邢 新
Mary:Excuse me, I am a stranger(陌生人,門外漢) here, I want to buy a map of this city.Can you tell me where I could get one?
Li:Of course,Im glad to.It is available(可用到的,可用的,有用的) in any bookstore.
Mary:And may I know where the nearest bookstore is?
Li:Go west,and you will find one.
Mary:Its outrageous(無恥的,可惡的,不能容忍的)!
Li:Whats wrong with you?
外國游客Mary想買一張城市地圖,于是她向路人Li打聽附近書店的位置。Li很高興地告訴Mary往西走,于是想當然地說“Go West”,殊不知“Go West”在英語里是“死,上西天”的意思,難怪Mary會如此憤怒。西方國家的人在描述道路方向時,一般不使用“東、西、南、北”這樣的詞語,而只說“左、右”。以上對話中Li的回答可以改成這樣:
Mary:Excuse me, I am a stranger here, I want to buy a map of this city. Can you tell me where I could get one?
Li:Of course, Im glad to. It is available in any bookstore.
Mary:And may I know where the nearest bookstore is?
Li:Go straight and turn left, and you will find one.
Mary:Thank you so much!
Li:You are welcome.