2.  What to wear?
May, a journalist for China Daily, is attending a conference in New Orleans.

May:  Frank, I want your advice on something.  Some scientists I met at the conference6 this afternoon have invited me to a party.  Actually, they called it an "informal get-together."
Frank:  And what's the problem? 
May:  When I asked how people were going to dress, Dr. Lite said it was casual. 
Frank:  And you want to know what to wear? 
May:  Well, last night I went out with some journalists for a "casual" party, but I was overdressed7.  I wore what I consider casual -- an outfit of skirt, blouse, scarf, and medium heels ... you know.
Frank:  That sounds just right to me.  What was wrong with it?
May:  Everyone else there was wearing blue jeans.  Several of the women had on running shoes.  I felt out of place8.  So I have no idea what to wear tonight. 
Frank:  My guess is you can safely wear last night's outfit to tonight's party. 

【譯文】
——弗蘭克，我想你在某些方面給我一些建議。今天下午我在會(huì)議上碰到的一些科學(xué)家邀請我去參加一個(gè)聚會(huì)。實(shí)際上，他們稱之為“隨便聚聚”。
——那有什么問題？
——當(dāng)我問到其他人會(huì)穿什么衣服時(shí)，賴特博士說這很隨便。
——那你是想知道該穿什么樣的衣服？
——昨晚我和一些記者參加了一個(gè)“隨便”聚會(huì)，但我卻穿得過于正經(jīng)了。我穿了我認(rèn)為是休閑的服裝——一套衣裙、短衫、圍巾和中跟皮鞋……你知道。
——我聽起來沒覺得什么不對勁。有什么不好呢？
——那兒每個(gè)人都穿著藍(lán)色的牛仔褲。有幾個(gè)婦女還穿著跑鞋。我感到很不自在。所以我不知道今晚穿什么好。
——我想你可以穿昨晚的衣服大膽去參加今晚的派對。

3.  Let's go Dutch.
Two friends in line at a movie theater in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.

Ari:  Come on, Tara.  Let's go up to the window and buy two tickets.  The movie is starting in a few minutes. 
Tara:  We can't break into9 the line.  Don't be so impatient.  We'll be at the front of the line soon. 
Ari:   (To the cashier) Two tickets, please.  How much are they?
(Ari holds a twenty-dollar bill in his hand.) 
Tara:  Oh no, Ari.  I didn't mean for you to pay for me when I invited you to go tonight.  Let's go Dutch. I'll pay my own way.  I insist.
(They enter the theater.)
Ari:  I'm looking forward to this film.  I read a good review of it in this morning's newspaper. 
Tara:  Me, too.  It will be great to see something light and funny10 for a change.  I'm tired of heavy drama. 
(They look for empty seats in the theater.)
Ari:   Are these seats okay?
Tara:  They're fine, but I can't watch a movie without popcorn11.
【譯文】
——過來吧，泰瑞。我們上去到窗口買兩張票。電影過幾分鐘就要開始了。
——我們不能擠亂隊(duì)伍。不要這么沒耐心。我們很快就要到隊(duì)伍前面去了。
——(對收銀員說) 請買兩張票。多少錢？（阿里手里拿著一張二十元錢。）
——不，不要，阿里。今晚我邀請你來不是要你為我付錢。我們各付各的吧。我會(huì)付自己的。我一定要的。（他們進(jìn)入電影廳。）
——我一直盼著看這部電影。今天早上我在報(bào)上看了它的好評(píng)。
——我也是。換個(gè)口味，看些輕松滑稽點(diǎn)的會(huì)很好。藝術(shù)性的劇本我都看膩了。
(他們在電影院找空座位。)
——這些座位好不好？
——可以，但是沒有爆玉米花，我看不了電影。

4.  Why would Chinese answer questions this way?
An American teacher is talking with his Chinese wife about his Chinese students.

Gary:  Did you go to the bank to withdraw12 money?
Sissy:  Today is so hot, besides I had so much housework to do.  My friend came for a visit and stayed for two hours.  I didn’t forget, but I had no time at all.
Gary:  So you didn’t.  Is that right?
Sissy:  Yes.  I’m sorry.
Gary:  Why didn’t you just answer my question directly?  Why would Chinese answer questions this way?  I simply asked if you did it or not.  It’s a very simple question.  And Chinese often give the reason before they would give a direct answer.
Sissy:  Yes, I’m sorry.  I know it bothers you very much.  But I don’t know why Chinese sometimes would do this.
Gary:  You know, today I asked a student if he brought his dictionary with him.  It’s a rule I made for the class that everyone brings a bilingual13 dictionary with them because sometimes they don’t understand me.  The funniest thing is that this student gave me a lot of reasons and no direct answer.
Sissy:  But you know if he brought it or not, right?
Gary:  Yeah, after all the explanations like, it’s too heavy, I was in a hurry…whatever.
         
Helpful Information：
 It’s an American way of talking that questions should be answered before being explained, even if answers might be something negative and very disappointing. 
美國人的談話方式是先回答問題再解釋原因，即便答案有可能是否定的，并且很令人失望。

《零距離美語會(huì)話[文化風(fēng)俗差異]Lesson5:Didyoutipthebellboy》永久閱讀地址: http://www.jiazhineng.cn/yingyu/1539/