It's quite true: we can't. Not nearly as well as our more direct transatlantic cousins, anyway. As Moore observes: 'If you ever accidentally cut someone in a line in Britain, what you’ll hear will be grumbling, whingeing, under-the-breath comments and sighs: the barely audible sounds of half-a-dozen people deciding, all at once, not to confront you.
的确如此,我们的确不能够正确的抱怨。这一点与大西洋彼岸那些性情直率的美国兄弟不尽相同。摩尔教授据自己的观察发现,“在英国,如果你无意间插队到别人的前面,你只会听到小声的埋怨、嘀咕、耳语式的指摘和叹气声:被你插队的半打英国人都会在瞬间决定不与你正面冲突,而只用勉强听到的声音发泄不满。
'While an American might just say: "Hey, buddy - the end of the line is over there."
“而一位美国人则会说,‘嘿,老兄,队伍的末尾在那儿!”
Howerver, I’m gratified to learn that millions of Americans, in turn, have adopted the British way of using 'cheers' to mean thanks or goodbye.
不过,令人欣慰的是,我发现数以百万的美国人反过来学会了英国人用“cheers”来表示感谢或告别。
Moore quotes a British banker living in New York, who says: 'I'm getting sick of my clients saying "Cheers" to me. Americans say "Cheers" with too much enthusiasm. It must be delivered laconically.'
摩尔教授引用了一位居住在纽约的英国银行家的话,他说到,‘我的顾客总会对我说‘Cheers’,对此我不得不感到厌烦。美国人对‘Cheers’这个词太有热情了。这个词本应用得更加简明直接。”
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