精美英文欣赏:集体生活方式（在线收听）

A Collective Style of Living

集体生活方式

The way in which people use social space reflects their social relationships and their ethnic identity.

人们利用社交空间的方式反映出他们的社会关系和他们的种族身份。

Early immigrants to America from Europe brought with them a collective style of living,which they retained until late in the 18th century.

早期从欧洲到美国的移民带来一种集体生活方式，这种生活方式他们一直保持到18世纪晚期。

Historical records document a group-oriented existence,in which one room was used for eating,entertaining guests, and sleeping.

历史文献记载了一种面向群体的生活，一个房间被用作进餐，招待客人及睡觉的地方。

People ate soups from a communal pot,shared drinking cups,and used a common pit toilet.

人们喝同一个锅里的汤，共用酒杯，使用公共的坑式厕所。

With the development of ideas about individualism,people soon began to shift to the use of individual cups and plates;the eating of meals that included meat, bread,and vegetables served on separate plates;and the use of private toilets.

随着个人主义观念的加强，人们开始转向使用单独的杯子，盘子；一日三餐包括肉，面包，蔬菜都放在分开的盘子里端上餐桌。人们开始使用独立的小卫生间。

They began to build their houses with separate rooms to entertain guests—living rooms,separate bedrooms for sleeping,separate work areas—kitchen, laundry room,and separate bathrooms.

他们开始建造待独立房间的房子，比如有招待客人的独立房间—客厅，独立的卧室，独立的工作间—厨房，洗衣间，以及独立的浴室。

In Mexico, the meaning and organization of domestic space is strikingly different.

在墨西哥，家庭空间的意义和布局明显不同。房子依天井或院子而建。

Houses are organized around a patio, or courtyard.Rooms open onto the patio,where all kinds of domestic activities take place.

房间门朝向天井看着，天井是家庭一切活动的场地。

Individuals do not have separate bedrooms.

个人没有独立的卧室。

Children often sleep with parents,and brothers or sisters share a bed,emphasizing familial interdependence.

孩子们常常和父母一起睡，兄弟或姐妹睡一张床，突出家庭内部的相互依赖性。

Rooms in Mexican houses are locations for multiple activities that, in contrast, are rigidly separated in the United States.

墨西哥房子里的房间都是进行多种活动的场所，与此形成鲜明对比的是，这样的活动场所在美国是有严格区分的。