3.  Justin is a tall American guy working in China.  Right now he’s talking to his Chinese colleague about the city bus.
Lynne:  Do you take a bus to and from8 work?
Justin:  Yeah, everyday.  And there’s only one choice.   All the other buses are going the other direction.
Lynne:  Hmm.  I have the same problem.  When I leave work, it’s always rush hour9.  So the buses are always crowded.
Justin:  Oh, yeah, it’s terrible.  I will tell you the funniest thing I have seen in China.  It’s when so many people try to get onto one city bus, and the last guy is squeezed in10 so tight that the door is tightly pressed against his butt11.
Lynne:  That sounds terrible the way you describe it. But you know, not long ago I really suffered on the bus.
Justin:  What happened?  Were you having a hard time getting on a bus?
Lynne:  You just can’t imagine!  I waited for the first bus but it was too full, so I waited for the second, and it was still very crowded.  Then I decided not to wait for the next one, and got on the second bus.  It was so full that I had to stand on one foot!   No kidding!
Justin:  Hmm.  Good exercise, uh?
Lynne:  Yeah, absolutely!
Justin:  And it’s so much fun.  One day, the bodies were so tightly packed that some girl’s behind was pressed against my front.  I was afraid to put my hands down for fear of12 accidentally groping13 her.
Lynne:  You were so happy, weren’t you?
Justin:  What do you think?  I’m a good boy.
 
【譯文】
——你乘公車(chē)上下班嗎？
——是啊，每天都這樣。而且還只有一個(gè)選擇。其它所有的車(chē)都去另外一個(gè)方向。
——嗯。我的車(chē)也是這樣。當(dāng)我一下班，就總是交通擁擠高峰期。所以汽車(chē)?yán)鲜菗頂D不堪。
——噢，是很糟糕。我來(lái)告訴你我在中國(guó)見(jiàn)過(guò)的最好笑的事是，當(dāng)這么多人拼命擠上公共汽車(chē)時(shí)，最后一個(gè)男的被擠得如此之緊，以致他的屁股被門(mén)緊緊地壓著。
——你描述的這種方式真令人無(wú)法忍受。但是你知道嗎，不久前我真是在車(chē)上受苦。
——怎么啦？你上車(chē)很擠嗎？
——你簡(jiǎn)直想不到。我等著第一輛車(chē)來(lái)，但是太滿(mǎn)了，所以我就等第二輛，可是車(chē)上還是很擠。后來(lái)我決定不再等下一趟了，就上了第二輛車(chē)。可車(chē)子擠得我只能用一個(gè)腳站著！一點(diǎn)都不開(kāi)玩笑！
——嗯。很好的鍛煉，是不是？
——是啊，絕對(duì)地！
——還很好玩呢。一天，這些軀體被擠得如此之緊，一個(gè)女孩的背都被緊緊擠到我跟前。我不敢把手放下，因?yàn)榕屡既粊y摸到她。
——你很高興，對(duì)不對(duì)？
——你會(huì)怎么認(rèn)為？我是個(gè)好男人。

4.   An American guy is having lunch with two Chinese women. 
Robert:  You know, I don’t quite understand the Chinese criterion14 of beauty.  I mean, I asked some Chinese guys who had seen my girlfriend.  I asked them, “Isn’t she beautiful?” They were looking at me with eyes wide open, like …and they even wondered how in the world I could ever have fallen in love with her!
Amy:  I understand. I’ve heard quite a few people say that most Chinese women that foreigners have chosen are not pretty at all.  I know I’m one of those that they were describing.  I’m surely not beautiful.
Kitty:  Oh, come on, although you married a foreigner, you’re not that bad!
Robert:  I mean I think my girlfriend is very pretty and cute.  She has these red cheeks, and her silk hair has been evenly15 cut.  Very pretty, very charming16.
Kitty:   (laughing) Chinese don’t notice that sort of thing at all.  Amy, what is that saying17?
Amy:  Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder18.
Kitty:  Yeah, that’s right.  Magic love.
【譯文】
——你知道嗎，我真不明白中國(guó)人的審美標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。我是說(shuō)，我問(wèn)過(guò)幾個(gè)看到過(guò)我女朋友的中國(guó)男人。我問(wèn)他們，“她難道不漂亮嗎？”他們看著我，眼睛睜得圓圓的，像……而且他們還想知道我怎么會(huì)竟然愛(ài)上了她！
——我明白。我已聽(tīng)好幾個(gè)人說(shuō)過(guò)大部分外國(guó)人選擇的中國(guó)女人一點(diǎn)都不漂亮。我知道我就是他們所說(shuō)的其中之一。我是無(wú)疑不漂亮的。
——哦，別這樣，盡管你嫁給了個(gè)老外，你還沒(méi)那么丑！
——我是說(shuō)我認(rèn)為我的女朋友很漂亮，而且很可愛(ài)。她有紅撲撲的臉頰，而且她那很有光澤的頭發(fā)還被剪得齊齊的。很漂亮，很迷人。
——（笑）中國(guó)人不會(huì)注意到這樣的事。艾米，那句話(huà)是怎么說(shuō)的？
——情人眼里出西施。
——對(duì)，沒(méi)錯(cuò)。愛(ài)的魔力。 nbsp; Yeah.

《零距離美語(yǔ)會(huì)話(huà)[文化風(fēng)俗差異]Lesson6:Ashoutingmatch》永久閱讀地址: http://www.jiazhineng.cn/yingyu/2014/