速成英语口语第五册 Lesson 14 It's Our Custom

Lesson 14 It's Our Custom

第14课 这是我们的习惯

Eun-Shil: Clement¹, could I talk to you?

恩施：克莱门特，我能和你谈谈吗？

Clement: Uh oh. From that look, I think I did something bad again, didn't I?

克莱门特：哦。看来好像，我又做错了什么，是吗？

Eun-Shil: It's about last night. My parents were very offended that you decided² to pour your own drinks and that you disagreed with them openly.

恩施：关于昨晚。我父母非常生气，因为你决定自己斟酒，而且你公开反对他们。

Clement: Oh. Well, I was kind of thirsty, and I didn't want to burden them by making them serve me. We always pour our drinks back home.

克莱门特：哦。嗯，我有点渴，我不想让他们为我服务，给他们增加负担。我们在家总是自己斟酒。

Eun-Shil: In our country, it's our custom to pour each other's drinks. If you pour for them, it shows you respect them.

恩施：在我们国家，互相倒酒是我们的习俗。如果你为他们斟酒，这表明你尊重他们。

Clement: OK, noted³. And you say I disagreed with them, but I thought we were having a great discussion.

克莱门特：好的，注意到了。你说我不同意他们的观点，但我觉得我们讨论得很好。

Eun-Shil: Clement, you must understand that my parents are very traditional. If someone is older than you, you should respect what they have to say.

恩施：克莱门特，你必须明白我的父母非常传统。如果有人比你年长，你应该尊重他们说的话。

Clement: But what if I disagree with them? It would be wrong of me not to say something then, wouldn't it?

克莱门特：但如果我不同意他们怎么办？那我就错了，不是吗？

Eun-Shil: You might want to think twice before doing that in public. It could cause them to lose face.

恩施：在公开场合这样做之前，你可能需要三思。这可能会让他们丢脸。

Clement: I just wish I knew all of this before, you know?

克莱门特：我真希望我以前知道这一切，你知道吗？

1 clement   

adj.仁慈的；温和的

参考例句：

• A clement judge reduced his sentence.一位仁慈的法官为他减了刑。
• The planet's history contains many less stable and clement eras than the holocene.地球的历史包含着许多不如全新世稳定与温和的地质时期。

2 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。

3 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。