双语：哪些方面英国人比美国人做得好呢？

 　　加利福尼亚州桑尼维尔市有名的李艾维`李在论坛上发布了一个问题：“哪些方面英国人比美国人做得好呢?”她总共列举了23个例子来赞扬英国，这些例子涵盖食物，音乐，10英镑纸币和插头插座各方面……

　　1. They call hamburger beef burger because it's clearly made of beef.

　　英国人称汉堡包为“牛肉汉堡”，因为很明显汉堡包是用牛肉制成的;

　　2. They call soccer football because it's clearly played with the foot.

　　英国人足球叫“football”，因为足球很显然是用脚来踢;

　　3. Their sockets¹ can be switched off because it's easier, safer and more energy efficient.

　　英国的插座可以关掉，这样更方便，更安全，更节能;

　　4. They look at the day first, as in dd/mm/yy instead of mm/dd/yy because for around 30 days in a row, the month is the same as yesterday.

　　英国人日期表达方式首先是XX号，比如说XX号/XX月/XX年，而不是XX月/XX号/ XX年，因为一个月连续30天，XX月每天都是相同的;

　　5. They have the full English breakfast while we have the full sugar and preservatives² cereal.

　　英国人有丰富的英式早餐，但是我们的早餐是含有过量糖分和防腐剂的谷物;

　　6. They have portion control, resulting in higher life expectancy³ while we have supersized everything (because why not?), resulting in obesity⁴.

　　英国人控制饮食，因此他们的平均寿命很长，但是我们任何东西追求越大越好(为什么不呢?)，所以导致很多人很胖;

　　7. They have nice relaxing afternoon teas with custard cream biscuits while we drown ourselves in Starbucks just to maintain functionality.

　　英国人的下午茶是奶油冰淇淋饼干，然而我们只能去星巴克补充能量;

　　8. Their native sports, football, rugby, cricket are adopted internationally while our sports reside mainly in America.

　　英国人有足球，橄榄球，板球等传统运动，且均被国际采用，但是我们的运动只有美国人民玩;

　　9. They have 28 days of paid holiday by law, not including maternity⁵ leave, sick leave, etc. while we have 10.

　　英国人有28天法定带薪假期，不包括产假，病假等，但是我们只有10天;

　　10. They have free universal healthcare, praised as the best in the world, while we remain the only developed country (out of 33) that doesn't.

　　英国人享有被全世界称之为最好的全民免费医疗保健，但是我们是唯一没有此项福利的发达国家(23个发达国家)。

　　11. They have Charles Darwin on their ?10 note while we are 42 per cent creationist.

　　英国人在10英镑纸币上印有查尔斯·达尔文画像，但是我们是神灵论者;

　　12. They produced Harry⁶ Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Chronicles of Narnia, Sherlock Holmes while we produced Twilight⁷.

　　英国人制作了《哈利波特》、《指环王》、《霍比特人》、《纳尼亚传奇》、《福尔摩斯》等著名电影，但是我们只有《暮光之城》;

　　13. They produced Adele, David Bowie, Elton John, Mick Jagger, Coldplay, Radiohead, Muse⁸, Queen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Smiths, The Libertines⁹, The Who? (The British), The Waterboys, The Buzzcocks, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Zombies, The Cure, while we didn't.

　　英国有很多国际巨星，阿黛尔、大卫·鲍伊、艾尔顿·约翰、米克·贾格尔、酷玩乐队、之声司令、缪斯、皇后乐队、平克·弗洛伊德、齐柏林飞船、披头士、滚石乐队、奇想乐团、史密斯乐团、浪子乐队、谁人乐队、水男孩合唱团、新浪潮乐队、性手枪、碰撞乐队、僵尸乐队、治疗乐队……但是我们没有;

　　14. Their national animal has a full head of mane while ours is bald.

　　英国人的国宝是头上长满鬃毛的红胸鸽，但是我们的国宝是白头海雕(秃鹰);

　　15. They know how to primly¹⁰ and properly queue while we mass frenziedly.

　　英国人知道如何整齐有序的排队，但是我们整个一团糟;

　　16. They know how to primly and properly apologise, for everything.

　　英国人知道如何对一切事情礼貌，绅士的表达他们的歉意;

　　17. They know how to primly and properly drive on the wrong side of the road.

　　即使在错误的车道上，英国人也知道如何安全，恰当的行驶;

　　18. They know how to appreciate the sun because though the sun never sets in the British empire, it rarely shines in the motherland.

　　英国人对太阳充满感激，因为尽管英国没有每天艳阳高照，但是偶尔天晴还是让会英国人很开心;

　　19. They make better and greater varieties of chocolates, cheeses, cakes, alcoholic¹¹ beverages¹² and dishes.

　　英国人会做各种各样的巧克力，奶酪，蛋糕，美酒饮料和菜肴;

　　20. They have a greater grasp of sarcasm¹³, irony¹⁴, self-deprecating humour and also, the entire English language.

　　英国人对各类情绪，如挖苦，讽刺，自嘲式幽默和整个英式语言都能很好的驾驭;

　　21.They beat us at politeness and profanity at the same time.

　　我们(美国人)在礼貌和不礼貌方面都败给了英国人;

　　22. The English accent is more attractive than the American accent. This is just an indisputable fact of nature.

　　英式英语比美式英语更好听，这是不争的事实。

1 sockets   

n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴

参考例句：

• All new PCs now have USB sockets. 新的个人计算机现在都有通用串行总线插孔。
• Make sure the sockets in your house are fingerproof. 确保你房中的插座是防触电的。 来自超越目标英语 第4册

2 preservatives   

n.防腐剂( preservative的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The juice contains no artificial preservatives. 这种果汁不含人工防腐剂。
• Meat spoils more quickly without preservatives. 不加防腐剂，肉会坏得快。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

4 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

5 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

6 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

7 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

8 muse   

n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感

参考例句：

• His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
• Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。

9 libertines   

n.放荡不羁的人，淫荡的人( libertine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Peter had been very busy with The Libertines and was exhausted. PETE在LIBERTINES非常忙碌甚至精疲力竭。 来自互联网
• He flew in from Japan where The Libertines were on tour. PETE喜欢叫自己外婆利物浦的南希，和外婆关系特别好。 来自互联网

10 primly   

adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地

参考例句：

• He didn't reply, but just smiled primly. 他没回答，只是拘谨地笑了笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He wore prim suits with neckties set primly against the collar buttons of his white shirts. 他穿着整洁的外套，领结紧贴着白色衬衫领口的钮扣。 来自互联网

11 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

12 beverages   

n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 控制酒类销售的法规
• regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 含酒精饮料的销售管理条例

13 sarcasm   

n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic）

参考例句：

• His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
• She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。

14 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。