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近年來(lái)，一位名叫黃西的美籍華人以其機(jī)智幽默的單人脫口秀而深受網(wǎng)友熱捧。最近,為宣傳個(gè)人自傳，黃西回到國(guó)內(nèi)，講述他從生化博士到單口相聲(stand-up comedy)明星的美國(guó)夢(mèng)。
When a young man from a small village in China studies hard and becomes a doctorate of biochemistry in the US, it's the American dream.
一位來(lái)自中國(guó)小山村的年輕人通過(guò)刻苦學(xué)習(xí)，后留美成為生物化學(xué)博士。這成就了一個(gè)美國(guó)夢(mèng)。
But for a Chinese migrant with a heavy accent to become a stand-up comedian in the US, it's more like a fantasy.
但要是一位有著濃重地方口音的華裔移民在美國(guó)搖身一變成了單口相聲演員，這聽(tīng)上去更像是一場(chǎng)白日夢(mèng)。
Joe Wong, apparently, has done both. After achieving success as a stand-up comedian in the US for the past two years, the 41-year-old has returned to China to publicize his book The Tao of Humor: An Autobiography by Joe Wong.
顯然，黃西兩者都做到了。在前兩年以單口相聲演員的身份在美國(guó)大獲成功之后，41歲的黃西回到中國(guó)宣傳個(gè)人自傳——《黃瓜的黃，西瓜的西》。
"The key, or the symbol to success is doing the thing you like, or finding an interest in your work," Wong said.
黃西說(shuō)，“成功的關(guān)鍵或標(biāo)志是做你喜歡做的事，或是從工作中找到興趣所在。”
Wong didn't realize his love for stand-up comedy until 2002, when his friends took him to a comedy club in Boston.
黃西之前一直沒(méi)有意識(shí)到自己對(duì)單口相聲秀的這份熱愛(ài)，直到2002年的某天，朋友們將他帶到一家位于波士頓的喜劇俱樂(lè)部。
Before that, Wong was simply another Chinese immigrant with a doctoral degree from Rice University, Houston, Texas, and who talks with a strong accent.
在那之前，黃西只不過(guò)是一個(gè)有著濃重口音、取得德州休斯敦市萊斯大學(xué)博士學(xué)位的華裔移民。
After practicing for a few months, Wong made his debut performance at a comedy club in Boston in late 2002.
通過(guò)數(shù)月的練習(xí)，黃西于2002年年末，在波士頓一家喜劇俱樂(lè)部上演了處女秀。
"When I finished my first five minutes of performance, a member of the audience came to me and said 'you seemed interesting, but I didn’t understand a word you said', " Wong said.
“當(dāng)我完成自己首場(chǎng)5分鐘表演時(shí)，一名觀眾走過(guò)來(lái)對(duì)我說(shuō)‘你看起來(lái)很有趣，但你說(shuō)的話(huà)我一個(gè)詞都聽(tīng)不懂’。”黃西說(shuō)。
Wong kept practicing and performing at the club, until he became well known in Boston.
黃西繼續(xù)在這家俱樂(lè)部練習(xí)加表演，直到他名揚(yáng)波士頓。
In April 2009, Wong was invited to perform on the Late Show with David Letterman, a popular late-night talk show in the US.
2009年4月時(shí)，黃西受邀前往美國(guó)著名的午夜脫口秀“大衛(wèi).萊特曼秀”上表演。
Wong said it was a turning point of his career and his life. He did very well and was invited to perform at the Radio and Television Correspondents' annual dinner in 2010.
黃西說(shuō)這是他職業(yè)和人生的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)。他表演得很出色，并受邀在2010年美國(guó)電視記者年會(huì)上表演。
"It was the proudest moment of my life. It was a great honor for me to stand in the venue as an Asian, and speak for Chinese immigrants with a long history," Wong said.
“這是我一生中最自豪的時(shí)刻。作為一位亞洲人，能夠站在會(huì)場(chǎng)中央，并代表有著悠久歷史的華裔移民發(fā)言，這真是一種莫大的榮耀。”黃西說(shuō)。
According to Wong, his jokes aren't random humor, but are carefully crafted with his science background. He said people enjoy absurd logic. For instance, the US government spends tax raised from cigarettes on finding ways to cure cancer. Wong jokes: "When I smoked, I was actually finding a way to cure cancer."
黃西稱(chēng)，自己的笑話(huà)并非即興的幽默，而是根據(jù)他的理工科知識(shí)精心加工而成。他說(shuō)人們喜歡荒誕的邏輯。例如，美國(guó)政府利用征收煙草稅來(lái)尋求治愈癌癥的方法。黃西打趣道：“當(dāng)我抽煙時(shí)，實(shí)際上我是在尋求治愈癌癥的方法。”
He also makes jokes about himself being an immigrant. "Americans are good at self-mockery. They will not look down at you if you make fun of yourself. They will consider you humorous," Wong said.
他也會(huì)拿自己的移民身份開(kāi)涮。“美國(guó)人擅長(zhǎng)自嘲。當(dāng)你拿自己開(kāi)涮的時(shí)候，他們不會(huì)看不起你。他們只會(huì)認(rèn)為你很幽默。”王說(shuō)。
"Also, I want to tell stories about immigrants to raise their profile."
“同時(shí)，我想通過(guò)講述移民們的故事來(lái)提升他們的形象。”
Wong has his critics. Some people think that he could contribute more to society as a biochemist, rather than a stand-up comedian, but Wong disagrees.
黃西也遭受到批評(píng)。有些人認(rèn)為他應(yīng)該以生物化學(xué)家的身份為社會(huì)多做些貢獻(xiàn)，而不是當(dāng)一名單口相聲演員。但對(duì)此黃西并不認(rèn)同。
"I have been to Harvard and met many Chinese professors there. I think science in the US has enough Chinese," Wong said. "But in my area, you hardly found any Chinese."
“我去過(guò)哈佛大學(xué)，在那兒見(jiàn)到了很多中國(guó)教授。我覺(jué)得美國(guó)的科學(xué)領(lǐng)域已經(jīng)有足夠多的中國(guó)人了。”黃西說(shuō)，“而在我這個(gè)領(lǐng)域，你幾乎看不到中國(guó)人的影子。”
Wong said he'd changed many Americans' stereotypical view that Chinese lack a sense of humor and are always buried in work.
黃西說(shuō)他已經(jīng)改變了不少美國(guó)人認(rèn)為中國(guó)人缺乏幽默感并總是埋頭工作的思維定勢(shì)。
"Hopefully more people will understand our stories. I also want to encourage immigrants like me to speak out and live better."
“希望有更多的人能夠理解我們這些移民的故事。我也想鼓勵(lì)移民能像我這樣暢所欲言，活得更精彩。”
