留学生在中国 第11期 politeness礼节

 　　David：What Chinese customs of politeness are traditional?

　　中国传统里有哪些表示礼貌习俗的？

　　You：I think you've heard this one before, you fight with a friend over the bill in a restaurant.

　　我想你应该听说过这个，在饭店里你和你的朋友争着付帐。

　　David：Yeah, that's a part of Chinese culture. You can see that in other cultures too, but not so much in American culture.

　　是的，这可能是中国人的传统习俗。别的国家也有这种习俗，但是在美国文化传统里就不打常见。

　　You：My friends and I sometimes split¹ the cost equally instead of shouting, "let my pay! ...No, let me pay!"

　　但我和我朋友有时候分摊费用，而不是大吼：“我来买单！我来买单！”

　　David：In the U.S., it is common for people to split the bill after a meal. They call this habit "going Dutch". For example, after a meal, I would turn to you and say: "Let's go Dutch." Do you know any other polite customs related² to eating or drinking?

　　在美国，人们一般都是分摊餐费。人们把这种习惯叫“go Dutch”。例如，在吃完饭后，我通常会说“Let's go Dutch.”。你还知道其他跟吃喝有关的礼貌习俗吗？

　　You：In my hometown in Inner³ Mongolia, people like to drink a lot at mealtimes, especially when guests are over. If you visit me at my place, I'll try my best to get you as drunk⁴ as possible.

　　在我的家乡内蒙古，人们喜欢在吃饭的时候，尤其是有客人来的时候，喝很多酒。如果你去我家玩，我会努力把你灌醉。

　　David：Really? That's very funny.

　　是吗？那可挺有意思的。

　　You：Yeah, that's our way of being polite. If you drink so much that you pass out at my place, you would make my parents very happy.

　　是啊，这是我们表示礼貌的方式。如果你在我家醉倒了，我爸爸妈妈会很开心的。

　　David：Very interesting.

　　真有趣。

　　You：I actually don't like it very much. It pleases the family but sometimes makes the guests feel uncomfortable.

　　实际上，我不太喜欢这样。虽然主人高兴了，但有时会使客人觉得不大舒服。

1 split   

n.劈开，裂片，裂口；adj.分散的；v.分离，分开，劈开

参考例句：

• Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了？
• The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。

2 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

3 inner   

adj.内部的，里面的；内在的，内心的；精神的

参考例句：

• The label is on the inner side of the box.标签贴在盒子内侧。
• Other people seek the mountains for renewal of their inner lives.另一些人到深山中去，寻求新的精神生活。

4 drunk   

adj.醉酒的；(喻)陶醉的；n.酗酒者，醉汉

参考例句：

• People who drives when they are drunk should be heavily penalised.醉酒驾车的人应受重罚。
• She found him drunk when she came home at night.她晚上回家时，经常发现他醉醺醺的。