临时抱佛脚英语.docVIP

Having listened to both Chinese and English, I`m suspicious of comparisons between the two languages, as I notice the reciprocal(相互的) challenges they each present 由于一直听着中英文两种语言，故而我对它们之间的任何对比总是心存怀疑，因为我注意到他们双方都有各自所没有的难点。 English speakers say Chinese is extremely difficult because different words can be denoted by very subtle variations in tone. 说英文的人会认为中文极其难，因为中文用非常微妙的声调变化就可以表示不同的词语。 English is often bracketed with the label of inconsistency, a language of too many broken rules. 而英文则常常被认为缺乏一致性，因为英文具有太多不合规则的用法。 Even more dangerous , in my view, is the temptation(诱惑) to view the gulf(分歧) between different languages and behavior in translation. 在我看来，更危险的做法是，人们往往倾向于通过翻译来理解不同语言和行为之间的差异。 To listen to my mother speak English, an outside spectator(观众) might make the deduction(结论) that she has no concept of the temporal(时间的) differences of past and future or that she is gender blind because she refers to my husband as “she”. 如果一个旁观的外人听我母亲说英语，可能会得出结论，说她对过去和将来这样的时间没有概念，或者认为她对人的性别不加区分，因为她提到我丈夫的时候总是说“她”。 If one were not careful, one might also generalize that all Chinese people take an indirect route to get to the point. 如果一个人对此类现象不假思索，他也许还会概括说，所有中国人都是通过委婉迂回的方式才能说到话题的重点。 It is , rather , my mother’s individual tendency to ornament(修饰) her language and wander around a bit . 而实际上，喜欢修饰和绕弯子只是我母亲个人的说话风格。 These remarks are not representative of new ideas, honest emotions, or considered thought. 这些话并不能代表什么新观点，也不能传达什么真实的情感或深思熟虑的想法。 Like a piece of bread, they are only the crust of the interaction, or what is said from the polite distance of social contexts : greetings, farewells, convenient excuses, and the like. 它们就像一块面包，只是人们交往中最表层的东西，或社交场合下出于礼貌说的一些话：问候、道别、顺口的托词，诸如此类。 This generalization, therefore, is not a true composite of Chinese culture but only a stereotype of our exterior behavior. 由此看来，那些对中国人的概括性评价并非是对中国文化成分的真实描述，而仅仅是对我们外在行为的一种成见而已。 this generalization, therefore, is not a true composite to Chinese culture, but only a stereotype to our exterior behavior. These weren`t the