【英语趣味课堂】行贿-Experiences with Bribery.

Todd: When I was in Thailand I had experiences with bribery², and we don't really have it with government officials in the U.S., but I have to admit I thought it was really convenient, because let's say you are driving and you get a speeding ticket, or you do something wrong, in Thailand you would just pay ten dollars, twenty dollars and the whole incident was forgot. In my culture were brought up to think that that's really bad but I have to admit, I liked the fact that you would pay a little money, and then it was not on your record, because in the United States if you get a speeding ticket, or you do anything wrong then it's on your record, and it's permanent and that can affect your insurance payment and things like that, so it was this really weird³ feeling where I felt odd doing it, and I felt awkward doing it because it wasn't part of our culture, but at the same time I thought it was almost convenient. Have you ever had experiences like that?

 

Aiman: Well, I have two different experiences. Because in Syria it is pretty different to Dubai, so in Syria for example, you'd have to bribe¹ the police officers even if you didn't do anything because that's how they live. But in Dubai they get really nice wages and they don't need your bribe. For example, once I was eating dates while I was driving. I was speaking on my phone, my mobile phone, and I was not wearing my seat belt, and I was not paying attention, and then the policeman asked me to pull over, and when I did, I didn't even know what was the problem, so when he came to me and said to me, "Can I have the car registration⁴ and license⁵?" I said, "Yeah, sure. Please take one date, or a date, while I look for them." And he said, "No, sorry, I can't." And I was so upset with that. I said, "What do you mean you can't? Are you better than me? Is that what you're trying to say?" And he said, "No, It's illegal. I can't. You know what, just go. I don't need anything from you. Please go."

 

Todd: So the policeman in Dubai was very straight and honest. He can't except anything from a driver, and so he turned you down.

 

Aiman: Exactly. Because he turned me down, it is really bad in the Arab culture. He decided⁶ to just let me go. Please just go.

 

Todd: Really, so if somebody offers you something in an Arab culture, and you decline that's not polite.

 

Aiman: Not polite at all.

 

Todd: Well, that's very good to know.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

brought up to

 

my culture were brought up to think that that's really bad.

 

In this case, "brought up" means to be raised from childhood.

 

I was brought up to believe it is impolite to eat with your elbows on the table.

Many boys are brought up to believe they should hide their feelings.

on your record

 

If you do anything wrong then it's on your record.

 

"Record" in this case means a criminal history or some other official record of your behaviour.

 

If you are late for work more than 3 times, it will be noted⁷ on your record with the Personnel section.

Many countries will not issue a visa if you have a criminal conviction on your record.

pull over

 

 

The policeman asked me to pull over.

 

In this case, "pulling over" is an action taken when you are driving a car and it means 

to move your car to the side of the road and stop.

 

Thanks for giving me a lift home. You can pull over at this corner and let me off.

In Japan, you should pull over to the left and wait if you hear an ambulance coming.

straight

 

The policeman in Dubai was very straight and honest.

 

When we are talking about people, "straight" means to be honest and not evasive nor to hide

anything.

 

It is important to have people who are straight working in positions of authority, so that their power is not abused.

When my sister had an accident, my father was completely straight with me about her condition and didn't try to protect me from the difficult truth.

turned me down

 

 

He turned me down, it is really bad in the Arab culture.

 

To be "turned down" is to be denied something.

 

I asked Jack⁸ if he would go out for coffee with me, but he turned me down. I was so disappointed.

When I asked my mum if I could get a motor bike, she turned me down because it was too dangerous.

1 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

2 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

3 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

4 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

5 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。