英国爱丁堡留学社区
Edinburgh Chinese
中英对照：盘点英国最“拽”的八个理由
uking(2009/11/17 20:15:13) 点击:128946 回复:0 IP:212.* * *
uking(2009/11/17 20:15:13) 点击:128946 回复:0 IP:212.* * *
1.炸鱼加土豆条。 君主制和海军一直是我们的骄傲。一个民族吃什么往往能帮助你了解他们。
1.Fish and chips. The British have a proud tradition of monarchy and navy. What nations eat tells you everything you need to know about them。
意大利人吃匹萨饼，这表明什么呢，他们全靠外卖食品生存？
Italians eat pizza and what does that suggest, relying on take away food for sustenance?
我们是一个岛屿国家，由于我们英国人都很有常识，所以我们发现吃炸鱼加土豆条是最好的。
The point is we live on an island and, because of our strong driving force of Common Sense, we have made the most of it by eating fish and chips。
我们充分发挥了岛国的优势：鱼来自大海，土豆条产自陆地，全球最佳菜谱组合！
We’re making the most of our island: the fish from the sea, the chips from the land. World beaters!
2.巨石阵。 这些伟岸的石柱矗立在索尔兹伯里平原上(尽管你到它们面前可能发现它们不如你想像中那样大)，
2.Stonehenge. The mighty solemn stones stand on Salisbury Plain (though actually when you get there they’re not as big as you’d like them tobe)，
向我们展示着没人知道的我们高贵的祖先的文化。
an ancient reminder of our noble ancestors and their ancient culture, about which we know nothing whatsoever。
嗨，但我们至少知道一点： 他们当时可没有安全帽戴。
But what we do know is this: they didn’t build it wearing hard hats. In other words, one of our greatest achievements was, um, achieved without the intervention of Health and Safety。
换一句话说，我们的一大成就是，嗯，不用安全卫生管理协会掺和也能建成这么个大家伙。
In other words, one of our greatest achievements was, um, achieved without the intervention of Health and Safety。
原因嘛，青铜时代的英国人可能会这样或那样，但他们绝不会像某些软蛋那样，让自己脑袋故意撞上什么去骗赔偿金。
Because Bronze Age British man was many things, but he wasn’t some soft-handed twerp hoping to bang his head and claim the compensation。
3.英语。 英语本来就是合乎人性的语言。
3.The English language. English is the natural language of the human being。
所以你出国的时候冲着人家用英语喊就可以了，只要你叫得够响，他们的脑袋里一定会产生英语回声，这样他们就能明白你了。
That’s why, when you go abroad, if you shout at people loud enough in English their brains will reverberate to their original frequency and they’ll understand you。
4.英式幽默感。 毫无疑问我们的幽默感天下第一。
4.The British sense of humour. We have the greatest sense of humour in the world, without a doubt。
我们的笑话最好笑，而且没有人像我们这样常拿自己开涮(我怎么没见到德国人像我们这样拿自己开玩笑的呢，谁见过？)，
Our jokes are the funniest and, unlike everyone else, we can laugh about ourselves (why don’t the Germans find themselves funny the way we do?Search me)，
哪怕英国的现状没啥可开心的。
even though there’s nothing funny whatsoever about the current state of the country。
5.天气。 英国的天气，初看上去的话，讨人厌，死相，骇人，难以容忍，恐怖，雷人，可怜，烂，糟糕。
5.The weather. The British weather is, at first glance, dreadful,ghastly, horrendous, outrageous, horrible, shocking, woeful, rotten,bad。
但正由于英国天气的丰富多彩与变化多端才让我们的语言产生了如此丰富的辞藻来形容它。
But because of its endless variety and change ability we’ve ended up with anamazingly expressive language with which to describe it。
拜我们得天独厚的天气所赐，我们的语言已经成为这个世界上最棒的母语了(参见上述第三点)。我们的语言遥遥领先，顶顶棒。
Our language, because of the weather, has blossomed into the most incredible mother tongue the world has ever known (see No 3, above).Our language is the best by a mile。
6.运动传统。 他们说不在输赢，重在参与。
6.Sporting tradition. It’s not the winning, it’s the taking part thatcounts, they say. porting tradition. It’s not the winning, it’s the taking part that counts, they say。
可是如果我们连世界杯和我们自己搞的“奥运会”的预赛都通不过，
But when we don’t qualify for the World Cup or get past the heats at our own Olympics
(即英联邦运动会；因美国人、俄国人和中国人不能参加，我们拿牌的机会可以大一点)我们可怎么参与呢？
(the Commonwealth Games, to which the Americans, Russians and Chinese arenot invited, mainly to increase our chance of winning medals)， how arewe supposed to take part?
没问题，我们已经参与了，是通过发明运动项目来参与的。尽管我们没参加比赛，但我们仍“参与”比赛。他们比赛里打、挥、挂、投和跑，用的是我们发明的球、球棍、网、标枪、跑道和场地。
Well,we already did, by inventing the games and sports. Although we’re not there, we’re there. It’s our ball/mallet/net/javelin/track/fieldthey're all playing with/on/at。
所以，我们才是胜者，每一个奖牌都属于我们。
Therefore, we win. Each and every one of those medals belongs to us。
7.火车。 英国人根据在1829年Rainhill Trial内燃机车大赛获胜者“火箭”的原型发明了火车。当时，“火箭”号非常缓慢地驶向利物浦，这很公平。
7.Trains. The British invented the train, in the form of the Rocket,which won the Rainhill Trials in 1829 by travelling towards Liverpool very slowly, which seems fair enough。
火车常晚点，肮脏、拥挤、臭哄哄的，让人不舒服——铁路就这样诞生了。
It was late, dirty, crowded, smelly, uncomfortable—and so the railway was born。
自从那以后火车就在世界上流行起来，因此每一辆火车都有一颗英国心，你对此不会有异议吧？
Since then, trains have sprung up all over the world and each and every one of them is British at heart. You can't argue with that, can you?
8.皇室。 全世界的人们都到英国来看他们，或者至少看看在白金汉宫守卫他们的卫队。
8.The Royal Family. People come from all over the world to see the Royal Family, or at least the people who guard them at Buckingham Palace。
如果没有皇室的话，我们每一个人都不知道我们的社会地位是什么了(即我们的地位各自比他们低多少)。就因为这个原因，我们每个人都很开心，因为我们真的需要知道自己在社会上的地位。
If it wasn’t for the Royals we wouldn’t have any sense of place (ie,beneath them). And, thanks to that, we’re all happy, because people really need to know where they are in life。
其实，作为皇室成员也没什么好的，他们到哪儿都有记者、保镖和疯子跟着。
And being Royal can’t be that good. They’re followed everywhere by the press, bodyguards and nutters。
所以，为了让我们每个人知道自己的社会地位，他们做出了很多伟大的牺牲，比如说住在与世隔绝的宫殿里，而不能与他们的人民住在一起。
So,for the service of making us know our place, they make many great sacrifices, such as living in isolated palaces rather than among their people。
好啦，这些就是为什么英国现在是而且一直是魁首的8个无可争辩的理由。
So there we have it, eight good and sound reasons why Britain is and has always been top dog。
你上班、吃饭，甚至——如果必须的话——泡吧的时候，都应该想着它们。这样你的生活会永远充实而且保证你会成为论战的常胜将军。
Take these with you to your workplace, the dinner table or even—if you must—the pub. You’ll find your life endlessly enriched and there won'tbe an argument you won't win。
1.Fish and chips. The British have a proud tradition of monarchy and navy. What nations eat tells you everything you need to know about them。
意大利人吃匹萨饼，这表明什么呢，他们全靠外卖食品生存？
Italians eat pizza and what does that suggest, relying on take away food for sustenance?
我们是一个岛屿国家，由于我们英国人都很有常识，所以我们发现吃炸鱼加土豆条是最好的。
The point is we live on an island and, because of our strong driving force of Common Sense, we have made the most of it by eating fish and chips。
我们充分发挥了岛国的优势：鱼来自大海，土豆条产自陆地，全球最佳菜谱组合！
We’re making the most of our island: the fish from the sea, the chips from the land. World beaters!
2.巨石阵。 这些伟岸的石柱矗立在索尔兹伯里平原上(尽管你到它们面前可能发现它们不如你想像中那样大)，
2.Stonehenge. The mighty solemn stones stand on Salisbury Plain (though actually when you get there they’re not as big as you’d like them tobe)，
向我们展示着没人知道的我们高贵的祖先的文化。
an ancient reminder of our noble ancestors and their ancient culture, about which we know nothing whatsoever。
嗨，但我们至少知道一点： 他们当时可没有安全帽戴。
But what we do know is this: they didn’t build it wearing hard hats. In other words, one of our greatest achievements was, um, achieved without the intervention of Health and Safety。
换一句话说，我们的一大成就是，嗯，不用安全卫生管理协会掺和也能建成这么个大家伙。
In other words, one of our greatest achievements was, um, achieved without the intervention of Health and Safety。
原因嘛，青铜时代的英国人可能会这样或那样，但他们绝不会像某些软蛋那样，让自己脑袋故意撞上什么去骗赔偿金。
Because Bronze Age British man was many things, but he wasn’t some soft-handed twerp hoping to bang his head and claim the compensation。
3.英语。 英语本来就是合乎人性的语言。
3.The English language. English is the natural language of the human being。
所以你出国的时候冲着人家用英语喊就可以了，只要你叫得够响，他们的脑袋里一定会产生英语回声，这样他们就能明白你了。
That’s why, when you go abroad, if you shout at people loud enough in English their brains will reverberate to their original frequency and they’ll understand you。
4.英式幽默感。 毫无疑问我们的幽默感天下第一。
4.The British sense of humour. We have the greatest sense of humour in the world, without a doubt。
我们的笑话最好笑，而且没有人像我们这样常拿自己开涮(我怎么没见到德国人像我们这样拿自己开玩笑的呢，谁见过？)，
Our jokes are the funniest and, unlike everyone else, we can laugh about ourselves (why don’t the Germans find themselves funny the way we do?Search me)，
哪怕英国的现状没啥可开心的。
even though there’s nothing funny whatsoever about the current state of the country。
5.天气。 英国的天气，初看上去的话，讨人厌，死相，骇人，难以容忍，恐怖，雷人，可怜，烂，糟糕。
5.The weather. The British weather is, at first glance, dreadful,ghastly, horrendous, outrageous, horrible, shocking, woeful, rotten,bad。
但正由于英国天气的丰富多彩与变化多端才让我们的语言产生了如此丰富的辞藻来形容它。
But because of its endless variety and change ability we’ve ended up with anamazingly expressive language with which to describe it。
拜我们得天独厚的天气所赐，我们的语言已经成为这个世界上最棒的母语了(参见上述第三点)。我们的语言遥遥领先，顶顶棒。
Our language, because of the weather, has blossomed into the most incredible mother tongue the world has ever known (see No 3, above).Our language is the best by a mile。
6.运动传统。 他们说不在输赢，重在参与。
6.Sporting tradition. It’s not the winning, it’s the taking part thatcounts, they say. porting tradition. It’s not the winning, it’s the taking part that counts, they say。
可是如果我们连世界杯和我们自己搞的“奥运会”的预赛都通不过，
But when we don’t qualify for the World Cup or get past the heats at our own Olympics
(即英联邦运动会；因美国人、俄国人和中国人不能参加，我们拿牌的机会可以大一点)我们可怎么参与呢？
(the Commonwealth Games, to which the Americans, Russians and Chinese arenot invited, mainly to increase our chance of winning medals)， how arewe supposed to take part?
没问题，我们已经参与了，是通过发明运动项目来参与的。尽管我们没参加比赛，但我们仍“参与”比赛。他们比赛里打、挥、挂、投和跑，用的是我们发明的球、球棍、网、标枪、跑道和场地。
Well,we already did, by inventing the games and sports. Although we’re not there, we’re there. It’s our ball/mallet/net/javelin/track/fieldthey're all playing with/on/at。
所以，我们才是胜者，每一个奖牌都属于我们。
Therefore, we win. Each and every one of those medals belongs to us。
7.火车。 英国人根据在1829年Rainhill Trial内燃机车大赛获胜者“火箭”的原型发明了火车。当时，“火箭”号非常缓慢地驶向利物浦，这很公平。
7.Trains. The British invented the train, in the form of the Rocket,which won the Rainhill Trials in 1829 by travelling towards Liverpool very slowly, which seems fair enough。
火车常晚点，肮脏、拥挤、臭哄哄的，让人不舒服——铁路就这样诞生了。
It was late, dirty, crowded, smelly, uncomfortable—and so the railway was born。
自从那以后火车就在世界上流行起来，因此每一辆火车都有一颗英国心，你对此不会有异议吧？
Since then, trains have sprung up all over the world and each and every one of them is British at heart. You can't argue with that, can you?
8.皇室。 全世界的人们都到英国来看他们，或者至少看看在白金汉宫守卫他们的卫队。
8.The Royal Family. People come from all over the world to see the Royal Family, or at least the people who guard them at Buckingham Palace。
如果没有皇室的话，我们每一个人都不知道我们的社会地位是什么了(即我们的地位各自比他们低多少)。就因为这个原因，我们每个人都很开心，因为我们真的需要知道自己在社会上的地位。
If it wasn’t for the Royals we wouldn’t have any sense of place (ie,beneath them). And, thanks to that, we’re all happy, because people really need to know where they are in life。
其实，作为皇室成员也没什么好的，他们到哪儿都有记者、保镖和疯子跟着。
And being Royal can’t be that good. They’re followed everywhere by the press, bodyguards and nutters。
所以，为了让我们每个人知道自己的社会地位，他们做出了很多伟大的牺牲，比如说住在与世隔绝的宫殿里，而不能与他们的人民住在一起。
So,for the service of making us know our place, they make many great sacrifices, such as living in isolated palaces rather than among their people。
好啦，这些就是为什么英国现在是而且一直是魁首的8个无可争辩的理由。
So there we have it, eight good and sound reasons why Britain is and has always been top dog。
你上班、吃饭，甚至——如果必须的话——泡吧的时候，都应该想着它们。这样你的生活会永远充实而且保证你会成为论战的常胜将军。
Take these with you to your workplace, the dinner table or even—if you must—the pub. You’ll find your life endlessly enriched and there won'tbe an argument you won't win。
