美国人说：来生我要做英国人的22个理由

 　　加利福尼亚州桑尼维尔市有名的李艾维`李在论坛上发布了一个问题：“哪些方面英国人比美国人做得好呢？”她总共列举了23个例子来赞扬英国，这些例子涵盖食物，音乐，10英镑纸币和插头插座各方面……

　　1. They call hamburger beef burger because it's clearly made of beef.

　　英国人称汉堡包为“牛肉汉堡”，因为很明显汉堡包是用牛肉制成的；

　　2. They call soccer football because it's clearly played with the foot.

　　英国人足球叫“football”，因为足球很显然是用脚来踢；

　　3. Their sockets¹ can be switched off because it's easier, safer and more energy efficient.

　　英国的插座可以关掉，这样更方便，更安全，更节能；

　　4. They look at the day first, as in dd/mm/yy instead of mm/dd/yy because for around 30 days in a row, the month is the same as yesterday.

　　英国人日期表达方式首先是XX号，比如说XX号/XX月/XX年，而不是XX月/XX号/ XX年，因为一个月连续30天，XX月每天都是相同的；

　　5. They have the full English breakfast while we have the full sugar and preservatives² cereal.

　　英国人有丰富的英式早餐，但是我们的早餐是含有过量糖分和防腐剂的谷物；

　　6. They have portion control, resulting in higher life expectancy³ while we have supersized everything (because why not?), resulting in obesity⁴.

　　英国人控制饮食，因此他们的平均寿命很长，但是我们任何东西追求越大越好（为什么不呢？），所以导致很多人很胖；

　　7. They have nice relaxing afternoon teas with custard cream biscuits while we drown ourselves in Starbucks just to maintain functionality.

　　英国人的下午茶是奶油冰淇淋饼干，然而我们只能去星巴克补充能量；

　　8. Their native sports, football, rugby, cricket are adopted internationally while our sports reside mainly in America.

　　英国人有足球，橄榄球，板球等传统运动，且均被国际采用，但是我们的运动只有美国人民玩；

　　9. They have 28 days of paid holiday by law, not including maternity⁵ leave, sick leave, etc. while we have 10.

　　英国人有28天法定带薪假期，不包括产假，病假等，但是我们只有10天；

　　10. They have free universal healthcare, praised as the best in the world, while we remain the only developed country (out of 33) that doesn't.

　　英国人享有被全世界称之为最好的全民免费医疗保健，但是我们是唯一没有此项福利的发达国家（23个发达国家）。

　　11. They have Charles Darwin on their ?10 note while we are 42 per cent creationist.

　　英国人在10英镑纸币上印有查尔斯·达尔文画像，但是我们是神灵论者；

　　12. They produced Harry⁶ Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Chronicles of Narnia, Sherlock Holmes while we produced Twilight⁷.

　　英国人制作了《哈利波特》、《指环王》、《霍比特人》、《纳尼亚传奇》、《福尔摩斯》等著名电影，但是我们只有《暮光之城》；

　　13. They produced Adele, David Bowie, Elton John, Mick Jagger, Coldplay, Radiohead, Muse⁸, Queen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Smiths, The Libertines⁹, The Who? (The British), The Waterboys, The Buzzcocks, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Zombies, The Cure, while we didn't.

　　英国有很多国际巨星，阿黛尔、大卫·鲍伊、艾尔顿·约翰、米克·贾格尔、酷玩乐队、之声司令、缪斯、皇后乐队、平克·弗洛伊德、齐柏林飞船、披头士、滚石乐队、奇想乐团、史密斯乐团、浪子乐队、谁人乐队、水男孩合唱团、新浪潮乐队、性手枪、碰撞乐队、僵尸乐队、治疗乐队……但是我们没有；

　　14. Their national animal has a full head of mane while ours is bald.

　　英国人的国宝是头上长满鬃毛的红胸鸽，但是我们的国宝是白头海雕(秃鹰)；

　　15. They know how to primly¹⁰ and properly queue while we mass frenziedly.

　　英国人知道如何整齐有序的排队，但是我们整个一团糟；

　　16. They know how to primly and properly apologise, for everything.

　　英国人知道如何对一切事情礼貌，绅士的表达他们的歉意；

　　17. They know how to primly and properly drive on the wrong side of the road.

　　即使在错误的车道上，英国人也知道如何安全，恰当的行驶；

　　18. They know how to appreciate the sun because though the sun never sets in the British empire, it rarely shines in the motherland.

　　英国人对太阳充满感激，因为尽管英国没有每天艳阳高照，但是偶尔天晴还是让会英国人很开心；

　　19. They make better and greater varieties of chocolates, cheeses, cakes, alcoholic¹¹ beverages¹² and dishes．

　　英国人会做各种各样的巧克力，奶酪，蛋糕，美酒饮料和菜肴；

　　20. They have a greater grasp of sarcasm¹³, irony¹⁴, self-deprecating humour and also, the entire English language.

　　英国人对各类情绪，如挖苦，讽刺，自嘲式幽默和整个英式语言都能很好的驾驭；

　　21.They beat us at politeness and profanity at the same time.

　　我们（美国人）在礼貌和不礼貌方面都败给了英国人；

　　22. The English accent is more attractive than the American accent. This is just an indisputable fact of nature.

　　英式英语比美式英语更好听，这是不争的事实。

1 sockets   

n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴

参考例句：

• All new PCs now have USB sockets. 新的个人计算机现在都有通用串行总线插孔。
• Make sure the sockets in your house are fingerproof. 确保你房中的插座是防触电的。 来自超越目标英语 第4册

2 preservatives   

n.防腐剂( preservative的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The juice contains no artificial preservatives. 这种果汁不含人工防腐剂。
• Meat spoils more quickly without preservatives. 不加防腐剂，肉会坏得快。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

4 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

5 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

6 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

7 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

8 muse   

n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感

参考例句：

• His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
• Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。

9 libertines   

n.放荡不羁的人，淫荡的人( libertine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Peter had been very busy with The Libertines and was exhausted. PETE在LIBERTINES非常忙碌甚至精疲力竭。 来自互联网
• He flew in from Japan where The Libertines were on tour. PETE喜欢叫自己外婆利物浦的南希，和外婆关系特别好。 来自互联网

10 primly   

adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地

参考例句：

• He didn't reply, but just smiled primly. 他没回答，只是拘谨地笑了笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He wore prim suits with neckties set primly against the collar buttons of his white shirts. 他穿着整洁的外套，领结紧贴着白色衬衫领口的钮扣。 来自互联网

11 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

12 beverages   

n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 控制酒类销售的法规
• regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 含酒精饮料的销售管理条例

13 sarcasm   

n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic）

参考例句：

• His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
• She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。

14 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。