Life and Language‏

When Richard Springer visited Boston for the first time last summer, he had a craving for a chocolate milkshake. The Orange County, California, native’s mouth watered as he thought of savoring the sumptuous, frothy concoction, thick with frosty ice cream. “That,” he thought, “would be the perfect way to beat the heat.”
李察‧史普林格去年夏天首度造訪
波士頓時，他渴望吃一客巧克力
奶昔。生長在加州橘郡的他，一想到品
嚐那豪華、泡沫多多、又濃又稠、還加
有冰淇淋的混合飲料，口水就要流出來
了。他想道：「那將是對抗酷熱的絕佳
點子。」
When the waitress brought Richard his libation, he took a swig and was immediately surprised and disappointed. The shake was merely jiggled chocolate milk, sans ice cream. Richard didn’t realize that in the capital of Massachusetts, a milkshake is just that—shaken milk. Had he wanted an ice cream treat, he should have ordered a frappe—the local term for the refreshment.
女侍端來飲料，他立刻喝了一大
口，頓時吃了一驚，也很失望。這個奶
昔只是用力搖晃過的巧克力牛奶，根本
沒有冰淇淋。李察不知道在這個麻州首
府裡，m i l k s h a k e（奶昔）是名符其實的
s h a k e n（搖過的）m i l k（牛奶）。如果他
要的是加有冰淇淋的，他就應該點
frappe，那才是波士頓人對奶昔的稱呼。

It wouldn’t be the first time Richard would be scratching his head during a visit to the Northeastern part of the United States. The region, Richard discovered, was a place where people talked fast, spoke with thick accents, and lived much more intensely than citizens in other sections of America.
這並非李察造訪美國東北部時，第一次搔頭不解了。李察發現這個地區的
人說話快、有濃重的口音、生活得比美
國其他地方的人都緊張。

Richard greeted people with a friendly “Hello,” only to receive staccato bursts of "Yo,”"Hi-there,” “How-areya” and “Have-a-good-day” in return as people hurried on their way. Northerners live in the fast lane, where time is precious. New Yorkers are known to schedule meetings for 3:00, 3:15 and 3:30, knowing they will never be able to keep the appointments. Their desire to set a pace to get the most out of every minute keeps them pushing their limits.
李察友善地向別人說「哈囉」打招
呼，換來的只是音節短而重的「你」、
「嗨，你」、「你好嗎？」以及「祝你有
愉快的一天」，人們一面說，一面匆匆走
過。北方人都活在快車道上，時間寶
貴。大家都知道紐約人安排會面時間是
像三點、三點十五分、三點半這樣排
的，同時他們也曉得自己一定無法準時
赴約。他們渴望設定一個步調來儘可能
的利用每一分鐘，於是一直迫使自己去
做超越極限的事。

Unused to people taking such liberties with pronunciation, Richard was somewhat puzzled when he heard Bostonians ask for a “beah” instead of a beer and “pahster” rather than pasta. But he soon learned that residents of the North talk the way they live—as individualists—and the urban areas such as Boston, Hartford, New York and Philadelphia offer an ethnic smorgasbord that still has regional identities today.
李察不習慣人們如此隨意地發音，
所以聽到波士頓人點b e e r（啤酒）時說
b e a h；要p a s t a（義大利麵）卻說p a hs
t e r，總有點困惑。不過他很快就知道，
北方人說話方式與其生活方式一樣，都
很有個人風格。像波士頓、哈特福、紐
約與費城等都會區是各種種族的大集
結，但迄今仍保有其地區本身的特色。

People of Italian, Puerto Rican and Vietnamese ancestry, both recent immigrants and second- and third-generation American citizens, blend the sounds of their native tongues with their English. Upper Crust Bostonians of proper English pedigree, too, flavor their English with a British tinge. Working-class Boston enunciation, it’s been said, is merely English marinated in corned beef and cabbage, doused with clam sauce from Little Italy—a reference to the Irish and Italian heritage that is still
predominant in the area.
具有義大利、波多黎各與越南族裔
背景的人，不論是新移民或第二、第三
代美國公民，說話時將其母語混在英語
裡。擁有正統英國家系的波士頓上流社
會人士也一樣，他們也把英文加進英國
的味道。聽說工人階級的波士頓口音是
英文在醃牛肉與甘藍菜中泡過後，再浸
入小義大利區製造的蛤蜊醬，即表示此
區目前仍居主流的愛爾蘭與義大利文化
的傳統的影響。

Northerners are proud of their accents—and their history. Citizens are secure in their regional identity. They are welcoming, if sometimes reserved, to visitors. Most residents are described as stoic; after all, fierce snowstorms blanket the region during the winter—when temperatures drop to 20 degrees below zero (-12oC) —while thermometers can top 100 degrees (39 degrees C) in the summer.
北方人對於自己的口音和歷史都很
自豪。他們蠻自恣於本身的區域歸屬。
雖然有時可能有點緘默，但基本上他們
歡迎外來遊客。此地居民大多被視為冷
靜自制，不太情緒化；畢竟整個冬天凜
冽的暴風雪籠罩此區，溫度降至零下廿
度；而夏天的氣溫則可能高達華氏一百
度。
Without a doubt, the central core of the northern-tier states is New York City, a metropolis that has a brashness all its own. New York can be an audacious, unique and intense place. The metronomic rhythm of urban life is more pronounced in the Big Apple; syncopation is reflected in daily conversation.
毫無疑問，北方這一連續的各州之
中，核心地區是紐約市，一個很自以為
是的大都會。紐約市有可能在外人眼中
是大膽、獨特又緊張的地方，在俗稱
「大蘋果」的紐約市更格外的顯出城市生
活的都會步調。

It's been said that New Yorkers have a chip on their shoulder; they think everyone should look up to them because they live in the world’s most important and unique city. Perhaps they do,but other sections of the United States wouldn't be so bold to publicly proclaim it.
他們借用日常生活的語
言來打破這種一成不變的步調。早有人
說紐約人脾氣大，他們認為每個人都應
該敬他們三分，因為他們住在世界上最
重要、最獨特的城市。也許他們確實如
此，但美國其他地方的人就不會那般大
膽地公開宣稱這一點。

And New Yorkers pride themselves on quick quip or a biting sarcastic remark.
Many residents tell of the violinist who was lost and trying to find a noted cultural landmark. He stopped a New Yorker and asked how to get to Carnegie Hall. “Practice,” the New Yorker immediately replied. “Practice.”
紐約人也很自豪能夠妙語如珠或出
言挑釁的諷刺。許多居民都會說這個提
琴手的故事：此人迷了路，正試著找一
個著名的文化中心。他攔下一位紐約
客，問對方怎樣才能到卡內基音樂廳
去。「練習，」紐約客馬上回答，「不斷
地練習。」

?Word Banksumptuous (adj) 高價豪華的；奢侈的
concoction (n) 混合物；調配的飲料
swig (n) （俚）牛飲；一口氣喝下
sans (prep) 沒有；缺

staccato (adj) 不連接的；中斷的

smorgasbord (n) 瑞典式之自助餐提供之三明治、沙拉、水果、甜點

ancestry (n) 先祖
tinge (n) 有一點⋯意味

stoic (adj) 禁慾的；不開通的；堅忍的

core (n) 核心；中心
tier (n) 連續的
syncopation (n) 加強弱音節來表現不同

quip (n) 妙語；雙關語；譏諷語

The Day's Phrase

Can one learn a language effectively from a nonnative speaker?
跟非母語人士學習語言效果會更好嗎？

You'll be late if you don't leave soon. You'd better get going!

Shannon has her heart set on going to Canada this summer. She'll be so disappointed if she can't go!
莎儂已經打定主意今年夏天去加拿大。如果她不能去，她會很失望的！
你不快離開的話會遲到的。你該走了！

Saving the planet one font at a time想拯救地球，一次一種字型就能辦到
I haven't played the piano in years. I'm really out of practice!我已經好幾年沒彈鋼琴了。現在已經很生疏了！

Meet a man who changed modern music見識這位改變了現代音樂的人物
Could you please give me the instructions? His instructions were as clear as mud!可以請你給我指示嗎？他給的指示根本完全不清楚嘛！

Brandy looks beautiful tonight. She came dressed to kill.
布蘭蒂今晚看起來美極了。她來時穿著令人驚艷的衣服。

Biofuels are definitely cleaner, but are there problems with them too?
生質燃料確實污染較少，但會不會伴隨其他問題呢？

Could you please read me this letter? I'm blind as a bat without my glasses.
你可以唸這封信給我聽嗎？我不戴眼鏡就像瞎子一樣呢。

This company works to help the world save much-needed water
這家公司致力於協助世界節約亟需的水資源

I know you told me your name four times, but I forgot it again - my mind is like a sieve.
我知道你告訴過我你的名字四次了，可是我又忘了──我可真健忘呢！

He was wearing a really old suit that had holes in it. It's high time he bought a new one.
他穿著一套很舊的西裝，上面還有洞。該是他買一套新西裝的時候了。

A fairytale comes true for one day
童話故事至少在這天成真了

The teacher is in a bad frame of mind because her boyfriend made her angry.
老師的心情不太好，因為她男朋友惹她生氣。

What do you do when you must work with a difficult person?
不得不與很難相處的人共事時，該怎

Don't make her do all those things; she's had a very stressful day! Cut her some slack.
別叫她做這所有的事；她今天的壓力已經夠大了！給她多點時間吧。