西方礼仪禁忌贴士：如何有效利用图书馆

 　　The annoying habit

　　讨人厌的习惯

　　We live in a world governed by laws, but also common manners that make everybody’s experience a little bit nicer. Unfortunately, some people skirt these common niceties with annoying habits that can just be jaw-droppingly self-centered. Here’s one of the things I personally find the most bothersome. Let me set the scene, you’re at university, sitting in the library along with hordes¹ of other people trying to get last-minute studying in before the final for a class you decided² to put off until it was too late. While trying to cram³ some information about derivatives⁴ or Milton or the hippocampus into your brain, you hear people talking at full volume at the end of one of the tables. People are looking at them with expressions of exasperation⁵ and desperation while they continue chatting.

　　我们在世间的行为受到法律约束，但那远远不够，日常礼仪的约束才让人际交往更加和谐。不幸的是，有些人的习惯偏偏非常讨人厌，极度自我中心，常常不遵守日常礼仪。说说我自己最讨厌的行为。请跟随我进入场景/想象一个情景，你现在是大学生，和一大群同你一样的重度拖延症患者一起，在图书馆中为了期末考试“临时抱佛脚”。正当你竭尽全力地把导数，或者弥尔顿，或者关于海马体的知识塞进脑袋的时候，你听到桌子那头有人在大声说话。尽管大家都愤怒而绝望地看着那边，那群人却依旧旁若无人地聊着天。

　　西方礼仪禁忌贴士：如何有效利用图书馆

　　What’s so terrible about it?

　　有多糟糕？

　　There are few things I get more annoyed at than noisy library users because they are taking what should be a nice quiet space for – I don’t know – studying and reading, and turning it into their own personal lounge area complete with yelling and loud laughter. It wouldn’t be so bad, but it just seems that these disturbing distractors tend to congregate⁶ in the library around midterm and final exam season to try and annoy the most people possible. Another thing that makes me just incredulous at their behavior is the fact that the exit is never really that far away and living in Southern California means that the weather is always fine and nice to hang out in, even at night.

　　很少有比在图书馆发出噪声更令我讨厌的了，把本来用于学习和阅读的安静美好的场所，当成了他们的私人休息室，肆无忌惮地大喊大笑。本来这件事还没有那么糟糕，但是这些恼人的讨厌鬼，专职分散人注意力，似乎总在期中期末季寄居在图书馆，试图打扰尽可能多的人。我对他们的行为百思不得其解的另一个原因，就是他们完全不必呆在图书馆，加利福尼亚南部总是气候宜人，即使在夜间也是适合外出的。

　　How common is it?

　　有多普遍？

　　Studying in the library I’ve had to deal with people talking on the phone like the library was their personal enormous phone booth, howling with laughter at relatively⁷ unfunny jokes, and generally being a nuisance to everyone around them. I remember one occurrence when I saw people carrying on a conversation across the library, basically yelling at each other from one end to end. Another incident had the people next to me munching⁸ on some sandwiches while talking and laughing like the library was a friendly restaurant environment.

　　在图书馆学习时，我总是遇到一些人，把图书馆当成大型私人电话亭，不停煲电话粥，还时不时因为不太好笑的笑话而大笑，乃至于被周围人一致鄙视。我记得有一次，有些人说着话横穿图书馆，从图书馆这头到那头的路上，基本上一直在和对方大声嚷嚷。还有一次，坐在我旁边的人，一边大声咀嚼三明治，一边讲话大笑，就像图书馆是公共餐厅似的。

　　Who are the worst culprits?

　　谁是罪魁祸首？

　　The thing is, you never know who is going to be a library disrupter: they come in all shapes and sizes. More often than not you’re sitting next to someone who looks like a regular quiet studious person – and then they turn out to be one of the worst offenders⁹.

　　其实，你永远不知道谁会破坏图书馆的安静氛围：各色各样的人都有可能。很多时候，你坐在一个看上去循规蹈矩、安静勤奋的人旁边，可是随后你却发现，他们就是那些最令人讨厌的噪音制造者。

　　How do you deal with it?

　　如何应对？

　　To deal with this problem there are a couple of tactics. Luckily there’s a camaraderie¹⁰ between the other library users who are unwilling¹¹ listeners to the loud conversation going on around them and there is an unspoken concerted effort to get them to shut up or leave. This can come in the form of dirty looks and shushes from the surrounding people. Eventually, if this doesn’t work, nicely asking them to quiet down or take their conversation outside usually works, but can also be a loud and shouty proposition.

　　要解决这个问题可以运用很多“战术”。幸运的是，待在图书馆的人对周遭喧哗的反感一致，大家齐心协力，通过无声的努力让吵闹的人闭嘴或离开。形式可以是一起给他们脸色看，对周围人说“嘘”等等。最后，如果这没有成功，那么礼貌地请他们安静下来，或者请他们去外面对话，往往能够奏效，不过大声提出这样的提议也可以。

1 hordes   

n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落

参考例句：

• There are always hordes of tourists here in the summer. 夏天这里总有成群结队的游客。
• Hordes of journalists jostled for position outside the conference hall. 大群记者在会堂外争抢位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 cram   

v.填塞，塞满，临时抱佛脚，为考试而学习

参考例句：

• There was such a cram in the church.教堂里拥挤得要命。
• The room's full,we can't cram any more people in.屋里满满的，再也挤不进去人了。

4 derivatives   

n.衍生性金融商品；派生物，引出物( derivative的名词复数 )；导数

参考例句：

• Many English words are derivatives of Latin words. 许多英语词来自拉丁语。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These compounds are nitrosohydroxylamine derivatives. 这类合成物是亚硝基羟胺衍生物。 来自辞典例句

5 exasperation   

n.愤慨

参考例句：

• He snorted with exasperation.他愤怒地哼了一声。
• She rolled her eyes in sheer exasperation.她气急败坏地转动着眼珠。

6 congregate   

v.(使)集合，聚集

参考例句：

• Now they can offer a digital place for their readers to congregate and talk.现在他们可以为读者提供一个数字化空间，让读者可以聚集和交谈。
• This is a place where swans congregate.这是个天鹅聚集地。

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 munching   

v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was munching an apple. 他在津津有味地嚼着苹果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Munching the apple as he was, he had an eye for all her movements. 他虽然啃着苹果，但却很留神地监视着她的每一个动作。 来自辞典例句

9 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

10 camaraderie   

n.同志之爱，友情

参考例句：

• The camaraderie among fellow employees made the tedious work just bearable.同事之间的情谊使枯燥乏味的工作变得还能忍受。
• Some bosses are formal and have occasional interactions,while others prefer continual camaraderie.有些老板很刻板，偶尔才和下属互动一下；有些则喜欢和下属打成一片。

11 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。