《找不着北》章节试读

《找不着北》的笔记-老外给中式英语纠错 - 老外给中式英语纠错

《找不着北》—CCTV洋主播的中国故事 – My China Daily
Edwin Maher (新西兰著)
China – a country I originally had no intention of even visiting.
“This guy is nuts,” I can hear you saying. “这家伙发神经了吧”，我猜你肯定要这么说。
Voices are my trade. 我是靠声音吃饭的。
Voice train the broadcasters 培训他们的播音员
Before I had time to realize what I had done, they responded positively and set the wheels of hiring me in motion. 我还没有来得及想清楚自己究竟做了些什么，他们就回信了！答复是肯定的，而且他们紧锣密鼓地行动起来。
My family waving goodbye. 全家人都来送我
While sad to see me go, they were making sure I didn’t change my mind at the last minute.
他们舍不得我走，确认我不会在最后一刻变卦。
At times I have felt disabled in China – blind, deaf and dumb to its language.
在中国，我常常觉得自己像个残疾人—面对汉语，我就像个又聋又哑的盲人。
I was a real dummy when I arrived. 刚来的时候，我一句汉语都说不了。
Maybe I wasn’t saying it clearly.
Conductor 售票员
It was a dismal start to my second day in China. 在中国呆的第二天，真是让人郁闷啊。
But I wasn’t giving up that easily.
He couldn’t speak much English.
“Where exactly in Beijing are you?” ”Haven’t a clue.”
With growing confidence……
Wearing a smart business suit and tie, he would surely speak English wouldn’t he?
Seemed very concerned. 看起来很关心我的境况
He showed me two fingers. Now in Austria, that’s really rude, but I got the message.
I was now speechless, I felt somewhat embarrassed having thought he would even accept a tip.
Ask any expatriate about the highs and lows of living in China, and there will be always a story starting, “I had this really amazing experience…” It happens to us all.
他肯定一张嘴就是“我的经历可神了……”
Still struggling with only a few words of Chinese, I continue soaking up their sounds on public transport. Its mobile stages provide a daily dose of contemporary ‘Peking Opera’ starring driver and conductor supported by a huge cast of extras – the always changing passengers.
我还是只知道寥寥几个汉语单词，但却坚持搭乘公共交通工具，每天泡在汉语的海洋里面。主角就是司机和售票员，还有一大群跑龙套的—那些来来往往的乘客们。
The ‘Opera’ was about to begin. It would feature a young man seated next to me, silent at first, but no doubt mentally working out his opening lines. The curtain was about to rise. His time to ‘perform’ had arrived.
好“戏”马上就要开场了。这次的主角是坐在我旁边的一个年轻人。他一开始非常沉默，但是，毫无疑问，他当时肯定正在为他的开场白打腹稿呢。大幕就要拉开，他就要“粉墨登场”了。
Taking my own cue, I explained my desire to absorb the human Chinese sights and sounds.
我也一边给自己提着词儿，一边解释说，因为我想感受中国世俗的景象和声音。
China Federation Trade Unions 中华全国总工会
His courage to speak to me in English was impressive. Knowing how difficult it must have been, I promoted him and he persevered throughout the 30-minute ride. I was ‘bowled over’(as we say down under) by his ‘performance’. But it wasn’t stage-managed. His ‘acting’ came from the heart.
Strong handshakes offered my genuine applause.
他用英语跟我说话的勇气实在令人佩服。我知道这对他有多难，但却鼓励他说下去。
他的“表演”可真是让我“折腰”。但是，他的“表演”完全是发自内心的，并非经过刻意编排。我用力跟他握了握手，表达了我真挚的喝彩。
At first, the gap was wide. Several months later, not only music, but now spoken words of English and Chinese flow under a bridge of love and understanding. Like that man on the bus, our continuing ‘performance’ is real.
一开始，我们之间隔着宽阔的鸿沟。几个月后，我们不仅靠音乐交流，更凭着爱和理解搭成的桥梁开始用中英文进行沟通。就像我在公共汽车上遇到的那个人，我们都是发自真心地在不断地‘表演’着。

Old habits die hard.
积习难改
A search along the shelves of supermarkets and clothing stores proved fruitless, before it dawned on me no one uses them.
我在超市的货架上和服装店立苦苦搜寻，却一无所获，后来才反应过来，中国可能没什么人用手帕了吧。
But what? I have to squat ?
什么？我得蹲着？
I had never seen a squat toilet before coming in China. Now this could be a problem，I decided, when confronted with my first sighting of a public squat.
来中国以前，我从来都没有见过蹲式的马桶。
“It’s true,” he said with added emphasis, reacting to my look of disbelief.
看到我一脸怀疑，他又强调了一下：“这是真的。”
He said that squatting, Chinese style, is a far more healthy and effective way to release one’s – let me put it nicely – build-up of fibre.
他说在排出-我还是说得文雅点儿吧-纤维集结物时 ，中国人的这种蹲法可健康有效的多呢。
I am really struggling to delicate in my description, but to say desperate situations need desperate action, is an understatement. It was time to experience something Chinese take for granted.
我极力想轻描淡写地描述这段经历，可是用“铤而走险”这个词儿都太保守了呢。现在我想感受一下中国人习以为常的事情了。
Unable, or more truthfully unwilling to confide in my friends,
我无法，坦诚点儿说，是不愿意跟朋友们透露实情。
I was getting more desperate by the minute.
时间一分一分地过去，我越发绝望了。
A “mirage” appeared above the skyline.
天空中出现了“海市蜃楼”。
Obstacle course 超越障碍训练场
Mind you. 固定搭配，表示“说真的”，插入语。
It’s all to do with the way you look at life, isn’t it?
不过，这完全看你怎么看待人生了，不是吗？
Food Fantasy 美食中国，吃嘛嘛香
He urged me to ‘be honest about being a fussy eater.’
他敦促我实话实说，告诉大家我是个“挑剔的食客”。
But in my defense, we all have our likes and dislikes, especially when it comes to matters of a culinary nature.
不过我还是得为自己辩解几句，谁都有自己的喜好嘛，在美食这样的问题上就更是如此了。
My favorite dishes were vegetable spring rolls dipped in soy sauce.
我最喜欢的是素春卷蘸酱
And while I respect the culture of any place I visit, these particular traditions have tested my tolerance to the limit.
无论去哪儿，我都很尊重当地的文化，可是中国有些传统已经把我的忍受能力挑战到了极限。