和英国人交流需步步惊心”

 　　When the British say "I hear what you say. " They mean "I disagree and do not want to discuss it further." But what others understand is "He accepts my point of view."

　　当英国人说“我听到你所说的了”时，他们的意思是“我不同意也不想就其做进一步讨论”，而其他人却理解成了“他接受了我的观点”。

　　When the British say "With the greatest respect... " They mean "I think you are an idiot." But what others understand is "He is listening to me."

　　当英国人说“出于最大的尊重…”时，他们的意思是“我觉得你太二了”，而其他人却理解成了“他正听我说话呢”。

　　When the British say "That's not bad. " They mean "That's good." But what others understand is "That's poor."

　　当英国人说“不算太糟”时，他们的意思是“太好了”，而其他人却理解成了“太差了”。

　　When the British say "That is a very brave proposal. " They mean "You are insane." But what others understand is "He thinks I have courage."

　　当英国人说“那真是一个非常有勇气的提议”时，他们的意思是“你真是疯了”，而其他人却理解成了“他觉得我很有胆识”。

　　When the British say "Quite good. " They mean "A bit disappointing." But what others understand is "Quite good."

　　当英国人说“很不错哦”时，他们的意思是“有点小失望”，而其他人却理解成了“真心不错”。

　　When the British say "I would suggest... " They mean "Do it or be prepared to justify¹ yourself." But what others understand is "Think about the idea, but do what you like."

　　当英国人说“我想建议的是……”时，他们的意思是“去实践或者做好准备证明你自己”，而其他人却理解成了“考虑一下他的点子，但还是做我想做的”。

　　When the British say "Oh, incidentally / by the way... " They mean "The primary purpose of our discussion is..." But what others understand is "That is not very important."

　　当英国人说“顺便说一句……”时，他们的意思是“我们讨论的最根本目的是……”，而其他人却理解成了“接下来的话不是非常重要”。

　　When the British say "I was a bit disappointed that... " They mean "I am annoyed that..." But what others understand is "It doesn't really matter."

　　当英国人说“我对……有点小失望”时，他们的意思是“我对……很恼火”，而其他人却理解成了“无伤大雅”。

　　When the British say "Very interesting. " They mean "That is clearly nonsense." But what others understand is "They are impressed."

　　当英国人说“非常有意思啊”时，他们的意思是“那明显是瞎扯淡”，而其他人却理解成了“那真是让人印象深刻”。

　　When the British say "I'll bear it in mind. " They mean "I've forgotten it already." But what others understand is "They will probably do it."

　　当英国人说“我刻在脑子里了”时，他们的意思是“我已经不记得了”，而其他人却理解成了“他们大概会去做的吧”。

　　When the British say "I'm sure it's my fault. " They mean "It's your fault." But what others understand is "Why do they think it was their fault?"

　　当英国人说“我确定是我错了”时，他们的意思是“那其实是你的错”，而其他人却理解成了“为什么他们会觉得是他们的错呢？”

　　When the British say "You must come for dinner. " They mean "It's not an invitation, I'm just being polite." But what others understand is "I will get an invitation soon."

　　当英国人说“你一定要来赴宴”时，他们的意思是“那绝不是什么邀请，我只不过想礼貌一些”，而其他人却理解成了“马上我就会收到一个邀请了”。

　　When the British say "I almost agree. " They mean "I don't agree at all." But what others understand is "He's not far from agreement."

　　当英国人说“我基本同意”时，他们的意思是“我一点儿都不同意”，而其他人却理解成了“他真的是非常非常同意啊”。

　　When the British say "I only have a few minor² comments. " They mean "Please re-write completely." But what others understand is "He has found a few typos."

　　当英国人说“我只是有一点儿建议”时，他们的意思是“请从头到尾地重写一份吧”，而其他人却理解成了“他只不过发现了一些言语错误”。

　　When the British say "Could we consider some other options?" They mean "I don't like your idea." But what others understand is "They have not yet decided³."

　　当英国人说“我们可以再考虑一些其他的选择吗？”时，他们的意思是“我着实不喜欢你的点子”，而其他人却理解成了“他们还没有决定下来吧”。

1 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

2 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

3 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。