禮節(jié)美語:255 Sensitivity Training - Money 1

00:00

00:00

MP3下載

https://online2.tingclass.net/lesson/shi0529/0006/6728/255.mp3

https://image.tingclass.net/statics/js/2012

Jason: That was a lovely party, wasn't it?

Harold: Yes, it was. The food was pretty good, too.

J: I was a little puzzled about something, though.

H: What was that?

J: At one point in our conversation, Mr. Jones gave me a really funny look...it was almost like I'd broken some sort of a rule.

H: Oh, yes...well you did ask him how much he paid for his apartment.

J: And? What's wrong with asking someone how much they paid for a piece of property? Back in China everybody talks about buying and selling apartments.

Jason是從中國來的，在晚會上問東道主Mr. Jones公寓是多少錢買的。Mr. Jones gave me a really funny look. Mr. Jones看他的表情有些奇怪，好象他這樣問犯了什么大忌。A funny look意思是說不清楚的奇怪表情。Jason說，在中國，大家見面就是談房子，因此他不懂，What's wrong with asking someone how much they paid for a piece of property? 問別人買房子花了多少錢有什么不妥呢?Harold解釋說：

H: Yeah, I know....but in many Western societies, talking about money in public is a faux pas.

J: What's a faux pas?

H: It's a French term that means a social blunder. Questions like that are considered a little bit impolite.

J: Really? I had no idea. Back in China, it's not generally a problem to ask about how much something costs.

H: I know you meant no offense. When I was assigned to Guangzhou for 6 months, people frequently ask me how much my monthly salary is.

Harold解釋說，在很多西方國家，公開談錢是faux pas, faux pas is spelled f-a-u-x, faux and pas p-a-s, pas, faux pas也就是social blunder在社交上忌諱做的事，屬于失禮的行為。Jason聽了覺得很出乎意料，說自己完全不知情，I had no idea. 因為在中國，詢問財物的價錢完全不是問題。Harold說，I know you meant no offense. 我知道你不是故意冒犯Mr. Jones. Harold說自己派駐廣州半年時，就經(jīng)常有人問他每個月的工資是多少。Jason說：

J: That's funny, because Western society seems so open. People talk about all kinds of private things that we wouldn't bring up in China. But money is a no-no, huh?

H: If your Western friend buys something for a really good price, he or she might mention it to you by saying something like, "Take a look at this camera that I got on sale for only $99 dollars." But unless the person is a close friend, we almost never ask how much something costs.

J: So, do you avoid talking about money so that people with less money don't feel bad?

Jason覺得很有意思的是，西方社會如此開放，對很多中國不敢涉獵的私人問題都可以拿到臺面上來說，但是money is a no-no. 錢的問題卻是個禁區(qū)。no-no兩個no連在一起，中間加個連接線，是一種非正式用法，名詞，意思是不可以，不被接受的事情。西方人回避談錢，是因為怕刺激沒錢的人嗎?我們下次繼續(xù)聽。