dialogue 1
Wang Wei: pardon me. Could you please pass me the tissue?
對不起,請把紙巾傳給我好嗎?
Simon: sure, here you are.
好的,給你.
W: thanks, I didn't expect the dish to be so spicy. Are you ok?
謝謝你,真沒想到這個菜這么辣,你還好吧?
S: yeah, I think the food is alright, it's not too spicy though it's a little salty for me. But you are Chinese, you should have known better.
恩,我覺得飯菜還可以,不太辣,就是有點咸.可是你是中國人啊,你應(yīng)該知道的.
W: well, not every Chinese can handle spicy food in the way people from Sichuan and Cuizhou provinces can. Back where I come from, people don't eat a lot of pepers and chilies.
這個,不是所有的中國人都想四川人和貴州人那樣能吃辣.在我的家鄉(xiāng),人們就很少吃麻辣口味的菜.
S: Oh, I see how this food can be really hard for you. I can sympathize with that. I stayed in Sichuan for a year. The food was difficult at the beginning. Every dish was so spicy. After a while, I got used to the taste, and now I won't consider anything a real dish if it isn't spicy.
哦,那吃這個菜你一定很難受了,我完全理解.我在四川待了一年,最開始很不適應(yīng)當?shù)氐氖澄?每一道菜都那么辣.但是過了一陣之后,我開始習(xí)慣那個口味了,現(xiàn)在吃菜,要是沒有辣味,就感覺不過癮.
W: yeah, you can increase you tolerance for spicy food, but so far, I haven't had the need or the opportunity. Every timr I try spicy food, it is a total disaster for my nose and eyes.
是啊,吃辣是能培養(yǎng)出來的.但到現(xiàn)在我還沒有機會也沒有必要培養(yǎng)一下.所以,現(xiàn)在一吃辣菜,我的鼻子和眼睛就遭罪了.
S: I completely understand. I didn't intend on liking spicy food at first either, but when you have no other choicess, you've got to adapt.
我完全理解.剛開始我也沒想要培養(yǎng)自己吃辣,不過當時真的是沒有別的選擇了,就不得不做出改變了.
W: yeah, I guess that's a typical example of "when in Rome, do as the Romans do."
我猜這就是典型的"入鄉(xiāng)隨俗"了吧.
S: exactly.
確實如此.
dialogue 2
E: Hey, Robert, that's a nice shirt you are wearing. Where did you get it?
嗨,羅伯特.你身上這件襯衫不錯,在哪里買的?
R: thanks, I like it too. I bought it at the nearby department store.
謝謝,我也挺喜歡這件襯衫的,就在附近的商場里買的.
E: that's nice. Do you know you can get one at the wholesale market near the zoo for a much lower price?
挺好的.不過你知道要在動物園旁邊的批發(fā)市場里買,還會便宜很多嗎?
R: yeah, I know that. But at those places. the prices they ask you are ridiculously high, and if you don't bargain hard, you will get ripped-off.
是的,我知道.但是在那些地方,通常他們的要加都很高,要是你不還價的話,你就會被狠宰一頓.
E: true, learning how to haggle the price is one of the things people have to pick up when they come to China for the first time.
的確是,第一次來中國,人們最開始要學(xué)會的東西中有一樣就是還價.
E: yeah, I have the same feeling. Also there is another thing that bothers me the quality. Things in a department store are usually quality-guaranteed. But at a wholesale market, you never know whether what you are buying are of good quality or not.
是啊,我也有同樣的感覺.不過還有另一件事情讓我覺得很煩,就是質(zhì)量問題.在商場里買的東西,通常質(zhì)量都會有保證,可是在批發(fā)市場,你就不知道你買的東西到底是質(zhì)量好還是不好.
R: that's why I like department stores more. Shopping at a wholesale market like the locals is one of the few things I am unable to grow accustomd to.
這就是為什么我更喜歡在商場里沒東西,我就總是做不到像當?shù)厝艘粯釉谂l(fā)市場里購物,真的不習(xí)慣.
E: I understand. While it's always good to follow the local customs, I guess there are exceptions.
我明白.盡管按照當?shù)氐牧?xí)俗來做很好,可是我也覺得應(yīng)該有例外的情況.