美語情景對話 第184期:西班牙和日本 Spain and Japan

Hi! I've lived in Spain and Japan and so I'm just going to talk about a few differences between the two countries that I've found. In, Spain, when you meet somebody you give them two kisses. First on the left and then on the right cheek, and in Japan there is definitely no public kissing at all, so that is definitely a faux pas, here. In Japan you just bow or you hand shake which is normal. In Spain, also the people are very caliente, which means they are very warm and very open and extremely loud, extremely loud. In fact, when I was living in my host family's house, the first few months when my Spanish wasn't the best, I thought my host mom was mad about everything. I thought she was just, I thought she was at the point of just leaving the entire household for good, and then when I realized what she was saying it was just, "When are you going to take out the dog?" but screaming this mind you, or,"Let's do your homework!" or even just like, "Pass me the salt!" Everything screaming. Japan people are very quiet. They, definitely don't scream about things like , the food, ah, Spanish food is the best in the world. I really like Japanese food, but Spanish food they use a lot of olive oil, a lot of beans, a lot of vegetables and fruit. It's a Mediterranean diet and lots of fish but it's heavier food. In Japan they also use, eat a lot of fish, but it's lighter and rice and seaweed, ah, but Spanish food is the best. The best in the world, definitely.

嗨！我在西班牙和日本都生活過，因此我想談談我發現的這兩個國家之間的不同之處。在西班牙，你見到某人的時候會和他們親吻兩次。先是親左臉頰，然後是右臉頰，而在日本，完全沒有公開的親吻問候，所以那在這裏絕對是失態的舉動。在日本一般會鞠躬和握手。在西班牙，人們非常熱情，意思是他們非常溫暖、開放，而且聲音很大，非常非常大。事實上，我住在接待家庭的時候，前幾個月我的西班牙語說的不好的時候，我認爲接待家庭的媽媽對所有事情都很瘋狂。我認爲她就像……我認爲她馬上會永遠離開全家人，之後我才意識到她只是在說，“你什麼時候要出去遛狗？”但會尖叫着讓你注意，或是說“開始做作業吧！”或者只是“把鹽拿給我！”每件事都在尖叫。日本人則安靜地多。他們絕對不會對那些事尖叫……嗯，食物，西班牙菜是世界上最好的。我真的很喜歡日本菜，但是西班牙菜會大量使用橄欖油、豆類、蔬菜和水果。它屬於地中海飲食，所以菜品會包括許多魚類，而味道更重一些。日本菜通常也會做許多魚類，他們也常吃魚，但是味道更淡，而且會配米飯和紫菜，嗯，西班牙菜是最好的。絕對是世界上最好的。

重點講解：
1. faux pas
失態；有失檢點；失禮；
eg. It was not long before I realised the enormity of my faux pas.
沒過多久，我就意識到自己有多麼失態。
eg. In a competitive job market, employers have the luxury of choice, and even a minor faux pas can hurt your chances.
在競爭激烈的就業市場上,僱主們擁有衆多選擇,微小的失禮也可能毀掉你的機會。
2. at the point of
將近…的時候；接近；
eg. Man can be incredibly intelligent at the point of danger.
人類在危險時就會異常機智。
eg. He admitted his guilty at the point of death.
彌留之際，他承認了罪行。
3. for good
永遠；永久；
eg. The days of big-time racing at Herne Hill had gone for good.
在赫恩山舉行盛大賽馬會的日子早已一去不復返了。
eg. A few shots of this drug cleared up the disease for good.
注射幾次這種藥物就根除了這種疾病。