社交礼节知多少 你会和加拿大人打招呼吗

 　　Hi. If you replied hi back, then you’re already well on your way to becoming a naturalized Canadian citizen.

　　在加拿大，如果有人对你说“Hi”，你也自然地回了句“Hi”，好了！你可正奔驰在成为当地公民的“康庄大道”上呢！

　　I’m not kidding. Don’t let the hoopla about social norms and customs, so often important in places of rich history and beliefs, fool you. There are no weird¹ mating dances here, nor intricatepheromones that have to be released when meeting someone.

　　我可没逗人玩。千万别到了历史悠久、信仰多元的国家，听了有关社会规范、信仰习俗的种种宣扬就被唬住。见面是正常自然的事，没有人期待你跳求偶舞或释放复杂的信息素。

　　Instead, Canada’s relaxed, and our handshakes are even more so. Though globalization has given rise to the slow absorption of American hardline business-speak and the tailored, meaningless responses shelved for efficiency sake (how are you? Good and you? Good), Canadian greetings have evaded² pageantry and elegance³.

　　相反，加拿大骨子里的轻松感也彰显在见面问候的闲适中。虽说全球化的浪潮让加拿大人渐渐浸染了美式高冷的商业辞令和简洁苍白的回应（How are you? Good and you? Good），本来加式问候也从未附庸风雅。

　　社交礼节知多少 你会和加拿大人打招呼吗

　　THE BASIC HANDSHAKE

　　握手的基本法则

　　The universal formula is this: smile, handshake, say hi, and smile again.

　　通用的问候方式有以下几步：微笑、握手、来一句hi，再回以微笑。

　　It feels almost robotic distilling⁴ down such a simple introduction, but it’s necessary to avoid any awkward shuffling⁵ or unsolicited backrubs. Of course, there are nuances to the actual shake itself that a robot could never master – you don’t want to grip too hard, but then there’s nothing worse than a limp greeting either. Two hands can be a bit overwhelming; a clammy hand is never fun. Stick to these simple rules, and you’ll be fine.

　　把问候提炼成这么简单的几步，乍一听，你以为是机器人在打招呼吧，但把问候演绎成繁文缛节也大可不必。不同场合的握手会有细微差别，这些微妙之处机器人可做不来——握得像大力水手太过分，握得像海绵宝宝吓到人。双手齐上阵未免夸张；湿漉漉的手握起来让对方捏一把汗。记住这些基本规则，大家肯定出不了错。

　　MULTICULTURAL⁶ GREETINGS

　　多元文化，多样问候

　　But beyond such simplicity⁷ – especially once you take into account Canada’s multiculturalism⁸ – there can be great flexibility⁹. In distinct communities, almost anything goes during a welcome. Migrants in Ukrainian hubs will greet you with three alternating kisses on your cheeks. Same with Persians. Polish immigrants might just wave to you. Others will hug. And yet others will hold you so tight that you aren’t sure if you are merging¹⁰ with their flesh.

　　但考虑到加拿大的多元文化，在简洁的问候方式外，更是百花齐放。每个群体都有自己独特的迎宾礼节。来自乌克兰和伊朗的亲会行三次贴面礼。波兰亲可能只是挥手致意。有些亲把拥抱当成“见面礼”。还有些亲的拥抱太过猛烈，别人怕是魂都被他挤出来了。

　　This is part of Canada’s inherent multiculturalism where individual nuances and cultural traditions blend in messy, blossoming ways. But one need not worry about the complexity¹¹. The expectation for knowing such intricate greetings is lax at best. Like a good math proof, the formula still applies. It’s the E=Mc2 of Canadianisms.

　　由此可以窥见加拿大多元文化的特点，个人习惯的点滴融会于文化传统中，二者混合交织，发展繁盛。你不用担心它的复杂性。还真没人期盼对方把这套精细的礼节背成小九九。只要遵循交往的基本原则，你仍然可以“四海为友”。这也是加拿大精神不变的准则。

　　LOOK OUT FOR QUEBEC

　　魁北克问候方式一瞥

　　Admittedly, there are some differences in Quebec. Like its European counterparts where kisses flow like air, Quebecois differentiates¹² their introductions to people. “Tu” is used as an identifying-noun when the person in question is a friend, whereas “vous” is used for people to signify respect and authority.

　　诚然，魁北克飘满了异域风情。同见面吻如家常便饭一般的法国一样，这里对不同人的称谓也有所区别。“Tu”（“你”）用于指代朋友，而“vous”（“您”）用来体现对方的威望，表达尊敬之意。

　　But these are details, and in time, you’ll pick them up. Until then, let me extend another electronic handshake your way. I’m also smiling. I hope you are too.

　　假以时日，你就能轻松掌握这些细节。到时候，让我再和你隔空握个手吧！我可正咧嘴笑呢，希望你也笑靥如花呀！

1 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

2 evaded   

逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• For two weeks they evaded the press. 他们有两周一直避而不见记者。
• The lion evaded the hunter. 那狮子躲开了猎人。

3 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

4 distilling   

n.蒸馏（作用）v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )( distilled的过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• Water can be made pure by distilling it. 水经蒸馏可变得纯净。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• More ammonium sulphate solution is being recovered in the process of distilling oil shale. 在提炼油页岩的过程中回收的硫酸铵液比过去多了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 shuffling   

adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

7 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

8 multiculturalism   

n.多元文化

参考例句：

• Switzerland is well known for cheese fondue, penguin parades and its multiculturalism. 瑞士一向以芝士火锅，企鹅游行和多元文化等特色闻名于世。
• That may be one reason why multiculturalism came easily to it. 这也是多元文化容易适应发展的原因之一。

9 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

10 merging   

合并（分类）

参考例句：

• Many companies continued to grow by merging with or buying competing firms. 许多公司通过合并或收买竞争对手的公司而不断扩大。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• To sequence by repeated splitting and merging. 用反复分开和合并的方法进行的排序。

11 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

12 differentiates   

区分，区别，辨别( differentiate的第三人称单数 )； 区别对待； 表明…间的差别，构成…间差别的特征

参考例句：

• This genus of plants differentiates into many species. 这种植物可分为许多种类。
• Our fax machine differentiates between an incoming fax signal and a voice call. 我们的传真机能区分接收传真信号和语音信号。