博文言过其实的危害_BEC初级作文_BEC初级-查字典英语网

博文言过其实的危害

In the early 1990s when I was in the United States, I read a news story about a Chinese student leaving a voice message on a classmate's phone, saying he would have him "die in 10,000 pieces and with no place for burial". Naturally it conjured up a gruesome picture of attempted murder. Had you read this in Chinese, it simply means "You, go die!" If he had said, "I wouldn't shed a tear if you vanished from the face of the Earth", he would not have got into legal trouble. (He was promptly arrested and charged with attempted murder.)

Again, that was an example of someone blowing a fuse in a most inappropriate way. The language made it seem worse than it actually was. Sure, there are stories of classmates killing each other, as in the recent case of a Fudan University student poisoning his roommate. But I doubt that guy threw a fit before he put poison into the water cooler. For one thing, his fury would have been a warning. People who kill usually do it quietly.

The bombastic style of some parts of the Chinese language is a heritage that has been passed down to us through political slogans and costume dramas. Before we learned the art of the understatement and deadpan humor, which have also found a few exponents online, the Internet had become a breeding ground for floridity. Only this time it was for blustery rages that are considered a menace to the public.