在这里,人们把“cell”(手机)叫做“mobile”(移动电话)。两周叫做“fortnight”(十四天)。200万quid(英镑)一套(也就是300万buck[美元])、没有“lift”的“flat”,其实就是一套定价过高的、没有“elevator”(电梯)的“apartment”(公寓)。
Don’t exaggerate, you will tell me. In a way you’d be right. London glides into New York more easily than into Birmingham. We get each other. But this is less than half the trans-Atlantic story. Language demands a different character of us on either side of the pond. That’s profound.
你可能会说,别夸张了。从某种意义上讲,你说的可能没错。伦敦与纽约的差距比它与伯明翰的差距要小。我们能理解对方。但这只是冰山一角。语言要求我们在大洋两岸展示出不同的性格。这是一种深刻的区别。
I guess that for me, if there’s one word on which the differences hinge, it would be “sure.” In England, I think of it in terms of prudence, as in, “Are you really sure?” In America, it’s the beautiful, give-it-a-whirl, up-for-anything embrace of the unknown.
我想,对于我来说,如果有一个词最能体现美语和英语的区别,那就是“sure”。在英国,我认为是它代表着谨慎,比如,“Are you really sure?”(你真的确定吗)但在美国,它则代表着一个积极热情、大胆尝试,愿意拥抱未知的态度。
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