老美五大禁忌話題 你中槍了嗎？
Americans, as you may know, have a reputation for being talkative (a nicer word for loud). We tend to have a lot to say, and we tend to feel pretty comfortable saying it. Still, there are some taboo topics that even Americans don't like to discuss. So, when in conversation with a chatty American, try not to bring up …
衆所周知，老美向來以健談行走於江湖（換句話說就是聒噪）。他們總有說不完的話，他們很享受談話的感覺。然而，即便健談如老美，也有些話題需要回避。因此，與健談的老美聊天，謹忌以下話題……
1. Money
1. 金錢
Money makes the world go round, and Americans are, at times, "all about the Benjamins" (Benjamin Franklin appears on our $100 bill). However, just because money's on your mind doesn't mean it should be a key part of your conversational repertoire. It's considered impolite to ask about someone's salary, or to discuss other matters of personal finance.
有錢能使鬼推磨，老美有時也“本傑明至上”（注：即“金錢至上”，100美元上有本傑明·富蘭克林的頭像）。不過，心裏惦記錢跟討論話題集中在錢上又是兩碼事。如果你談論別人的薪資或個人財產，大家會覺得你沒禮貌。
2. Weight
2. 體重
【Americans have famously enormous appetites – I once went to a French ice cream shop where the sizes were small, medium, large, and American.】But discussing someone else's weight is considered extremely rude in the United States. A person’s weight is private, and making comments about is definitely considered disrespectful.
【老美素以“大胃王”著稱——我去過一家法國冰淇淋店，裏面冰淇淋的尺寸分爲小、中、大以及老美特供尺寸。】但是，在美帝，討論別人的體重是極其無禮的行爲。個人體重屬於隱私，對此發表意見就是不尊重他人。
3. Politics
3. 政治
We have all kinds of political opinions in the United States, and the range of popular beliefs runs across a much wider spectrum than in some other nations. Just follow an American presidential election and you'll see that our political system is hardly even civilized. It's not that talking politics is an unforgivable taboo in the United States, just that it's probably not such a good idea to bring it up unless you're prepared for a potential argument.
美帝充斥着各種政治觀點，主流觀點的範圍也遠比其他一些國家寬鬆得多。參見任意一場美國總統大選，你都會覺得他們的政治體系遠非想象中那麼文明。我並不是說在美帝談論政治是無法原諒的禁忌，而是奉勸大家，如果你沒有準備好進行一場強有力的辯論，那麼最好就別開始這個話題。
4. Religion
4. 宗教
Similarly, though the United States is a relatively religious country, personal beliefs are rarely brought up in casual conversation. It's a good idea to get to know someone a little bit before discussing his or her religious backgrounds or practices. Faith is usually considered a private matter (though it certainly plays a sizable role in the American public sphere as well, particularly amongst politicians who are keen to show an allegiance to it).
同樣，儘管美帝相對而言是個宗教國家，個人信仰卻很少出現在日常對話中。如果在稍微瞭解對方一些後，再開始談論宗教背景或宗教活動的話題，會比較好。信仰也被視爲個人隱私（儘管信仰在美國大衆生活中扮演着很重要的角色，尤其那些政客熱衷於宣誓他們忠於信仰）。
5. Soccer
5. 足球
First of all: We call it "soccer", not football. Americans are proud of their homegrown sports like baseball and American football, and professional soccer is relatively unpopular. We prefer our sporting events to be saturated with American patriotism and plenty of game-day snacks. If you want to talk soccer with a stubborn American sports fan, be prepared to start with the basics—and to encounter a whole lot of resistance to the world's favorite sport.
首先要指出，此處我們討論的是“足球”（soccer），而不是美式橄欖球（football）。老美對他們諸如棒球和美式橄欖球的本土體育運動深以爲豪，而職業足球就相對冷門了。老美更喜歡把體育賽事與他們的愛國情懷和比賽日零食融爲一談。如果你執意要跟一位美國老頑固體育迷討論足球，請從基本常識談起——然後準備好迎接老美對這項風靡世界的體育運動狂風暴雨般的牴觸情緒吧！
