零距离美语会话[文化风俗差异]Lesson4:Howmuchdidthispainting&nbsp

2.  How much do you make?
A Chinese businessman is visiting a government trade official in Washington, D.C., the nation's capital.
Wong:  Thank you for showing me your offices, Mr. Becker.  I can see why Washington bureaucrats3 enjoy their jobs.
Becker:  Why do you say that?
Wong:  The city is beautiful, the off ..., the offices are modern and comfortable, and the work is so interesting.
Becker:  Many people work for the federal4 government their entire adult lives.  Government service can be a rewarding and secure career.
Wong:  Do you mean financially rewarding?
Becker:  Well, many positions pay salaries that are comparable to5 those in private industries. 
Wong:  I've always thought that most bureaucrats are lazy. 
Becker:  Sometimes that's true, but not usually.  Most feds are honest, hard-working professionals.  It’s hard to keep highly trained people, so the pay and working conditions have to be attractive.
Wong:  How much do you make?
Becker:  I'm a GS-15.  That's high on the scale of workers, but even a GS-1 is paid a living wage.

Helpful Information：
Often, government workers are paid according to a salary scale.  Their salaries increase with years of service, education, or promotion.  A new employee might be a “G-1”, and an older employee might be a “G-13”.
政府员工拿薪水往往是根据一个工资表。他们的薪水随着工作的年数、受教育程度和晋级而增加。一个新员工可能是“G-1”级，而一个老员工可能就是“G-13”级。

【译文】
——贝克先生，谢谢你带我参观你们的办公室。我能看出为什么华盛顿政府人员会喜欢他们的工作。
——你为什么这么说呢？
——城市很漂亮，办……，办公室既现代化又舒适，而且工作又是这么有趣。
——许多人的成年生活都在联邦政府度过。政府部门的工作可以很有回报，很有保障。
——你是说经济回报吗？
——很多工作付的薪水和那些在私人企业工作的能媲美。
——我一直以为多数政府人员很懒惰。
——有时候是真的，但不是通常这样。大部分联邦官员都很专业，诚实又努力工作。很难留住这些受过高水平培训的人，所以工资和工作环境必须要具有吸引力。
——你赚多少钱？
——我是GS-15。在员工当中，算是高的，但是连GS – 1 的人，起码的生活薪水还是有的。

3.  Compliments.
Cindy, a Chinese girl, is visiting an American woman’s apartment with other two foreigners.
Bruce:  Hey, look at these paintings on the wall!  Aren’t they beautiful?  Linda bought some good paintings.
Gilbert:  Yeah, very impressive6.  Oh, this one’s marvelous!
Cindy:   Sure, they’re very colorful.
Linda:   Thank you.  You are very generous with your compliments7.
Bruce:  You know the first thing most Chinese students would ask is “how much did this painting cost?”
Gilbert:  Right.  I’ve noticed that too.  They always ask that question before they say anything else.
Cindy:   That’s true.  Most Chinese do that.  I don’t know why.  It’s just a habit.  I’ve noticed that foreigners often make compliments soon after they see a product someone has bought - even if they don’t really mean it.
Bruce:  Yeah, we’re just different.  We can’t figure out why many Chinese people don’t give big hugs to their own parents after they grow up.
Cindy:   No, we don’t do that.  At least very few people I know do that.
Gilbert:  And as far as I know, it’s not common for a Chinese to say, “I love you” to anyone including his or her soul mate8.
Linda:   Cindy, please don’t misunderstand.  We’re not saying that one way is better than another.  They’re just different, that’s all.
Cindy:  I know.  Americans say those three words a lot, especially in movies.  I wonder if they really mean it.
Gilbert:  We do, most of the time.  Sometimes we tell our loved ones that we’re proud of them too.  Words are important.
【译文】
——喂，看墙上这些画！它们难道不漂亮吗？琳达买的油画真不错。
——是啊，很令人钦佩。噢，这幅画很了不起哦!
——当然，它们很鲜艳。
——谢谢你们。你们真乐于夸奖别人。
——你知道大部分中国学生第一件会问的事便是“这画多少钱？”
——是啊。我也注意到了。在他们说其它话之前，他们老喜欢问那个问题。
——的确是这样。许多中国人都这样做。我不知道为什么。只是个习惯。我注意到了外国人看见别人买的东西常常会马上称赞一番——即使他们并不真正发自内心。
——是啊，我们就是不一样。我们不明白为什么许多中国人成年以后就不再拥抱他们自己的父母亲。
——不，我们不这么做。至少我认识的人中很少人会这样。
——而且据我所知，对于一个中国人来说，说声“我爱你”是很不常见的，即使对他们的心上人。
——辛迪，你不要误会。我们不是在说哪一个比另一个好。它们只是不同，就这样。
——我知道。美国人说这三个字说得特别多，尤其在电影里。我想知道他们是否是说真的。
——大部分时间，我们是说真的。有时候我们也告诉我们爱着的人我们很为他们自豪。言语是重要的。

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