商務禮節美語第52期:食物(1)

美國駐中國員工Tiffany 跟中國同事Kelly聊天兒。

Kelly Yan: So Tiffany, you've been working with us here in China for a few months now. Are you still feeling culture shock?

Tiffany Scolini: Yes, a bit. But it's much better than the first few weeks. Back then I was really a fish out of water.

K: Remember the first time I took you to eat real Chinese food? You barely touched anything!

T: I know! I was scared! A lot of the food here is very different from back home. And the Chinese restaurants I've been to in America are very different from here.

Tiffany來中國幾個月，文化上還是有些不習慣，I am still feeling culture shock a little bit. 不過，跟剛開始比已經強多了。剛來那會兒，I was really a fish out of water. 就象離了水的魚，意思是跟環境格格不入，特別不自在。Kelly第一次帶Tiffany去中國餐館吃飯，Tiffany幾乎沒動筷子，因爲這兒的中餐館跟美國的中餐館差別太大了。

K: Yeah. We Chinese like to joke about American Chinese food. It's really not very authentic.

T: Yes, that's true. But I think it's true all around the world. You really have to be in the food's original country to truly experience it. My family is Italian and in Italy they think American-Italian food is awful!

K: Oh, but I love pizza!

T: Me, too! But the pizza in Italy isn't anything like American pizza. In the U.S. we like to borrow the general idea of a food, and then we give it an American twist.

吃中國飯去中國，吃意大利菜去意大利，這樣才能吃到最正宗的，authentic, a-u-t-h-e-n-t-i-c, authentic. 在美國，雖然什麼都能吃得到，但是美國人喜歡把別人的菜拿來，give it an American twist，加入美國自己的特色。

K: I remember when I was in the States I ordered fish one time. When the dish arrived I was surprised to see just a little chunk of meat. I thought "Where is the head and tail?"

T: (laughs) . In the States we almost never leave the head and tail on a fish! Americans are kind of squeamish when it comes to dead animals. We would never—not in a million years—leave the head on a chicken!

K: Yeah, that's right! I never saw a chicken head when I was there.

Kelly回憶說，她在美國點魚，結果上來的只是一盤魚肉。原來，美國人不吃魚頭和魚尾。Tiffany解釋說，Americans are kind of squeamish when it comes to dead animals，美國人對殺生非常敏感。Squeamish意思是容易受驚的，神經質的。Americans would never—not in a million years—leave the head on a chicken. 美國人絕不會把雞頭留在盤子裏。這裏說的not in a million years, 一百萬年都不會，是強調的意思。Tiffany對中國菜還有哪些印象呢？我們下次繼續聽。