美联英语：中西文化差异之中国文化地50个主题

美联英语提供：美联英语：中西文化差异之中国文化的50个主题小编给你一个美联英语官方试听课申请链接：/?tid=16-73374-01.TheMonkeyKingvs.HarryPotter孙悟空PK哈利·波特A：IreadinthepressthatsomepeoplearethinkingofmakingSunWuKong,theMonkeyKing,aninternationalstar,justlikeHarryPotter.TheirargumentisthattheMonkeyKingisalotmoretalentedandcapablethanHarryandcouldbeabighitforaudiencesoutsideChina.B：InChina,theMonkeyKingisahouseholdname.Everybodyknowsheusesamagicalgoldenstickasaweaponandcanbetransformedinto72alteregos.A：ButmanyyoungpeopleseemtolikeHarryPotterbetter.Harryisrealandsharesalotofthingsincommonwiththem.Forexample,hehasconflictswithhisteachersandclassmatesandhehashisownbestfriends.TheMonkeyKing,ontheotherhand,isbornoutofastone.Hedoesn’tfeelhappylikeanordinaryperson,norgetangrylikethem.Hedoesn’tinteractwithotherpeopleeither.HedoesnothavethefamiliaritywhichpeoplefindinHarry.B：That’saninterestingobservation.WesterncharacterslikeSuperman,SpidermanandBatman,allhavethequalitiesofanordinaryperson.EvenTarzanhasasweetheartandfriends.Thosecharactersareverybraveandalwaysreadytohelp.Incomparison,theMonkeyKingisaloneranger.Hisonlyjobistoprotecthismaster,asaint.Althoughherebelsagainsttheauthority,thecharacterlackstheworldlyconflictbetweengoodandevil.Asaresult,heseemslessapproachablethanHarry.A：ManystudentstoldmethattheylikeHarrybecausehehasagirlfriend.ThesameistrueofSupermanandSpiderman.Thegirlsarethesourceoftheircourage.TheMonkeyKingdoesn’thavelove.OfthefourcharactersinthenovelPilgrimagetotheWest,onlyZhuBaJiehassomeinterestinwomenbutasaconsequenceheisalwaysscoldedandscorned.Mostfemalecharactersinthisnovelareevilincarnations,beingportrayedastemptationsforthesaintandhisdisciples.IntraditionalChineseculturewomenusedtobeconsideredasourceofevil.B：Soitseemsthatanintimateunderstandingofaworldlylifeandtherighteousnessofthesuperheroarethedecidingfactorsinthepopularityofthesecharacters.A：Itcertainlymakesiteasierforpeopletoidentifythemselveswiththosesupercharacters.Amonkeybornoutofastonedoesn’tseemtoresonatewiththevibesofmodernsociety.A：我在报上看到，有人计划把孙悟空打造成一个国际明星，因为孙悟空的本领比哈利?波特大得多，在世界范围内一定能更火。B：在中国，孙悟空是个家喻户晓的名字。谁都知道他手中的金箍棒和七十二变本领。A：但是许多年轻人似乎更喜欢哈利?波特。哈利?波特是个活生生的人，他有一般孩子的特点。比如他也和老师、同学发生冲突，有自己最好的朋友。孙悟空则是从石头中诞生的，缺乏常人的喜怒哀乐和人际交往。他没有人们在哈利?波特身上发现的相似性。B：那倒是一个有趣的看法。西方的超人、蜘蛛侠、蝙蝠侠等形象都具有普通人的特征。既便是人猿泰山，也有他的恋人和朋友。他们非常勇敢，并且随时准备出手相助。相比较而言，孙悟空是一个孤胆英雄。他肩负着护卫圣人取经的职责，虽然他也反叛权威，但是缺少了俗世常有的善恶冲突。孙悟空的形象与哈利?波特比，少了亲近感。A：许多学生告诉我，他们喜欢哈利?波特，因为他有女朋友。超人和蜘蛛侠的故事也如此。这些女性给予英雄们力量。但孙悟空没有爱情。《西游记》中的师徒四人，只有猪八戒对女人有兴趣，却总是被其他人嘲弄或斥责。这部小说中的女性多数是妖怪，是用来诱惑圣人和他的徒弟们的。她们是中国古人观念中的祸水。B：看来，决定一个超级英雄能否被更广泛接受的主要因素，是他们易于亲近的特性和崇高的品行。A：超级英雄因为与人类的相似而易于被接受，石头缝里生出来的猴子似乎很难与人产生共鸣。2.Yellow:China’sFavoriteColor黄，中国人崇尚的颜色A：Chinesepeopleseemtoliketheredandyellowcolorsalot.ThetwocolorsareusedfortheChinesenationalflag.Theyarealsothepredominantcolorsforthecoverdesignofsomeimportantbooks,aswellasinthedecorationsformajorevents,suchastheflowerdisplayinB：ThecolorpreferencesoftheChinesepeopleareinfluencedbythefiveelementsofmetal,wood,water,fireandearth,inadditiontogeographicallocationsandweather.Chinaisahugeandgeographicallydiversifiedcountry.Itiscoldinthenorthsopeopletherelikewarmcolors.Butitisjusttheoppositeinthesouth.Ofallthewarmcolors,theHanpeoplelikeyellowespecially.A：MaybebecausetheHansoriginatedintheYellowRiverPlateau,aregionwhereyellowwastheprevailingcolor.B：Youareprobablyright.Asfarasthefiveelementsareconcerned,thecorrespondingcolorsarewhite,green,black,red,andyellow.Yellowisthepredominantcolorandissituatedinthecenterofthediagram.YellowwasalsothecolorrepresentingtheimperialcourtintraditionalChina.ItwasestablishedastheauthoritativecolorrepresentingtheEmperorduringtheHanDynastymorethan2000yearsago.DuringtheSuiDynasty,yellowwasofficiallydesignatedastheexclusivecolorfortheimperialfamily.ItwasusedintheEmperor’sclothes,thepaperonwhichtheEmperorpublishedhisdecrees,andthecalendarthatwasprintedbytheA：Peoplehaveatraditionofmakinga“longevityoutfit”forthedeceased.Theinnersideoftheoutfitisalwaysyellow.Thebottomofthecoffinisalsolinedwithyellowsilk.B：Duringthe1980sand1990s,taxisinBeijingwereallpaintedyellow.Thosetaxiswereverypopularbecauseofspaceandlowfares.However,theywereconsideredinappropriateforBeijingandwerereplacedwithnewmodels.Thenewtaxisuseastandardcolorpatternwithyellowatthebottom,whichactsasareminderofBeijing’sImperialtradition.A：Nowadays,peoplealwaysrefertopornographyas“yellowliterature”andpornographicfilmsas“yellowmovies.”Thatreferencecanbetracedtoanewspaperfromthe19thcenturyUnitedStates,whichusedtoprintvulgarpaintingsinyellow.B：Theword“yellow”inthecampaignstatementof“Eradicatetheyellowandfightagainsttheillegal”referstopornography.IguessweallneedtobeverycarefulwiththeyellowcolorsinceitisusedtorepresentboththeA：中国人似乎很喜欢红黄两色，你看，中国国旗就是由这两种颜色组成的。很多重大场合或重要书籍的装帧总会用到这两种颜色。国庆节天安门广场摆放的花坛，也是以这两种颜色作主调。B：中国人对色彩的好恶除了受地理、气候的影响外，也受到传统五行说的影响。从地理方面说，中国是个地域广阔的国家，北方寒冷，人们喜欢暖色;南方炎热，人们喜欢冷色。在暖色中，汉民族最崇尚黄色。A：这也许是因为汉民族的发源地是黄土高原，这个地域满目黄土之色。B：可能是吧。从五行说来看，金、木、水、火、土所代表的五色分别是白、青、黑、赤、黄，其中黄为主色，位在中央。在中国古代社会，黄色是皇权的象征。在两千多年前的汉代，朝廷就规定“衣尚黄”，确立了黄色的权威地位。从隋朝起，黄色成为皇家专用的颜色。皇帝的龙袍称作黄袍;皇帝的文告用黄纸写成，称黄榜;皇帝颁发的历书用黄纸印刷，称为黄历。A：据我所知，按照传统，死者去世后穿的衣服称作“寿衣”，它讲究双层缝制，里面那一层一定要用黄色。棺材的底部也要铺上黄绸布。B：上世纪八九十年代，北京街头跑着的出租车就是黄色的面包车。它因为价廉且空间大而广受欢迎。后来这种车型被认为有碍京城市容而被新车型取代。现在的出租车采用统一的颜色，下半部为土黄，以体现北京皇家名城的传统。A：现在，人们称色情文学为“黄色小说”，称色情电影为“黄色电影”。这种说法来源于19世纪美国的一家报纸，该报社以黄色印刷趣味低下的漫画。B：现在的词汇“扫黄打非”中的“黄”就有色情的意思。这种有时贵为皇家专用，有时又表示低级趣味的颜色，用起来还真要小心。古时用错了黄色会杀头，今天错用了黄色会闯祸。3.ChineseHospitality中国人的待客之道A：IwasinvitedtoatraditionalBeijinghouseholdfordinneronce.Itwasaneye-openingexperience.Thegirlwhoinvitedmewasmycolleague.Herfatherwasover60yearsold.Hedidn’teatmuchbutwasconstantlyproposingatoast.Hiswifewasbusycookinginthekitchenallthetime.Iaskedhertojoinusbutherhusbandsaid“No,shedoesn’t.”Afterdinner,Iaskedmycolleaguewhyherfatherdidn’teatmuchandwhyhermotherdidn’tjoinus.Shesaidthatwasanoldtradition.HerfatherwastheretokeepmecompanybecauseIwasaguestofhonorandusuallywomendidnoteatwiththeguests.B：Ihadasimilarexperiencetoo.IalwaysfeelspoiledtobeaguestinaChinesehousehold.Thehostusuallypreparesasumptuousmeal.Thekidsaresenttotheneighborssotheguestscanhaveapeacefulmeal.Usually,theywouldstartpreparingforourvisitdaysahead.Eventhoughtherewouldbealotoffoodonthetable,thehostwouldstillsay“Wedon’thavemuch,sopleasebearwithus.”TheykeepputtingfoodonmyplatedespitethefactImaynotlikecertainfood.Iusuallyfeelveryembarrassed.Somehostsevenforcetheirchildrentoperformasongorreciteapoemforme.A：ThatisChinesehospitality.Peoplewanttobringouttheirbestfoodtowelcometheguests.Westernersaredifferent.Theydon’tstayinthekitchenwhentheguestshavearrived.Theywanttosocializewiththeguestsratherthansimplyshowinghospitality.B：Chinesepeopleareveryfriendlyandalwaysreadytotreattheirguestswiththebestthingstheyhave.Butthishospitalitymaycauseinconveniencetoboththeguestsandthehoststhemselves.AnAmericansaidinabookover100yearsagothatChinesehospitalityismeanttoshowthepolitenessofthehostratherthankeepingtheguesthappy.Thehostmayinsistonstartingafiresohecanmaketeafortheguest,despitethefactthattheguestmaybeirritatedbythesmoke.Atleastthehostgivestheimpressionthatheisveryhospitable.A：Thatwasover100yearsago.Thingsaredifferentnow.Moreandmorepeoplepreferarelaxedatmosphereratherthanshowinghospitalityjustforthesakeofit.Butthereareexceptions.IwenttovisitafairlyaffluentvillageinsouthernChinalastyear.Thehostwasaskedtomakeaspecialteaforus.Shewasveryfriendly,butwhenshefinishedmakingtheteashechargedeachofus10yuanforthetreat.Asaresultoftheeconomicgrowthpeoplehavebecomemoneyconscious.Althoughyoumaynotfeelcomfortablewiththetraditionalhospitality,itcoulddisappearanytime.B：ShallIfeelluckyorsorrythen?A：我曾到一个老北京家里做客，可真是开了眼了。请客的是这家的女儿，她是我的同事。她的父亲六十多岁，作为主人，他在饭桌上几乎没吃什么，只是隔一会儿就端起酒杯劝酒。他的太太一直在厨房里忙着。我们招呼她一起吃，同事的父亲说“她不上桌”。告辞出来，我问同事为什么她父亲几乎不吃东西，而她母亲一直不加入我们。她说这是老礼数。她父亲把我们当作贵客所以要陪酒，而女人一般是不和客人同桌的。B：我也有过同样的经历。到中国人家里做客总感觉他们招待得很隆重：上一大桌菜，小孩子被赶到邻居家，以便客人吃得尽兴。请一次客得提前几天做准备。既便做了一大桌菜，他们还是说：“没什么东西，凑合吃吧。”还不停地为你布菜，不管你是不是爱吃。这让我觉得很尴尬。有些人家还逼着孩子给客人表演唱歌，或者背诗。A：这就是中国人的待客之道：把最好的东西拿出来招待客人。西方人并不如此。他们不会在客人到来后还在厨房中忙碌，他们的目的是交流而不是表现待客的热情。B：中国人非常友好，所以才会用最好的东西招待客人。但这样一来，家人跟着受累，客人也不自在。一百多年前，一位美国人在他的书中写道：中国人待人热情的目的通常是为了表现自己懂礼节，而并非想使客人满意。主人执意生火为客人沏茶，而不在乎客人是否被烟呛着，因为他至少树立了待客有礼的形象。A：这是一百年前的情形，现在有所不同。更多的人已经懂得，自在随意比过分礼貌要好得多。也有例外：去年，我到一个富裕的南方村庄去采访，请主人给我们一杯当地特有的茶。她热情地为我们上了茶，然后向我们每位收了10元钱作为服务的报偿。经济发展了，中国人也有了金钱意识。你不适应传统的待客之道，它也许很快就不复存在了。B：我该为此庆幸还是遗憾呢?4.BloggingFever博客热A：HaveyoueverheardofXuJinglei?Sheisamoviestarandherblogsareverypopular.B：Yes.Herblogsreceived10millionhitsinlessthanfourmonths.A：Actually,herblogsareboring.Peoplelikeherbecausesheiscandidanddoesn’thavethepretentiousnessthatistypicalofmanyotheractresses.Peoplearetiredoftheentertainerswhorelyonseductiveandabsurdcontenttoattracteyeballs.Imuchpreferanotherblogger.HernameisHongHuang,awomaninher40’s.Shedoesnothavetheprettylooksofamoviestarbutsheisextremelyintelligent.ShestudiedintheUSwhenshewasonly12,sothereisastrongWesterninfluenceinherarticles.Althoughshetalksalotaboutherself,sheisabletoreflectonsomeofthesocialissues,whichgiveherblogsabroaderview.Sheisknowledgeable,unpretentiousandhasasenseofhumorandherarticlesarealwaysshortandto-the-point,whichmakesthemveryeasytoreadonthecomputerscreen.B：But,shedoesn’treceiveasmanyhitsasXuJinglei.Isitbecauseshe’snotaspretty?A：Thatdefinitelyisareason.Anotherreasonisthatsheisnotamoviestar.PeoplewhoreadHongHuangtendtobemorereasonable,thoughtfulandmature.B：AremoreandmoremoviestarsrunningtheirownblogsasaresultofXu’ssuccess?A：Yes.Manyofthemhavelaunchedtheirownblogs.Theyareeagertotellpeopletheycandomorethingsthanjustbeingamoviestar.Infact,manyordinarypeoplearepublishingblogstoo.Maybe,thisisbecausetherearen’tmanyotherchannelsforpeopletoexpressthemselves.Originally,blogswerejustanadditionalsourceofinformationbesidethemainstreammedia.Nowithasbecomeaplatformforpeopletoshowtheirpersonalities.B：SomeShanghaipeoplearewritingblogsinEnglish.A：Yes.TheShanghaiBloggerisprobablythemostpopular.Itattractsoveramillionhitsamonth.Ithasverythoroughinformationaboutthescenicspots,localcustom,dining,wining,andtransportationinShanghai.Accordingtothebloggers,writinginEnglishhasallowedthemtothinkindifferentdimensions.B：TheShanghaiBloggersoundslikeaninterestingplace.I’llcheckitout.Itcouldbeanadditionalsourceofincome.A：你听说过徐静蕾吗?她是个女演员，她的博客被大家追捧。B：听说了。据说她的博客在不到4个月内点击率达到了1000万次。A：其实，她的博客没有太大意思，我猜人们喜欢她是因为她率真，没有女演员的矫情。在她之前一些女性用情色、荒谬的博客吸引眼球，现在大家对这种不健康的表达厌烦了。我更喜欢另一个叫洪晃的人写的博客。她差不多40岁，长相平平，但智慧似乎高于一般人。她在12岁的时候到美国学习，所以她的博客有很强的西方文化的痕迹。她的博客也是讲述自己的一些经历，她能够反思社会上的一些问题，因此具有更宽的视角。她有学识、不矫情，而且有幽默感。她写的文章短小，不兜圈子，这样在电脑屏幕上读起来很容易。B：但是，为什么她没有徐静蕾那样高的点击率?难道因为她长相平平吗?A：这肯定是原因之一。另外也因为她不是电影明星。所以看洪晃博客的人应该是一些更理性、更智慧、更成熟的人。B：是不是有更多的演员开自己的博客，因为徐给了她们一个在网上成功的榜样?A：你说对了。不少演员开了博客，她们想表明他们除了作演员还能做其他更多的事情。事实上，不少普通人也开博客。这也许是因为人们没有太多表达自己的渠道。起初，博客只是除了主流媒体之外的另一个信息来源。现在它成为展示个性的平台。B：上海的一些人用英文写博客。A：对。“上海博客”最有名，每个月有超过百万的点击量。那里有一些关于上海的景点、风俗、餐饮、交通等非常详细的信息。据那些写英文博客的人说，用英文写作使他们可以从另一个角度思考。B：看来这是一个对我有用的平台，听上去是个有趣的地方。我要去试一试。这可能成为另一个收入来源。5.TheIdealMan理想男人A：AChinesegirlfallsinlovewithaFrenchmanwhoalwaysbuyshergifts.Thegirlfeelsoverwhelmedwithlove.“AChinesemanwouldneverbuymesomanygifts,”shesaid.B：I’vealsoheardthatmanyChinesegirlsliketohaveWesternboyfriends.Menaregoodatmakingtheirgirlfriendshappythroughbuyingthemgifts.Butyouknowwhat,whenthosegirlsreallyneedhelp,Westernmenwouldusuallytellthemto“handleitthemselves.”ChinesegirlsaredisappointedwhentheirWesternboyfriendsareunwillingtospendalotofmoneyonthem.A：AccordingtoChinesetradition,awomanmarriesforfoodandshelter.AlthoughaChinesemanisnotgoodatbuyinggiftsforhiswife,hefeelsobligedtosupportherfortherestofherlife.Lovebecomessecondary.AWesternmanmaybegoodatshoweringhisgirlfriendwithgiftsbutheusuallyhassecondthoughtswhenitcomestoameaningfulrelationship.That’swhymanyChinesegirlsfeelitlessadvantageoustomarryWesternmen.Westernmen,ontheotherhand,findChinesegirlstoopragmaticandlessindependent.B：IrememberreadinganarticleaboutaChinesegirlwhomarriedanAmerican.ThegirlcameallthewaytoBeijingtolivewiththeman.Sheneveraskedhimformoneyandneitherdidsherelyonhisconnections.InsteadshesupportedherselfthroughanEnglishtrainingclassandeventuallyfoundanicejob.Whenthemanaskedhertomarryhim,hetoldher“YouaredifferentfrommanyChinesegirls.Theyaretoodependentonmen.”A：Chinesepeoplebelievethatiftwopeoplefallinlove,theyshouldsharehappinessandhardship.ManyChinesewomenfinditunbelievablethatWesternmenwouldallowtheirgirlfriendstoroughito