礼节美语 Business Etiquette 255 Sensitivity Training - Money 1

 　　晚宴结束，Jason跟同事Harold一起往外走。Jason说：

　　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是从中国来的，在晚会上问东道主Mr. Jones公寓是多少钱买的。Mr. Jones gave me a really funny look. Mr. Jones看他的表情有些奇怪，好象他这样问犯了什么大忌。A funny look意思是说不清楚的奇怪表情。Jason说，在中国，大家见面就是谈房子，因此他不懂，What's wrong with asking someone how much they paid for a piece of property? 问别人买房子花了多少钱有什么不妥呢？Harold解释说：

　　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 blunder¹. 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 offense². When I was assigned³ to Guangzhou for 6 months, people frequently ask me how much my monthly⁴ salary is.

　　Harold解释说，在很多西方国家，公开谈钱是faux pas, faux pas is spelled f-a-u-x, faux and pas p-a-s, pas, faux pas也就是social blunder在社交上忌讳做的事，属于失礼的行为。Jason听了觉得很出乎意料，说自己完全不知情，I had no idea. 因为在中国，询问财物的价钱完全不是问题。Harold说，I know you meant no offense. 我知道你不是故意冒犯Mr. Jones. Harold说自己派驻广州半年时，就经常有人问他每个月的工资是多少。Jason说：

　　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觉得很有意思的是，西方社会如此开放，对很多中国不敢涉猎的私人问题都可以拿到台面上来说，但是money is a no-no. 钱的问题却是个禁区。no-no两个no连在一起，中间加个连接线，是一种非正式用法，名词，意思是不可以，不被接受的事情。西方人回避谈钱，是因为怕刺激没钱的人吗？我们下次继续听。

1 blunder   

n.错误；vi.跌跌撞撞地走，慌乱地走，犯错误

参考例句：

• I saw that I had been guilty of a careless blunder.我意识到自己因疏忽而酿成大错。
• He has made a terrible blunder.他铸成大错。

2 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

3 assigned   

adj.选定的；被布置的

参考例句：

• But read-only values are different,in that they are assigned at runtime.但是只读的值是不同的，因为它们是在运行时被赋值的。

4 monthly   

adj.每月的，持续一个月的，每月发生的；adv.每月，按月； n.月刊；(复数）monthlies:月经

参考例句：

• The rent on his apartment was his biggest monthly expense.他的房租是每个月最大的开支。
• The monthly rent is $15,inclusive of light and water.每月租金15美元，包括水电费在内。