|
Text 1
About the author
Born in Beijing, China, Lensey Namioka moved to the United
States with her family when she was nine. Although she was
an adept mathematician, her interest in telling stories took
precedence, and she started to write books set in ancient
Japan. Her other books are set in China as well as in contemporary
America, where she explores the lives of young immigrants
and their families. Among the awards her books have won are
a Parent's Choice Gold Medal and the Washington State Governor's
Writers Award (three times). Village of the Vampire Cat
was an Edgar Allan Poe Juvenile Mystery Award nominee. And
Ties That Bind, Ties That Break was selected
by the American Library Association as one of the Top 10 Best
Book for Young Adults in 2000.
About the story
In "The All-American Slurp," the narrator is embarrassed
by her ignorance of American table manners. Sometimes even
the most common customs can seem like enormous learning experiences.
This comical short story is told by a Chinese-American girl.
Both she and her girlfriend, Meg, learn about the similarities
and differences between their cultures during the many humorous
scenarios presented by the author. Both girls' families learn
to be patient and kind as they work through the culture shock
they experience during shared meal times.
Language notes
1.
The first time our family was invited out to dinner in America,
we disgraced ourselves while eating celery.
（到美国后，我们一家人第一次应邀出席晚宴，就在吃芹菜时出了洋相。）
Disgrace oneself means to bring shame on oneself or
to lose one's face.
2.
In China we never ate celery raw, or any other kind of vegetable
raw.
（在中国，我们从不生吃芹菜,也不生吃其他任何蔬菜。）
Raw here means not cooked. For example, In China
we never ate celery raw can also be put in this way, In
China we never ate celery without cooking it.
3.
We always had to disinfect the vegetables in boiling water
first.
（我们总是先把蔬菜用开水消毒。）
Disinfect means to cleanse so as to destroy or prevent
the growth of disease-carrying bacteria.
4.
We had been invited to dinner by our neighbors, the Gleasons.
（邀请我们共进晚餐的是我们的邻居，格林森一家人。）
Note that the surname Gleason follows an article "the"
and is used in its plural form. It refers to the whole
family of Mr. Gleason.
e.g. the Smiths史密斯一家人
the Blacks 布莱克一家人
5.
Mother picked up one of the green stalks, and Father followed
suit.
（妈妈拿起一根，爸爸随即效仿。）
The phrase follow suit means to do the same as someone
else does.
e.g. Once one bank raised its interest rate, all the others
followed suit.
6.
It's my own recipe: sour cream and onion flakes, with a dash
of Tabasco sauce.
（这是我自己设计的配方：酸奶油和洋葱片，又加了一点塔巴斯可酱油。）
The phrase a dash of means a small amount of something
added or mixed.
e.g. a dash of pepper （少许胡椒粉）
a dash of salt （少许盐）
red with a dash of blue （红色中带一点蓝色）
The flag adds a dash of colour to the grey building. （旗帜给那座灰色的大楼增添了一些色彩。）
7.
My brother didn't have any problems making friends.
(弟弟在交朋友方面很顺利。)
Note that have any problems is followed by a present
participle. A preposition in before the present participle
has been omitted. Prepositions before some present participles
can be omitted.
e.g. He spent most of his spare time (in) learning how to
operate computers.
There is no way to prevent him (from) lying because he has
been used to dishonesty.
Do you have any difficulty (in) understanding spoken English?
He had no trouble (in) finding the new address.
He ran out to stop them (from) attacking the loaded carts.
There is no use (in) talking about the matter with him.
8.
Mother decided not to take a chance with chicken gizzards.
(妈妈决定不做酱爆鸡胗了——那太冒险了。)
In this sentence, chance means risk.
e.g. The rope might break, but that's a chance we'll have
to take.
There is always an element of chance in buying stocks and
shares.
9.
She had been taking food from a second dish before she finished
eating her helping from the first!
(她从一个盘子里盛的菜还没吃完，便又从另一个盘子里弄吃的了。)
Helping means a single portion of food.
e.g. Would you like a second helping of soup?
(您还想再来一份汤吗？)
I'd like a second helping; I'm still hungry!
(我想再来一客,我还没有吃饱呢!)
10.
Although I didn't really want anything more to eat, I insisted
on paying for the milkshakes.
（尽管我没想再吃东西，我还是坚持由我来付费买奶昔。）
The phrase insist on doing something means to consider
something very important or to place great importance on something.
Note the that-clause after the word insist is in the
subjunctive mood.
e.g. I insisted that he (should) come with us.
Text 2
Language notes
1.
Jeans and open shirts are sometimes not allowed.
(穿牛仔裤或敞怀衬衫的人有时会被拒之门外。)
Open here mean not fasten or folded.
e.g. His shirt was open at the neck.
2.
In many ways, Americans are more relaxed than British people,
but they are more careful with their clothes.
（在许多方面，美国人比英国人更为随意。但在衣着方面，美国人却更为考究。）
Relaxed here means informal.
3.
But when they go out in the evening, they like to look elegant.
（但如果晚间外出的话，他们喜欢打扮得优雅得体。）
Like 之后既可用动名词作宾语，也可用不定式作宾语，意义无甚出入。此类动词还有hate, love, prefer,
begin, start等。
e.g. Will you start reading/to read?
In winter the boys love playing/to play football.
He likes dancing/to dance.
但是，在like, love, prefer, hate 后，表示一个特定的新动作时，一般用不定式作宾语。
e.g. I'd prefer to walk this morning.
I hate to disappoint my parents.
4.
In good hotels and restaurants, men have to wear jackets and
ties, and women wear pretty clothes and smart hairstyles.
（在高级宾馆或酒店里，男士必须打领带穿西装，女士必须衣着漂亮，发型入时。）
Wear means to have something on one's body. In most
cases, the word wear is followed by clothing staff,
such as shirts, trousers, skirts, coats and so on. But sometimes,
it can be followed by something else, for protection, decoration
or other purposes.
e.g. She usually wears her hair up.
She was wearing her diamonds.
She wears an expensive perfume.
He wore glasses to protect his eyes from the strong sunlight.
Is it compulsory to wear seat belts when you are driving?
5.
Ask for a soft drink if you don't like alcohol.
（如果不喜欢喝酒，你可以要一些不含酒精的饮料。）
Soft here means containing no alcohol and usually sweet
and served cold.
e.g. Coca-cola is a soft drink.
The word soft is capable of different interpretations
in different contexts.
e.g. baby's soft skin (pleasant smooth)
a soft whisper (quiet, not noisy)
Soft lights and sweet music create a romantic atmosphere.
(restful and pleasant to the senses, esp. to the eyes)
a soft breeze (gentle)
I think the courts are too soft with these young offenders.
(not severe enough)
We are lucky the local water is quite soft. (free from certain
minerals)
TOP |
