About the Author
Name: Nicholas Alexander Reay
Hometown: Cape Town, South Africa
Location: Shanghai, China
As an English teacher, I have lived many places like Brazil, Japan, Turkey, and Sweden. But none of these countries compare to China.
作為一個(gè)英語老師，我在巴西、日本、土耳其、瑞典等許多地方居住過。不過這些國家都無法與中國相比較。
I have been living in China for six months now and I love the people and the customs. I would like to tell you about one of my first impressions (1) of this great, and at times, daunting (2) country.
我已經(jīng)在中國住了半年了，我喜歡這里的人民和風(fēng)俗。我想告訴大家我對(duì)這個(gè)偉大的、有時(shí)又令人畏懼的國家的第一印象。
I went to Beijing with my friend Mark. Mark is a punk (3) from England. Everyone looked at him because of his appearance (piercing and tattoos).
我與朋友馬克一起來到北京。馬克是個(gè)來自英格蘭的鬅客樂迷。因?yàn)樗拇虬纾總€(gè)人對(duì)向他側(cè)目(穿洞、紋身)。
After a short stay in Beijing, we went to Xi’an, a beautiful and historical city with many tourist sights. One of these is a mountain called Hua Shan.
在北京住了一小段時(shí)間，我們又前往西安，一個(gè)美麗又古老的城市，旅游景點(diǎn)眾多。其中一處便是華山。
Mark and I decided to go to this mountain alone. We were tired of (4) all the “special tours” offered to laowai. They were in fact far more expensive because they were for laowai! Mark and I don’t speak Chinese but we were confident (5) that we would be okay.
馬克和我決定單獨(dú)游華山。我們厭倦了所有那些為老外準(zhǔn)備的“特別游”。它們實(shí)際上非常昂貴，就因?yàn)槭菫槔贤鉁?zhǔn)備的！我和馬克都不會(huì)說中文，但是我們相信一切會(huì)順利的。
The bus took about two and a half hours from Xi’an before finally leaving us at a small village at the foot (6) of the great mountain. After we got off the bus, we sat in a rather dirty room with many excited older people. We didn’t know what to do. Then out of nowhere (7), two young Chinese people appeared. To our blind luck (8), they spoke a little English. They told us that this was a tour group going up the mountain by cable car (9), not by foot. We wanted to walk. So, we joined this young couple.
我們從西安出發(fā)，乘坐了兩個(gè)半鐘頭的汽車才到達(dá)這座名山腳下的一個(gè)小村莊。下車后，我們和很多興奮的上了年紀(jì)的人一起坐在一個(gè)很臟的房間里。我們不知道該怎么辦。接著不知從什么地方忽然冒出來兩個(gè)年輕的中國人。很幸運(yùn)，他們能說一點(diǎn)英語。他們告訴我們這里是一個(gè)旅游團(tuán)，他們準(zhǔn)備乘纜車上山，而不是徒步。我們想爬山。所以我們加入了這兩個(gè)年輕人。
For the next 48 hours we enjoyed the hospitality (10) of these young Chinese students. We only communicated (11) basic things but the warmth of friendship was there. My friend and I were a little nervous at first. We thought that these students wanted us to pay for everything, but that was not true. In fact, they saved us 600RMB! This is what the hotel manager wanted us to pay to sleep in a room because we were foreigners! Our younger friends were embarrassed by this blatant rip-off (12) and told the manager that we would only pay 25RMB each for the night, which we did.
接下去的48小時(shí)，我們一直享受著這些年輕中國學(xué)生的友好、好客。我們只作了一些簡單基本的交流，不過友誼的溫暖確實(shí)存在。我的朋友和我一開始有些緊張。我們以為這些學(xué)生會(huì)讓我們承擔(dān)所有開銷，但是他們并沒有。事實(shí)上，他們?yōu)槲覀児?jié)約了600塊人民幣！那是一個(gè)旅店老板讓我們付的住宿費(fèi)，就因?yàn)槲覀兪峭鈬?！我們的朋友讓這種明目張膽的敲詐弄得很尷尬，他們告訴老板我們只會(huì)按每人每夜25元的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)付費(fèi)。我們也的確是這樣做的。
Going up the mountain, local people stopped us many times. Mark was stopped several times for photos. Chinese people also stopped us to practice their English. This was a refreshing (13) change from the usual “Hello, Hello!” It was nice to talk to these people. They showed real interest in what we had to say.
上山途中，當(dāng)?shù)厝硕啻螖r住我們。馬克被攔下好幾次與人合影。還有一些中國人攔住我們練習(xí)英語。從通常的“你好”“我好”中，這一變化可謂令人精神一振。與他們交談很愉快。他們對(duì)于我們要說的話很感興趣。
Many foreigners in China worry that Chinese people only see them as walking dollar signs (14), and in some places this is true. However, not everyone is like this. It was wonderful and rewarding (15) to meet these two genuine (16) people. I like to look at them as representatives of the new China.
許多在中國的外國人擔(dān)心中國人只把他們當(dāng)作“冤大頭”。在有些地方確實(shí)如此。然而，并不是每個(gè)人都像這樣的。能遇見這兩個(gè)真誠的學(xué)生真好，對(duì)我們非常有幫助。我愿意把他們看作新中國的代表人物。
In the West, we do not stare (17) at people as Chinese people do here. Westerners also do not shout out, “l(fā)aowai!” when we see a foreigner. But we also do not often help foreign people, at least not without being asked. This is a strange paradox. In the West, we are more open but we are also more conservative. So I ask the question: why are laowai treated like this in China? And is it changing?
在西方，我們不像中國人這樣瞪著眼看人。西方人看見外國人時(shí)也不會(huì)大叫“老外！”不過我們也不常幫助外國人，至少在沒有被請(qǐng)求的情況下。這是個(gè)奇怪的矛盾。在西方，我們更開放，但同時(shí)也更保守。所以我提了這樣一個(gè)問題：為什么老外在中國受到如此待遇？這一狀況是不是正在改變呢？
Word Key
1.impression noun 印象
2.daunting adjective 使人畏縮的
3.punk noun鬅客(20世紀(jì)70年代晚期的一場年輕人的運(yùn)動(dòng)，以搖滾樂、身體打洞、反傳統(tǒng)的發(fā)型、裝扮和服裝為特點(diǎn))
4.tired of verb phrase 厭倦的，厭煩的
5.confident adjective 自信的，確信的
6.foot (of mountain) noun 底部
7.out of nowhere phrase 從不知道的地方，從不受注意的地方
8.blind luck noun luck 幸運(yùn)
9.cable car noun 纜車
10.hospitality noun 好客，盛情
11.communicated (to communicate) verb 溝通，交流
12.blatant rip-off adjective + noun 明目張膽的欺詐
13.refreshing adjective 提神的，涼爽的
14.walking dollar sign phrase 活動(dòng)支票簿，“冤大頭”
15.rewarding adjective 報(bào)答的，值得的，有益的
16.genuine adjective 真誠的，誠實(shí)的；真實(shí)的，真正的
17.stare verb 凝視，盯著看
Name: Nicholas Alexander Reay
Hometown: Cape Town, South Africa
Location: Shanghai, China
As an English teacher, I have lived many places like Brazil, Japan, Turkey, and Sweden. But none of these countries compare to China.
作為一個(gè)英語老師，我在巴西、日本、土耳其、瑞典等許多地方居住過。不過這些國家都無法與中國相比較。
I have been living in China for six months now and I love the people and the customs. I would like to tell you about one of my first impressions (1) of this great, and at times, daunting (2) country.
我已經(jīng)在中國住了半年了，我喜歡這里的人民和風(fēng)俗。我想告訴大家我對(duì)這個(gè)偉大的、有時(shí)又令人畏懼的國家的第一印象。
I went to Beijing with my friend Mark. Mark is a punk (3) from England. Everyone looked at him because of his appearance (piercing and tattoos).
我與朋友馬克一起來到北京。馬克是個(gè)來自英格蘭的鬅客樂迷。因?yàn)樗拇虬纾總€(gè)人對(duì)向他側(cè)目(穿洞、紋身)。
After a short stay in Beijing, we went to Xi’an, a beautiful and historical city with many tourist sights. One of these is a mountain called Hua Shan.
在北京住了一小段時(shí)間，我們又前往西安，一個(gè)美麗又古老的城市，旅游景點(diǎn)眾多。其中一處便是華山。
Mark and I decided to go to this mountain alone. We were tired of (4) all the “special tours” offered to laowai. They were in fact far more expensive because they were for laowai! Mark and I don’t speak Chinese but we were confident (5) that we would be okay.
馬克和我決定單獨(dú)游華山。我們厭倦了所有那些為老外準(zhǔn)備的“特別游”。它們實(shí)際上非常昂貴，就因?yàn)槭菫槔贤鉁?zhǔn)備的！我和馬克都不會(huì)說中文，但是我們相信一切會(huì)順利的。
The bus took about two and a half hours from Xi’an before finally leaving us at a small village at the foot (6) of the great mountain. After we got off the bus, we sat in a rather dirty room with many excited older people. We didn’t know what to do. Then out of nowhere (7), two young Chinese people appeared. To our blind luck (8), they spoke a little English. They told us that this was a tour group going up the mountain by cable car (9), not by foot. We wanted to walk. So, we joined this young couple.
我們從西安出發(fā)，乘坐了兩個(gè)半鐘頭的汽車才到達(dá)這座名山腳下的一個(gè)小村莊。下車后，我們和很多興奮的上了年紀(jì)的人一起坐在一個(gè)很臟的房間里。我們不知道該怎么辦。接著不知從什么地方忽然冒出來兩個(gè)年輕的中國人。很幸運(yùn)，他們能說一點(diǎn)英語。他們告訴我們這里是一個(gè)旅游團(tuán)，他們準(zhǔn)備乘纜車上山，而不是徒步。我們想爬山。所以我們加入了這兩個(gè)年輕人。
For the next 48 hours we enjoyed the hospitality (10) of these young Chinese students. We only communicated (11) basic things but the warmth of friendship was there. My friend and I were a little nervous at first. We thought that these students wanted us to pay for everything, but that was not true. In fact, they saved us 600RMB! This is what the hotel manager wanted us to pay to sleep in a room because we were foreigners! Our younger friends were embarrassed by this blatant rip-off (12) and told the manager that we would only pay 25RMB each for the night, which we did.
接下去的48小時(shí)，我們一直享受著這些年輕中國學(xué)生的友好、好客。我們只作了一些簡單基本的交流，不過友誼的溫暖確實(shí)存在。我的朋友和我一開始有些緊張。我們以為這些學(xué)生會(huì)讓我們承擔(dān)所有開銷，但是他們并沒有。事實(shí)上，他們?yōu)槲覀児?jié)約了600塊人民幣！那是一個(gè)旅店老板讓我們付的住宿費(fèi)，就因?yàn)槲覀兪峭鈬?！我們的朋友讓這種明目張膽的敲詐弄得很尷尬，他們告訴老板我們只會(huì)按每人每夜25元的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)付費(fèi)。我們也的確是這樣做的。
Going up the mountain, local people stopped us many times. Mark was stopped several times for photos. Chinese people also stopped us to practice their English. This was a refreshing (13) change from the usual “Hello, Hello!” It was nice to talk to these people. They showed real interest in what we had to say.
上山途中，當(dāng)?shù)厝硕啻螖r住我們。馬克被攔下好幾次與人合影。還有一些中國人攔住我們練習(xí)英語。從通常的“你好”“我好”中，這一變化可謂令人精神一振。與他們交談很愉快。他們對(duì)于我們要說的話很感興趣。
Many foreigners in China worry that Chinese people only see them as walking dollar signs (14), and in some places this is true. However, not everyone is like this. It was wonderful and rewarding (15) to meet these two genuine (16) people. I like to look at them as representatives of the new China.
許多在中國的外國人擔(dān)心中國人只把他們當(dāng)作“冤大頭”。在有些地方確實(shí)如此。然而，并不是每個(gè)人都像這樣的。能遇見這兩個(gè)真誠的學(xué)生真好，對(duì)我們非常有幫助。我愿意把他們看作新中國的代表人物。
In the West, we do not stare (17) at people as Chinese people do here. Westerners also do not shout out, “l(fā)aowai!” when we see a foreigner. But we also do not often help foreign people, at least not without being asked. This is a strange paradox. In the West, we are more open but we are also more conservative. So I ask the question: why are laowai treated like this in China? And is it changing?
在西方，我們不像中國人這樣瞪著眼看人。西方人看見外國人時(shí)也不會(huì)大叫“老外！”不過我們也不常幫助外國人，至少在沒有被請(qǐng)求的情況下。這是個(gè)奇怪的矛盾。在西方，我們更開放，但同時(shí)也更保守。所以我提了這樣一個(gè)問題：為什么老外在中國受到如此待遇？這一狀況是不是正在改變呢？
Word Key
1.impression noun 印象
2.daunting adjective 使人畏縮的
3.punk noun鬅客(20世紀(jì)70年代晚期的一場年輕人的運(yùn)動(dòng)，以搖滾樂、身體打洞、反傳統(tǒng)的發(fā)型、裝扮和服裝為特點(diǎn))
4.tired of verb phrase 厭倦的，厭煩的
5.confident adjective 自信的，確信的
6.foot (of mountain) noun 底部
7.out of nowhere phrase 從不知道的地方，從不受注意的地方
8.blind luck noun luck 幸運(yùn)
9.cable car noun 纜車
10.hospitality noun 好客，盛情
11.communicated (to communicate) verb 溝通，交流
12.blatant rip-off adjective + noun 明目張膽的欺詐
13.refreshing adjective 提神的，涼爽的
14.walking dollar sign phrase 活動(dòng)支票簿，“冤大頭”
15.rewarding adjective 報(bào)答的，值得的，有益的
16.genuine adjective 真誠的，誠實(shí)的；真實(shí)的，真正的
17.stare verb 凝視，盯著看