A:Hey, look at these paintings on the wall! Aren’t they beautiful? Linda bought some good paintings.
喂,看墻上這些畫!它們難道不漂亮嗎?琳達(dá)買的油畫真不錯(cuò)。
B:Yeah, very impressive. Oh, this one’s marvelous!
是啊,很令人欽佩。噢,這幅畫很了不起哦!
C:Sure, they’re very colorful.
當(dāng)然,它們很鮮艷。
D:Thank you. You are very generous with your compliments.
謝謝你們。你們真樂(lè)于夸獎(jiǎng)別人。
A:You know the first thing most Chinese students would ask is how much did this painting cost?
你知道大部分中國(guó)學(xué)生第一件會(huì)問(wèn)的事便是,這畫多少錢?
B:Right. I’ve noticed that too. They always ask that question before they say anything else.
是啊。我也注意到了。在他們說(shuō)其它話之前,他們老喜歡問(wèn)那個(gè)問(wèn)題。
C:That’s true. Most Chinese do that. I don’t know why. It’s just a habit. I’ve noticed that foreigners often make compliments soon after they see a product someone has bought - even if they don’t really mean it.
的確是這樣。許多中國(guó)人都這樣做。我不知道為什么。只是個(gè)習(xí)慣。我注意到了外國(guó)人看見別人買的東西常常會(huì)馬上稱贊一番——即使他們并不真正發(fā)自內(nèi)心。
A:Yeah, we’re just different. We can’t figure out why many Chinese people don’t give big hugs to their own parents after they grow up.
是啊,我們就是不一樣。我們不明白為什么許多中國(guó)人成年以后就不再擁抱他們自己的父母親。
C:No, we don’t do that. At least very few people I know do that.
不,我們不這么做。至少我認(rèn)識(shí)的人中很少人會(huì)這樣。
B:And as far as I know, it’s not common for a Chinese to say, I love you to anyone including his or her soul mate.
而且據(jù)我所知,對(duì)于一個(gè)中國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō),說(shuō)聲我愛你是很不常見的,即使對(duì)他們的心上人。
D:Cindy, please don’t misunderstand. We’re not saying that one way is better than another. They’re just different, that’s all.
辛迪,你不要誤會(huì)。我們不是在說(shuō)哪一個(gè)比另一個(gè)好。它們只是不同,就這樣。
C:I know. Americans say those three words a lot, especially in movies. I wonder if they really mean it.
我知道。美國(guó)人說(shuō)這三個(gè)字說(shuō)得特別多,尤其在電影里。我想知道他們是否是說(shuō)真的。
B:We do, most of the time. Sometimes we tell our loved ones that we’re proud of them too. Words are important.
大部分時(shí)間,我們是說(shuō)真的。有時(shí)候我們也告訴我們愛著的人我們很為他們自豪。言語(yǔ)是重要的。