評論
打印
Alice: Hey, Li Lei. Andrew and I have been invited to a Chinese home for dinner. We've been racking our brains trying to choose some gifts for them. Can you tell us something about the cultural taboos in this aspect?
愛麗絲：嘿，李雷，有一個(gè)中國家庭邀請我和安德魯去他們家吃晚飯。我們?yōu)榱私o他們選禮物都已經(jīng)絞盡腦汁了。你能和我們說說在這方面有什么文化禁忌嗎？
Li Lei: Sure. About the gifts, what do you have in mind?
李雷：當(dāng)然可以。你們有什么想送的禮物？
Alice: Actually, we've bought some nice plates, clocks, and ...
愛麗絲：實(shí)際上，我們買了一些很好看的盤子、鐘表以及……
Li Lei: Hang on, you said clocks? Uh, actually we don't give them as presents, especially to old people.
李雷：等等，你說鐘表？呃，事實(shí)上我們不會(huì)把它當(dāng)禮物送給別人，尤其不會(huì)送給老人。
Alice: So what you are saying is that it's a bad idea to give clocks as presents? But why? They are ornamental clocks, really lovely ones.
愛麗絲：你說把鐘表當(dāng)禮物送給別人不是個(gè)好主意？為什么？它們都是當(dāng)做擺設(shè)的好看鐘表。
Li Lei: Well, it may sound strange to you, but they have a funeral connotation in China. As for the plates, you'd better give an even number of them.
李雷：嗯，對你來說可能很奇怪，但它們在中國有喪葬的隱含意義。送盤子的話，你最好給偶數(shù)個(gè)。
Alice: You mean that it is better if we give six of them as gifts rather than five?
愛麗絲：你是說，我們送6個(gè)盤子當(dāng)禮物比送5個(gè)要好？
Li Lei: Yeah, even numbers are regarded as lucky in Chinese culture, except for the number four.
李雷：對，在中國文化里，偶數(shù)被視為是幸運(yùn)的，除了數(shù)字4。
Alice: I see. Thanks for your advice; otherwise we might have made some stupid mistakes.
愛麗絲：我知道了，謝謝你的建議，要不然我們就會(huì)犯一些愚蠢的錯(cuò)誤。
Li Lei: You're welcome!
李雷：不客氣！
