the company's ten-year development in Xiamen.
林德气体厦门有限公司总经理李跃博士畅谈公司在厦十年历程.

"Kapoks braving storm", a splendid dance drama and a Wenhua Great Prize winner, will stage in Xiamen on April 22-24.
荣获"文华大奖"的大型舞剧《风雨红棉》将于22日至24日在厦门上演.