高考英語高頻中國文化知識點匯總(4)

　　24.Chinese Hospitality中國人的待客之道

　　A：I was invited to a traditional Beijing household for dinner once. It was an eye-opening experience. The girl who invited me was my colleague. Her father was over 60 years old. He didn't eat much but was constantly proposing a toast. His wife was busy cooking in the kitchen all the time. I asked her to join us but her husband said "No, she doesn't." After dinner, I asked my colleague why her father didn't eat much and why her mother didn't join us. She said that was an old tradition. Her father was there to keep me company because I was a guest of honor and usually women did not eat with the guests.

　　B：I had a similar experience too. I always feel spoiled to be a guest in a Chinese household. The host usually prepares a sumptuous meal. The kids are sent to the neighbors so the guests can have a peaceful meal. Usually, they would start preparing for our visit days ahead. Even though there would be a lot of food on the table, the host would still say "We don't have much, so please bear with us." They keep putting food on my plate despite the fact I may not like certain food. I usually feel very embarrassed. Some hosts even force their children to perform a song or recite a poem for me.

　　A：That is Chinese hospitality. People want to bring out their best food to welcome the guests. Westerners are different. They don't stay in the kitchen when the guests have arrived. They want to socialize with the guests rather than simply showing hospitality.

　　B：Chinese people are very friendly and always ready to treat their guests with the best things they have. But this hospitality may cause inconvenience to both the guests and the hosts themselves. An American said in a book over 100 years ago that Chinese hospitality is meant to show the politeness of the host rather than keeping the guest happy. The host may insist on starting a fire so he can make tea for the guest, despite the fact that the guest may be irritated by the smoke. At least the host gives the impression that he is very hospitable.

　　A：That was over 100 years ago. Things are different now. More and more people prefer a relaxed atmosphere rather than showing hospitality just for the sake of it. But there are exceptions. I went to v

　　cff

　　isit a fairly affluent village in southern China last year. The host was asked to make a special tea for us. She was very friendly, but when she finished making the tea she charged each of us 10 yuan for the treat. As a result of the economic growth people have become money conscious. Although you may not feel comfortable with the traditional hospitality, it could disappear any time.

　　B：Shall I feel lucky or sorry then?

　　A：我曾到一個老北京家里做客，可真是開了眼了。請客的是這家的女兒，她是我的同事。她的父親六十多歲，作為主人，他在飯桌上幾乎沒吃什么，只是隔一會兒就端起酒杯勸酒。他的太太一直在廚房里忙著。我們招呼她一起吃，同事的父親說"她不上桌"。告辭出來，我問同事為什么她父親幾乎不吃東西，而她母親一直不加入我們。她說這是老禮數(shù)。她父親把我們當作貴客所以要陪酒，而女人一般是不和客人同桌的。

　　B：我也有過同樣的經(jīng)歷。到中國人家里做客總感覺他們招待得很隆重：上一大桌菜，小孩子被趕到鄰居家，以便客人吃得盡興。請一次客得提前幾天做準備。既便做了一大桌菜，他們還是說："沒什么東西，湊合吃吧。"還不停地為你布菜，不管你是不是愛吃。這讓我覺得很尷尬。有些人家還逼著孩子給客人表演唱歌，或者背詩。

　　A：這就是中國人的待客之道：把最好的東西拿出來招待客人。西方人并不如此。他們不會在客人到來后還在廚房中忙碌，他們的目的是交流而不是表現(xiàn)待客的熱情。

　　B：中國人非常友好，所以才會用最好的東西招待客人。但這樣一來，家人跟著受累，客人也不自在。一百多年前，一位美國人在他的書中寫道：中國人待人熱情的目的通常是為了表現(xiàn)自己懂禮節(jié)，而并非想使客人滿意。主人執(zhí)意生火為客人沏茶，而不在乎客人是否被煙嗆著，因為他至少樹立了待客有禮的形象。

　　A：這是一百年前的情形，現(xiàn)在有所不同。更多的人已經(jīng)懂得，自在隨意比過分禮貌要好得多。也有例外：去年，我到一個富裕的南方村莊去采訪，請主人給我們一杯當?shù)靥赜械牟琛Ｋ裏崆榈貫槲覀兩狭瞬�，然后向我們每位收�?0元錢作為服務的報償。經(jīng)濟發(fā)展了，中國人也有了金錢意識。你不適應傳統(tǒng)的待客之道，它也許很快就不復存在了。

　　B：我該為此慶幸還是遺憾呢？

　　25 Table Manners餐桌禮儀

　　A: A westerner said to his Chinese friend. Chinese people slurp when drinking soup. It's disgusting . the Chinese friend replied , westerners make a lot of noise licking their fingers when eating. It's even worse.

　　B: everyone has his own habits, but these habits are not very good. The noise often spoils other people's appetite.

　　A: I attended a course on table manners while I was in the United states. Some of the things we learnt included how to place the napkin and utensils and how to pass the bread. Before each course, the teacher would ask if we wanted to learn the continental European way or the American way. We always said "American way." it's amazing that everyone is so used to their own table manners. What is the Chinese way?

　　B: the westerners use knives and forks to eat so it is complicated. The Chinese use a pair of chopsticks and eat out of the same plate. I assume it is less complicated,right?

　　A: not really. I did some research about Chinese table manners. The important rule is to remain silent while eating. Of couse, this refers to family meals only. Not talking over meals is supposed to be good for the health. It is impolite if people do not talk to each other during a social party. The table arrangements and serving order for a social party are equally complicated. Each dish should be placed in the correct position. When fish is served, t

　　338

　　he tail should be pointing at the guest because tail meat is supposed to be tasty. If it is in winter, the stomach should face the right-hand side of the guest because that portion of the fish is very rich in winter. Each dish should be commenced by the eldest person who is seated at the head of the table. The diners should sit close to the table so food won't drop on their cloths. Not noise should be made when chewing. No one should move food back to the communal plate even if he doesn't like it. One should drink soup slowly and is not supposed to make a lot of noise. All these table manners are very similar to western habits.

　　B: it seems that people share the same basic sense of etiquette regardless of their background. Apart from the different tools used for eating we seem to follow the same principles. W

　　103f

　　e do not let inappropriate manners spoil other people's appetite.

　　Westerners like to say, bon appetite before meals which is one way to suggest mind your table manners. Is there such an expression in Chinese?

　　A：yes. We say eat well and drink well.

　　英語暢談中國文化50主題

　　26 The Fashion of tea-drinking喝茶的時尚

　　A: there are a lot of Chinese expressions that link tea with food. For example, "firewood, rice, oil, soy sauce, vinegar and tea are the seven daily necessities."

　　B: the purpose of tea and food is totally different though. People eat to fill their stomach. But, tea-drinking can help a person achieve an elevated state of mind. Tea-drinking is said to have originated with the advent of Buddhism. Monks drank tea to keep themselves awake and help their concentration. Ordinary people were tempted by the tranquility of the monasteries and began to imitate the monks. So tea-drinking is considered an elegant pastime.

　　A: has tea-drinking become fashionable?

　　B: a few years ago It was fashionable to drink lipton tea whit milk and sugar to emulate a western lifestyle. Later it was green tea. Fruit tea was also popular for a while.

　　A: I heard that pu'er tea is very popular in japan and Taiwan. People think it can help them lose weight and control their blood pressure.

　　B: it is also popular in china's mainland. Pu'er tea looks and smells more like French red wine than tea. Plus, its rumored function is to reduce weight. Pu'er tea-drinking has been very fashionable. Green tea is good for longevity and combating cancer. Red tea is good for keeping the stomach warm.

　　A: many tea houses have been opened. Usually tea houses are where ordinary people like to hang around. But, some tea houses are destinations for high-brow cocial life.

　　B: tea houses have even changed the way people do business. It used to be over meals. The saying now is "at a table of spirits, the more you talk, the more muddled things become. But at a tea table of tea, the more you talk, the clearer things become."

　　A: tea parties also seem to have become popular.

　　B: the represents thriftiness and cleanliness. Government agencies like to host tea parties to celebrate public holidays. It serves the purposes of both socializing and saving money.

　　A: a cup of tea, not only serves social and economic purposes, but also political purposes as well. No wonder tea is always with food in Chinese culture.

　　27. Meanings in a Chinese Name中國人姓名的含意

　　A: Unlike in a Western name, the family name in a Chinese name comes before the first name. There are also meanings in a Chinese name.

　　B:That's correct. The meanings in a Chinese name are reflected in the combination(組合) of the characters ,which are influenced either by elements of culture or era. Usually the cultural influence is stronger in the characters for family names. Any character that has the particle that means"woman" suggests its traces back to the matriarchal society.Some family names originated either in official titles or occupation(職業(yè)),or in animals of worship. A few others come from numbers.

　　A: I see . What about given names?

　　B: In comparison, meanings in given names are always chosen to reflect elements of the era. In the old days, characters meaning "wealth" ,"fortune" ,and "happiness" were very common in names. Characters with the meanings of "gifted" ,"handsome",and "clever" were often chosen by parents as well wishes for their children to be beautiful,capable ,and intelligent. During the 1950s and 1960s ,many boys were given the name with the meaning of "building the country","celebrating the nation" ,"fighting the American imperialists", and "overtaking the British". The reform and opening policies also provided more choices of characters, such as "bo" meaning "strive" ,"si" meaning"thoughtful" ,and "yuhang" meaning "aeronautics" .Parents would like their children to learn more knowledge ,to be more thoughtful and to have great aspirations(抱負,志向).Some people also like to use translated Western names such David, Richard, Lisa and Linda.

　　A:This is quite similar to English names. Some of the su

　　103f

　　rnames also come from occupations,such as Sheppard ,Smith and Baker.Some Western names also have meanings ."Laura " for example means "laureate" in Latin, and "Samson" means "Sun" in Hebrew.

　　B: I don't know much about Western names. When translated into Chinese . Westerns names are simply a phonetic combinations of Chinese characters. In order for people to remember Western names. Translators in the 1950s and 1960s tried to localize names in literature, such as Scarlett O' Hara and Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind. Even a place like Atlanta was translated in such a way .Although it was easier to remember these names,they don't look Western any more. So when some of the literary works were retranslated in the 1990s , phonetic translation was used again.

　　A: A Western novel with each of its characters having a Chinese name is very similar to a Westerner having a typical Chinese name like Da Shan ,meaning "Big Mountain". It sounds werid(怪). I'd rather have something that can remind me of the original.

　　28. Feng shui 風水

　　A: some Chinese people like to keep a bowl of gold fish in their office. They think this can bring good luck to dealing whit office politics and in their career.

　　B: that's what we call feng shui, or geomancy. Some people think feng shui is superstition. But once you have a closer look. You'll find it's much more sophisticated. It is a juxtaposition of environmental, psychological and, hygienic studies. Elements, such as, structures, noise, smell and lighting, which are harmful to a living environment, are called ,evil. For instance, a room that is either, too bright or too dark, can have an adverse effect on people's emotions. Fengshui is supposed to help people adapt to that sort of harmful environment.

　　A: are there any Chinese culture elements in fengshui.

　　B: of course, there are. It is heavily influenced by the theory of the five natural elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. The theory is all about how things complement, or check, each other, and how people should pursue harmony to avoid colored house for too long, he or she, is likely to lose patience and become restless. According to fengshui, the colors in the room are not harmonious and need to be adjusted to achieve balance. Fengshui also has an influence over people's life and psyche. Chinese culture is developed around the belief of the golden mean. In other words, refrain from being excessive. If a small family occupies a large house, it is believed to bring bad fortune, sooner or later. The message here is, to maintain balance.

　　A: how does fengshui interpret the location of a house? If the location is not desirable, do people have to desert it?

　　B: not really. Fengshui emphasizes the pursuit of harmony to avoid harm. For example, if the door of a house opens in the wrong direction. The solution is not to seal it but to place something else near the door. That diverts the potential harm and makes people feel secure. It's quite similar to the fish bowl in the office. It fives people a psychological boost that helps them be more relaxed, and confident at work. Hopefully, it will help them earn promotions. Is this a benefit from the fish bowl, or a psychological boost, or neither? Whatever the answer, if fengshui can help people live a smoother and more successful life, why not?

　　29. The secret of numbers 數(shù)字的秘密

　　A: I noticed that some people like to use 001 for their personalized licence plates, such as BTV 001 and CRC 001. why does everybody like 001?

　　B: because, in Chinese, the number one represents "the fist" or "the most original". It's differentiator. The 001 in the licence plate, is an expression of the car owner's aspirations.

　　A: at an auction in shanghai last year, one particular licence plate, with a combination of four 8's, was sold for, well over, 100,000 yuan. That made me think, whether there is any special meaning behind the numbers and, how people are influnenced by them.

　　B: in Cantonese, the number"8" has a similar pronunciation to, the word "prosper". Guangdong is one of the first provinces to benefit from china's op

　　103f

　　en policy. There is a lot of temptation to become wealthy so, "8" is a luck number for people in Guangdong. Similarly, "6"is often associated with smoothness. Many people like to choose a date for their weddings which include the number "6". Lots of people got married on june 6, 2006. in contrast, "4"is the least favorable number because, it sounds very similar to the word, "death". Many buildings do not, even, use the number for their elevator programming. Now, as a result of western influence, more and more Chinese people started to dislike the number "13".

　　A: does the number, "3" have a special meaning too?

　　B: number "3" is, always, associated with abundance or, the ultimate limit. There are a lot of proverbs with the number "3" "shi bu guo san" is one which, literally, means, "you are only allowed three chances". Another proverb is " san si er xing". Meaning, "think three times before you act".

　　A: does this have any effect on people's lives?

　　B: it depends. Sometime ago, a man received a blackmail message on his cell phone. It told him to deposit 3,000 yuan in a designated bank account by a certain time or, his family would face danger. Similar blackmail threats have happened to a number of other people. The police found that there was, at last, an "8"in the cell phone numbers of the victims. The robbers thought that only wealthy people could afford to choose the number"8". So , instead of bringing the cictims prosperity and wealth, the number nearly got them in trouble.

　　A: that reminds me of a saying:�。�things will have an adverse effect if pushed to the limit."

　　30. Paintings，Calendars and Christmas Trees 年畫、掛歷、圣誕樹

　　31 Tea or Coffee? 茶還是咖啡？

　　A: did you pay any attention to president hu jintao's visit to the united states in april 2006?

　　B: of course, I did. His first stop was in seattle. He was invited to bill gates'luxurious home as the guest of honor. He visited boeing and met with a lot of boeing workers. One boeing employee presented president hu with a baseball cap and he put it on his head, right on the stage. He impressed the local media as a very approachable leader.

　　A: but, do you know who the biggest winner was during his visit to seattle?

　　B: who?

　　A: I think starbucks was the winner.

　　B: that's an interesting insight. Why?

　　A: according to media reports, hu jintao said that, if he had time, he'd love to visit a starbucks in Beijing. That was a great compliment made by the president and free publicity for starbucks. I'm sure it will see a significant boost to their brand recognition in china.

　　B: as a matter of fact, starbucks is, already, doing very well in china. For a lot of young people, coffee drinking is a desirable part of their lifestyle. That's why starbucks has become a favorite destination. Although, traditionally, Chinese people prefer tea, coffee is becoming very popular as more and more young people adopt a western lifestyle,

　　A: what about you? Do you like coffee?

　　B: I used to drink a lot of coffee but, have switched to tea. I do not like the association of coffee with social status and lifestyle. I try to be different… I'm teasing you! It's a lot of more sophisticated to drink tea. There's a ritual about how tea is made and how it should be enjoyed. Once you are immersed in the traditions, you can reach a state of tranquility and harmony. That's why scholars in ancient china liked to drink tea.

　　A: I'm also a tea drinker. Especially, like the green tea leaves dancing in the glass. It's very poetic. Sitting in a tea house with a cup of tea in one hand and a bamboo fan in the other. I feel like an ancient, Chinese, wise man.

　　B: how interesting… Chinese drinking coffee and Americans drinking tea.

　　A: well. We are all living in a global village. It's only natural that people are going to influence each other. But, for people at starbucks, they'd certainly like every Chinese, and American, to drink coffee rather than tea.

　　B: I heard that starbucks, in Taiwan, is also selling Chinese drinks, such as, soy bean milk, in order to attract more cus

　　103f

　　tomers.

　　A: this is why localization is important in the age of globalization.

　　32 The Color of Food美食的色相

　　A: Chinese food stresses color, smell and taste. Is this correct?

　　B: correct. This is why people also refer to food as mei shi, meaning beautiful food. The primary element is color because only a good color combination can arouse peoples's appetite. Color is emphasized in home cooking as well. Color combination is at its best with some of the traditional household dishes, such as tomatoes with eggs or baby onions with tofu.

　　A: I assume color combination is stressed even more with major culinary styles.

　　B:Yes.There are eight major culinary styles in china. Color combinations reflect the local features of each style. Take Guangdong food for example. Because it is hot and humid there,people are mindful of the heat on their internal organs.Therefore Guangdong food is mild in both taste and color combinations.You don'tfind a lot of hot and spicy food in Guangdong dishes because warm soolors in the hot summer can be repulsive to people's appetite.Sichuan food is just the opposite.Sichuan is also very humid but unlike Guangdong,Sichuan food is just the opposite.Sichuan is also very humid but unlike Guangdong,Sichuan peoplechoose to use extremely hot peppers to poen their stomach.

　　A:Absolutely right!It is very string and uses a lot of red color.Shanghai food,on the other hand ,uses a lot of oil and soy sauce. On the surface ,this style doesn't seem to go aling with Shanghai people's prefrerence for delicacy and tenderness.But if you take a closer liik at the lifestyle in Shanghai, you will be able to appreciate why this is so .Once I was invited to dinner with a Shangail family and they cut the fish into two portions,saving one portion for another meal.So the four of us ended up sharing half a fish, together with a few other dishes, none of which were very big.This is when I came to understand the role of thick oil and soy sauce.

　　B:You seen to suggest that milder dishes are short on the rich taste while dark color dishes are short on fun.Are there any culinary styles that combine the best of everything?

　　A:I would say Shangdong food.Shandong food tends to highlight taste and color in order to satisfy the appetite for both.

　　B:That's an interesting observation.

　　A:This is similar to knowing a person from Shangdong.At first sight that person may l

　　K tough and unrestrained,but once you get to know him better, you will find he isin fact very refined and sensitive.Only peoplewith such qualities can develop a culinary style that is at once neutral and balanced ,and able to appeal to all appetites.

　　33 The Ultimate Luxury Products頂級奢侈品。

　　34 Driving on the Horse Road開車上路

　　35 A Hectic Long Holiday忙碌的長假