互联网时代的11个单词
　我们身处互联网时代。这一点，我们几乎没有选择。今天的说单词，关于互联网时代。

　　Internet 互联网 WWW 万维网

　　Internet，译为互联网，或者因特网，其实这已经反应了两种翻译专有名词的基本思路，译“互联网”，属于从词义本身出发，inter+net；而译为“因特网”，则属于音译法。英译汉如此，汉译英又何尝不能如此呢？于是“福娃”不再是Friendlies，索性Fuwa了。

　　其实译为“因特网”，对于我们的父辈来说，也许并不陌生。《国际歌》的最后几句，“英特纳雄耐尔，一定要实现”，International，共产国际，国际主义，据查最早是瞿秋白音译为“英特纳雄耐尔”。

　　WWW万维网，World Wide Web，这里的“万维”，属于既考虑音又兼词义。

　　Digital 数字的，数码的

　　十多年前，美国MIT教授Nicolas Negroponte的名著，Being Digital，成为启迪众多互联网先驱的宝典。

　　这个词的重要性，怎么说都不过分。就拿单词来说吧。比如，DC与DV已成为每个家庭的必备。那么下次向您不通晓英语的父母亲解释以下，为什么这里是两个D打头吧。

　　顺便清点一下您有多少数码设备吧。

　　Grassroots 草根

　　除了表示“基层的”，这个词最早和自下而上的选举活动有关，比如Wiki给的一个解释是：a grassroots political movement is one driven by the constituents of a community. 之后所有的衍生意思，其实都离不开这一本意。比如Blog，博客，web+log，网络日志；比如Audition海选。

　　Anonymity 匿名 Real Name System 实名制

　　如果网络是实名制的，网络将会怎样？至少现在，是可以匿名的，on the Internet, no one knows you are a dog. 于是据说网络的游戏规则是不一样的，谩骂诽谤是家常便饭的，很多时候也不需要为自己的言行负责任的。而一旦你用现实世界的游戏规则去评判网络虚拟世界，只能感慨，“不是我不明白，这世界变化快”。

　　Mob 暴民

　　不要被这个词的中文意思吓倒。网络暴民，已经司空见惯。那是真正的overwhelming. 课上和学生说过另一个词，smart mob. 有兴趣的可以去查询一下。至少比单纯的网络暴民要有内涵得多。

　　Censorship 审查

　　这是一个与道德标准甚至意识形态高度相关的单词。当您下次在网上看到某些敏感词汇用拼音缩写或者中间加星号来表示时，就属于规避审查，evasion of censorship.

　　Disruptive 颠覆性的

　　个人觉得比译为“破坏性的”要更准确，因为该词本意是指某项技术对某领域产生根本性的影响，比如wiki给的定义是A disruptive technology or disruptive innovation is a technological innovation, product, or service that eventually overturns the existing dominant technology or status quo product in the market.

　　比如Google, YouTube这个当量的，当得起disruptive.

　　Ecosystem 生态环境

　　互联网技术的发展，带动了一系列相关产业的发展，于是有了upstream, downstream，上游，下游产业。一个简单例子就是，昂立口译项目的不断发展壮大，于是提供大量口译教程的出版社，成了我们的上游，而昂立学院旁边的麻辣烫每天中午人满为患，则勉强也算下游产业了。

　　突破这样的线性思维方式，将所有的相关产业及相互关系都放在一起考虑，就有了business ecosystem，商业生态环境。

　　网民 netizen， 网～

　　从网民，Net+Citizen，到以网字开头的构词方式，网吧，网恋，网游，网管，至少在口译处理时，还不能指望都象网民一样，有一个词可以精确对应，不妨先拆开来解释更安全。

　　Spam 垃圾邮件

　　其实垃圾邮件本身应该是junk mail，只是现在说邮件，大家的第一反应其实已经是“电子邮件”了，那么垃圾邮件自然也多指垃圾电子邮件。

　　简洁的词就是容易存活发展，有生命力，现在spam远比unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE)要流传的广，也是例证。

　　Addiction 成瘾

　　在多个国家卫生当局对成瘾行为的定义中，大多包括medication, alcohol, gambling, sex，还有，Internet. 很多网络用户哪怕没有到addiction这个程度，多少也有些compulsiveness的意思了，比如一天查了5次电子邮件，然后睡觉前一定要再查一次才觉得安心。

　　限于篇幅，到此为止。以上为本次说单词，互联网时代。

　　抽两个词出来自我检验一下。Digital 数字的，数码的和Addiction 成瘾。

　　Digital 数字的，数码的

　　我本人现在经常使用的数码设备主要是手机，mp3，笔记本电脑(包括无线网卡，所以David会诧异于我在出租车上也能和他聊天)，偶尔使用DC，DV几乎不太用；

　　Addiction 成瘾

　　只要时间允许，每天上午都会打开自己的博客看。似乎已经到了compulsiveness的程度了。我打算把主页设为answers.com，这样至少还能多瞄几眼知识性强的东西。

给传统英语语法挑错
　　冠词，本来是英语里最简单的词，冠词语法，也是英语语法里最简单的语法，但很多同学却学不会英语冠词的使用，这是什么原因呢？

　　这主要是因为大家所看的传统英语语法书给冠词下了一个过窄的定义。传统英语语法书里说，英语冠词就是三个词a/an/the，这好比说“世界上的颜色只有红黄黑三种、其他的都叫温度”一样，让学习者陷入了对冠词过窄的理解中。

　　其实何为冠词呢？请看我下面的定义。冠词的“冠”字，就是“帽子”的意思，谁的帽子呢，名词的帽子，因为冠词总是位于名词的前面，就像一个帽子一样总是戴在名词的前面，因此把它形象地叫做名词的“冠”词。冠词是西方语言里发明的东西，咱们汉语里本没有冠词，上一个世纪里，由于西方语言进入中国，使中国人感到西方语言中的冠词很好用，便仿效西方语言发明了汉语里的冠词。那么汉语里哪些词是冠词呢？就是名词前面那些“最常戴着的帽子词”，如“一个、另一个、这个、那个、哪个、某个、这些、那些、哪些、某些……”等等。这些冠词的功能是表达“目标指定”，使名词的身份得到稳定的指示，因而使名词之间区别性加强，使整个文章逻辑加强。不信的话请你试试看，拿来一篇汉语文章，把名词前面的上述冠词都取消了，看你还能不能看懂这篇文章。

　　既然汉语的冠词是向西方语言学习来的，“仿效”汉语我们就可以知道英语里哪些词应该是冠词。英语冠词就是最常戴在英语名词前面的帽子词，即“a /an /this /that /one /the / other /another /these /those /some”等，而不应该只是传统语法中定义的三个词a /an /the。如果把英语冠词仅仅限制在这三个词a /an /the，则大家可想而知会造成什么样的学习难度，会造成学习者既不能整体地理解冠词的功能，又会在三个小词a /an /the中左顾右盼地看来看去，哪个词也学不透。当然，a /an /the这三个冠词有点特殊的小脾气，是应该专门地讲一讲的，比如an只用在元音发音开头的名词前，a和the各有两个发音在英美音中侧重不同…… 这些事可以举例细讲一下，但不能因此就把少数几个有脾气的冠词定义为冠词，而把大多数老实巴交没脾气的this /that /one / ther /another /these /those /some等排挤在门外。若将它们排挤在门外，则余下的三个冠词难以承担冠词重任，流浪在外的大多数冠词也从此难以派上用场。

　　讲明白了上述大范围的“冠词”的概念后，冠词的学习就立刻变得很容易了。大家只需要认识a /an /this /that /one /the / other /another /these /those /some…… 这一系列词的意思，在使用英语名词时，根据要表达的意思在名词的前面安放上这些冠词，学会给名词戴上“帽子”，就完事大吉了，就这么简单。

　　传统语法不仅把冠词的定义下“窄”了，而且又把过窄的冠词不必要地讲复杂了，即用定冠词和不定冠词来细细地区分“一个”和“这个”的差别(即a和the的差别)，并且大量举例来讲解两者的差别，使学习者陷入了苦海中。其实大家仔细想想，凡五岁以上的小孩谁不清楚“一个”和“这个”的差别，何必用“定冠词”和“不定冠词”这样复杂难懂的两个大词汇来讲解两个小词的差别，是不是有点低估了人类的智商？

　　其实a和the虽然同为冠词，但两者不具备可比性，它们是不同意思的两个词，自然要用在不同意思的场合下。“a”的意思是“一个、一片、一根、一位……”，我想不用我做任何解释大家也应该知道它应该用在什么时候。只是这个“the”要多说说。英语有个怪毛病，就是“为了炫耀语言的精确性而不厌其烦地啰唆”。比如动词的过去式吧，你看咱们汉语里多么简单，一段话只要开头有个“昨天”，整个这段话里的动词就都自动地“过去式”了，可英语就特别啰唆了，尽管一段话的开头已经有个yesterday了，可文章中的每个动词还得逐个改成过去式，一个也不能少，好不啰唆！但英语自己却沾沾自喜地把这种啰唆美称为“表达精确”。就和这种啰唆类似，英语名词的表达也很啰唆，凡是上文中已经陈述出来的确定了的东西，或者虽然上文中未陈述，但却是按照常识大家应该知道的东西(不管你其实知道不知道)，基本上一律都在前面加上个“这个(the)”，就为了炫耀表达的精确。知道了英语的这个怪脾气，用英语说话的时候名词的前面你就勤加着点“the”，用多了不怕，用少了不行，反正免费使用。

　　以上我举冠词为例，目的是要告诉大家传统语法书并不是“理想”的语法书，而是存在很多缺陷的语法书，这并不是因为语法书的作者故意要害我们，而是因为这些语法书均出自外国人之手。你知道吗？语言学里有一个名词，叫做语言的“异族敏感性”，就是本民族的人由于太熟悉自己的语言了，反而觉悟不出自己语言中的规律性，讲不透自己语言的语法，而其他的民族看这个民族的语言(比如中国人看英语)，由于把自己的母语和外语比较，却反而有可能看出其中的门道。

　　因此我们在学习英语语法的时候，千万不能“死心眼”地学，而要用灵活的思维去学，要和汉语对比着去学习，要去想问题，要敢于发现传统语法的问题。如果大家都能带着这种灵活的心态和思维方法去学习英语语法，则不仅能自己动手弥补传统英语语法的缺陷，并且能实现彻底搞通英语语法的目标。等你把英语语法彻底搞通了，你可以自豪地对外国人说：我比你还懂你们的语法！

皮匠和银行家
The Cobbler and the Banker


　　A cobbler passed his time in singing from morning till night;it was wonderful to see,wonderful to hear him;he was more contented in shoes,than was any of the seven sages.his neighbor,on the contrary,who was rolling in wealth,sung but little and slept less.he was a banker;when by chance he fell into a doze at day-break,the cobbler awoke him with his song.the banker complained sadly that providence had not made sleep a saleable commodity,like edibles or drinkables.having at length sent for the songster,he said to him,"how much a year do you earn,master gregory?" "how much a year,sir?"said the merry cobbler laughing,"i have reckon in that way,living as i do from one day to another;somehow i manage to reach the end of the year;each day brings its meal." "well then!how much a day do you earn,my friend?""sometimes more,sometimes less;but the worst of it is,-and,without that our earnings would be very tolerable,-a number of days occur in the year on which we are forbidden to work;and the curate,moreover,is constantly adding some new saint to the list."



　　一个皮匠从早到晚在唱歌中度过。无论见到他本人或听见他的歌声都使人觉得很愉快。他对于制鞋工作比当上了希腊七对还要满足。与此相反，他的邻居是个银行家，拥有万贯家财，却很少唱歌，晚上也睡得不好。他偶尔在黎明时分迷迷糊糊刚入睡，皮匠的歌声便于工作把他吵醒了。银行家郁郁寡欢地抱怨上帝没有睡眠也制成一种像食品或饮料那样可以买卖的商品。后来，银行家就叫人把这位歌手请来，问道：“格列戈里师傅，你一年赚多少钱？”“先生，你问我一年赚多少钱吗？”快乐的皮匠笑道：“我从来不算这笔帐，我是一天一天地过日子，总而言之坚持到年底，每天挣足三餐。”“啊，朋友，那么你一天赚多少钱呢？”“有时多一点，有时少一点；不过最糟糕的是一年中总有些日子不准我们做买卖，牧师又常常在圣徒名单上添新名字，否则我们的收入也还算不错的。”



　　The banker,laughing at his simplicity,said,"in the future i shall place you above want.take this hundred crowns,preserve them carefully,and make use of them in time of need."the cobbler fancied he beheld all the wealth which the earth had produced in the past century for the use of mankind.returning home,he buried his money and his happiness at the same time,no more singin;he lost his voice,the moment he acquired that which is the source of so much grief.sleep quitted his dwelling;and cares,suspicions,and false alarms took its place,all day,his eye wandered in the direction of his treasure;and at night,if some stray cat made a noise,the cat was robbing him.at length the poor man ran to the house of his rich neighbor;"give me back." said he,"sleep and my voice,and take your hundred crowns."



　　银行家被皮匠的直率逗笑了，他说：“我要你从今以后不愁没钱用。这一百枚钱你拿去，小心放好，需要时拿来用吧。”皮匠觉自己好像看到了过去几百年来大地为人类所需而制造出来的全部财富。他回到家中，埋藏好硬币，同时也埋葬了他的快乐。他不再唱歌了；从他得到这种痛苦的根源那一刻起，他的嗓子就哑了。睡眠与他分手；取而代之的却是担心、怀疑、虚惊。白天，他的目光尽朝埋藏硬币的方向望；夜间，如果有只迷途的猫弄出一点声响，他就以为是有人来抢他的钱。最后，这个可怜的皮匠跑到他那富有的邻居家里说：“把你的一百枚钱拿回去，还我的睡眠和歌声来。”

风和太阳
The wind and the sun


　　The wind and the sun were disputing who was the stronger. 

　　Suddenly they saw a traveler coming down the road. The sun said, "Whoever can make the traveler take off his coat will be the stronger."

　　So the sun hid behind a cloud, and the wind began to blow as hard as it could. As the wind blew harder, the traveler wrapped his coat more closely around himself.

　　Then the sun came out. He shone on the traveler. The traveler soon felt quite hot, and took off his coat.

　　风和太阳

　　●风和太阳两方为谁的能量大相互争论不休。

　　●突然，他们看到一个行人走在路上，太阳说：“谁能使行人脱下衣服，谁就更强大。”

　　●太阳藏在乌云后面，风开始拼命地吹，风刮得越猛烈，行人越是裹紧自己的衣服。

　　●太阳出来了，暖暖地晒着行人，行人感到很热，很快就把外套脱了下来。

　　寓意: 劝说往往比强迫更为有效。

如何避免“中国味”英语


　　在各个英语学习论坛上，我经常看到有网友自己翻译一句话(中翻英)，然后请其他网友评判一下，看看译文是否通顺。这些译文，我大致看了看，总的感觉是：符合英语语法规则，但“中国味”太重。下面我举最近两天的两个小例子，请各位看看什么是“中国味”，以及我们应当如何避免这种“中国味”。

　　有一个网友，将“我们经理点头表示同意”这句话翻译为下面第一行。这样翻译，显然是受汉语的影响，汉语中有“点头”，英语中就有nod，汉语中有“表示”，英语中就有express，等等，汉语有什么，英语也有什么，一一对应，成双成对，这是最典型的一种“中国味”。其实nod既可以当作不及物动词，意思是“点头”，也可以当作及物动词，意思是“点头表示...”，因此，没有“中国味”的英语译文应当是下面第二行。

　　①Our manager nodded to express his approval.

　　②Our manager nodded approval.

　　我在初学英语时，也经常犯这样的错误，我的解决方法是：在翻译一个句子之后，把这个句子的主要动词找出来，如果是很常用、很熟悉的动词，比如come、go、have、take等，那就算了，如果是不常用、不熟悉的动词，比如nod，我就查一下《英汉词典》，看看nod在词典例句中的用法，与我自己的用法是否一致，如果一致，说明我的用法是正确的，如果不一致，我就仿照词典例句的用法，将我的句子改正过来。这种方法，虽然当时要花费一点时间，但对今后正确使用英语，是有很大帮助的。

　　还有一个网友，将“新郎新娘给他们的父母鞠躬”这句话翻译为下面第一句。这句译文，如果不仔细琢磨，是看不出毛病的，它的毛病就是：在汉语中，我们习惯先说新郎，后说新娘，但在英语中，顺序正好相反，应当先说bride，后说bridegroom，因此第一句应当改写为第二句。按照汉语顺序排列英语单词，是另外一种常见的“中国味”，类似的情况还有很多，比如“东西、南北、老少、新旧”等，在英语中应当改成“西东、北南、少老、旧新”等。

　　①Bridegroom and bride bowed to their parents.

　　②Bride and bridegroom bowed to their parents.

　　对于这种小毛病，我没有什么特别好的解决方法，我看只有多读书，特别是读一些介绍英语小常识、小典故的书，以增加自己对英语各方面知识的了解

如何描述商品品质



　　商品品质决定交易本质上的价值，因此它是最重要的交易因素之一。贸易上的品质决定方法有：凭样品买卖，凭标准买卖，凭规格买卖等。下面我们来看看有关品质的表达法。

　　品质优良：quality is excellent/ superior/ very good/ fine/ best/ high/ wonderful/ supreme/ attractive

　　品质低劣：quality is bad/ inferior/ not good/ poor/ imperfect/ defective/ faulty/ second-rate/ lower/ unsatisfactory

　　品质保证：retain the good quality; keep up to the standard quality; obtain a good quality; attain the best quality; secure an excellent quality

　　物品以达标准品质：An article is up to the standard quality; An article is of the same quality as the standard; An article is equal to the standard quality; An article is the same as the standard quality

　　物品在标准以下：An article is below the standard

　　物品在标准以上：An article is above the standard

　　物品和样品一致：An article is up to the sample; An article corresponds with the sample; An article is equal to the sample.

　　average quality 标准品质

　　We would like to buy 500 tons of average quality corn.

　　customary quality 一般品质

　　The quality of the goods shipped is customary quality.

　　best quality, prime quality, first-rate quality 最佳品质

　　The goods supplied shall only be those of best quality.

　　quality inspection certificate 品质检验证书

　　Please be sure to attach a quality inspection certificate.

　　difference in quality 品质上的差异

　　There is a big difference in quality between the trial order and the order of this time.

　　guarantee of quality 品质保证

　　We request a guarantee of quality for a period of one year on all the goods you sell.

　　sacrifice quality 降低品质

　　If you sacrifice the quality and deliver goods of imperfect quality to us, we will refuse to accept them.

英语学习窍门：从简单的部分开始学


　　当我们意识到有必要学会英语，并且下决心去攻克这个难关时，我们就一定要：

　　1、投资我们的时间和心智。我们并不傻，有足够的智慧和大脑空间来消化储存那些ABCD。别人能学会，我们也能学会，只要我们善于投资自己的时间。上帝赋于我们每日24小时，上班8小时，睡觉7小时，三餐饭2小时，莫名其妙kill2小时，无论如何应有1小时来学习。越忙的人，越有时间做事；越闲越懒散的人，越找不到时间来做事。

　　2、要从心底滋生出一种对英语的喜爱之情。把学英语当成一个开心而愉快的美差，而不是硬着头皮、头悬梁、锥刺骨的苦力。因此，先要从简单的入手，找一本好教材或一本故事书(生词量不超过30%)悉心研读，默识揣摸，就会有收获感，尝到甜头，进而信心更足，如开始就啃一本词汇量太大，没有词典看不下去的书，只会扼杀学习兴趣，降低情绪，最终放弃。

　　3、要有自我约束力，且称之为“心力”吧。春来不是读书天，夏日炎炎正好眠，秋来蚊虫冬又冷，背起书包待明年。总有一些理由不学习。这样下去，我们的英语之树永远长不大。古人云：“人静而后安，安而能后定，定而能后慧，慧而能后悟，悟而能后得。”很有道理。在四川大足佛教石刻艺术中，有一组大型佛雕《牧牛图》，描绘了一个牧童和牛由斗争、对抗到逐渐融合、协调，最后合而为一的故事。佛祖说：“人的心魔难伏，就象牛一样，私心杂念太多太多；修行者就要象牧童，修炼他们，驯服他们，以完美自已的人生。”我们学英语也一样，要能够驯服那些影响我们学习的大牛、小牛，抵制各种诱惑，集中精力，专心学习。

　　4、要有信心。英语不过是表达思想的一种工具、一种说话习惯而已。我们要坚信，只要有投入，有付出，就会有收获。绝不会“付出的爱收不回。”

　　5、要有实际行动。一个真正的马拉松运动员绝不会空等奥林匹克金牌从天下掉下来，现在就行动起来。　　

　　6、要有连续性、持续性。学英语是一个漫长的过程，走走停停便难有成就。比如烧开水，在烧到80度时停下来，等水冷了又烧，没烧开又停，如此周而复始，又费精力又费电，很难喝到水。学英语要一鼓作气。天天坚持，在完全忘记之前及时复习、加深印象，如此反复，直至形成永久性记忆。如果等到忘记了再来复习，就象又学新知识一样，那么，我们就永远是初学者，虽然在辛辛苦苦地烧开水，却难品味到其甘润。

新时代好男人需要关怀体贴

　　近日，全国妇联评选出了10位新时代好男人。但是，无论是体育明星姚明、刘翔，还是IT精英张朝阳、丁磊，都没能入选。据悉，此次评选看重的是男性对女性的关怀和体贴，评委是一些女官员和女性报纸的记者。

　　Care and compassion symbolize Men of Our Time.

　　If you thought sports stars Yao Ming and Liu Xiang or Internet entrepreneurs Zhang Chaoyang and Ding Lei would automatically be on the list of the "Men of Our Time", then you could be, well, behind the times.

　　The surprise in the list of 10 men released by the All-China Women's Federation yesterday is that it contains no celebrities - and the guiding factors seem to be care and compassion for the opposite sex.

　　Making the cut are a gynaecologist who made scientific breakthroughs, a pharmacist who helps protects prostitutes from HIV/AIDS, a policeman who rescues women from forced marriages and an official who runs a shelter for wives driven out of their homes.

　　In fact, Liu and Yao, as well as actor Pu Cunxin - the image ambassador for China's anti-HIV/AIDS campaign - appeared in a pamphlet distributed at the contest's launch ceremony in January. The federation wouldn't say why they are not in the final list.

　　The winners, with an average age of 47.5, were selected by women officials and journalists of the nine women's newspapers in China, whose criteria was men promoting gender equality.

　　Li Zhonghua, a 46-year-old airforce officer who test-flies planes, said he thought he was chosen because "he takes good care of his family, and is a gentleman".

　　"Gentlemen get more respect in our society. They should be like those in the movie Titanic, who let women and children leave first in life rafts," he told China Daily.

　　Shi Huashan, a 48-year-old policeman in Guixi of Jiangxi Province, said that he became a "man in the eyes of women" because "women love stories of heroes saving beauties".

　　His team has rescued more than 180 women who were abducted and sold as wives in the mountain regions of Fujian Province.

　　Li Jianhua, a 52-year-old pharmacist in Kunming of Yunnan Province, emphasized that sex workers should be treated equally and with respect to fight HIV/AIDS. "If you consider yourself above them, they will never trust you," he said.

　　The other "Men of Our Time" are:

　　Lang Jinghe, 67, gynaecologist at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing, who has made breakthroughs in ovarian cancer;

　　Ma Li, 33, official in Xuzhou of Jiangsu Province, whose shelter has helped 196 victims of domestic violence;

　　Li Mingshun, 43, lawyer in Beijing, who is active in campaigns against family violence;

　　Liu Ri, 51, a mine worker in Lu'an of Shanxi Province, who took care of his paralyzed parents-in-law for 23 years with his wife;

　　Tian Hui, 36, doctor in Baoji of Shaanxi Province, who took care of the family when his wife was abroad on UN peacekeeping duty;

　　Han Wei, 51, entrepreneur in Dalian of Liaoning Province, who started a successful business with his wife from feeding chickens;

　　Fu Shenglong, 45, entrepreneur in Loudi of Hunan Province, who employs about 200 laid-off women workers.

当男人爱上女人



　　When a man loves a woman

　　她翻开另一页，补充道“他热情、幽默、善良、稳重”。对于这个与她共同生活并相爱了大半辈子的人，她这样写道：“他总会在我需要的时候陪伴我。”

　　My friend John McHugh is always telling me things, things that younger men need wiser, older men to tell them. Things like whom to trust, how to love, how to live a good life.

　　Not long ago John lost his wife, Janet, to cancer. God knows she was a fighter, but in the end the disease won their eight-year battle.

　　One day John pulled a folded paper from his wallet. He’d found it, he told me, while going through drawers in his house. It was a love note, in Janet’s handwriting. It looked a little like a schoolgirl’s daydream note about the boy across the way. All that was missing was a hand-drawn heart and the names John and Janet. Except this note was written by the mother of seven children, a woman who had begun the battle for her life, and very probably was within months of the end.

　　It was also a wonderful prescription for holding a marriage together. This is how Janet McHugh’s note about her husband begins:” Loved. Cared. Worried. ”

　　As quick with a joke an John is, apparently he didn’t joke with his wife about cancer. He’d come home, and she’d be in one of the moods cancer patients get lost in, and he’d have her in the car faster than you can say DiNardo’s, her favorite restaurant. “Get in the car,” he’d say,” I’m taking you out to dinner.”

　　He worried, and she knew it. You don’t hide things from someone who knows better.

　　“Helped me when I was sick.” is next. Maybe Janet wrote her list when the cancer was in one of those horrible and wonderful remission periods, when all is as it was—almost—before the disease, so what harm is there in hoping that it’s behind you, maybe for good?

　　“Forgave me for a lot of things.”

　　“Stood by me.”

　　And then, good service to those of us who think giving constructive criticism is our religious calling: “Always complimentary.”

　　“Provide everything I ever needed.” Janet McHugh next wrote.

　　Then she’d turned the man she had lived with and been in love with for the majority of her life. She’d written:” Always there when I needed you.”

　　The last thing she wrote sums up all the others. I can picture her adding it thoughtfully to her list. ”Good friend.”

　　I stand beside John now, unable even to pretend that I know what it feels like to lose someone so close. I need to hear what he has to say, much more than he needs to talk.

　　“John,” I ask,” how do you stick by someone through 38 years of marriage. “let done the sickness too? How do I know I’d have what it takes to stand by my wife if she got sick?”

　　“you will,” he says. ”If you love her enough, you will.”

年轻人常用口头禅


　　1. It's cool.

　　cool 是青少年（teen-agers) 常用的字，(有时也用 debonaire) 其真正意思是指可以接受的好事；或是情况可以控制；或是保持冷静、文雅、礼貌、外表不错，能够合乎年轻人的标准。（可指人或事物）也就是 something good or acceptable；situation is under control；being calm, gentle, courteous or good-looking；meet teen's standard. 所以可以说：

　　That's cool；he is cool；this is cool.

　　Skydiving (或surfing) is cool.（跳伞或冲浪运动很不错）

　　主词可用任何人称的单复数 (I, we, they 等)，动词可用 verb to be 的任何时态 (is, was, were, will be, have been等)。因此，也可以说：

　　She (He) was cool in the past.

　　That's a cool T-shirt.（好看的运动衫）

　　He (she) is a cool person.（文雅礼貌的人）

　　但是如果说：Are you cool？又是指「你冷吗？」(cool = cold)，可见 cool 当口头禅或俚语时，多半不用在问句。假如说：

　　She looks as cool as a cucumber. 又是恭维语，是说她很 calm and charming; not

　　emotional. 但为何用黄瓜 (cucumber) 代表，则不得而知。

　　(注：许多华人把 cool 译成「很酷」)

　　2. Are you trippin'？

　　trippin' 这个字，是由动词 trip 演变而来。（动词时态是：tripped, tripping）年轻人用省略符号 (apostrophe ) 代替 g，表示是 slang，或口头禅。这个字是现在分词当形容词用，是指行为异乎寻常，也许受到吸毒或喝酒的影响，而显得神魂颠倒、奇形怪状(to get high on drug such as LSD)，也就是说：要不是受到药、酒的影响，你为什　显得这样古怪呢？(Are you under any influence of drug or alcoholic? Why are you so crazy and bizarre?) 所以可以说：

　　They are trippin'. （= tripping）

　　She (he) is trippin'.

　　Mr. A must be trippin'.

　　通常只用在年轻人身上，而且不是恭维语。

　　3. He is a nerd

　　nerd 是指一些年轻人，每天只懂读书、考试，但对生活上的其他事情，都很生疏。 (A person always buries his nose in books, but not good at social situations.） 由於美国十分重视多方面发展的教育 (well-rounded)，所以许多老外认为 nerd 虽然学识不错，但很乏味；有IQ，但缺乏EQ，只是社会上无足轻重的「书虫」或「蠢货」而已。(IQ = Intelligence Quotient ; EQ = Emotional Quotient) nerd 可用复数，动词也能用其他时态。因此可以说：

　　He used to be a nerd in high school

　　4. Yo baby

　　Yo baby 是许多年轻的黑人男子对女子的招呼语，也有人用“Yo baby, yo baby

　　yo”，由於女子很漂亮，很吸引人，他想与她交谈。(He thinks she is pretty and attractive, so he wants to speak to her.)，也就是找话题，想要「打开话匣」。(to use as a form of opening line or pick-up line or to begin a greeting; try to know her or date her) 如果说：

　　Yo baby, are you trippin'? 意思是：漂亮的姑娘，你的样子有点怪里怪气，有什　心事吗？

　　“Yo baby" 後面可跟任何可以「打开话匣」的句子。诸如：

　　May I help you with something? I think I have met you somewhere before.

　　同理，如果年轻女子看到帅哥，有吸引力，很想与他交谈，那　就用：“Hey, hey, hey" 後跟任何可以「打开话匣」的句子。诸如：

　　Hey, hey, hey, what's going on？“what is going on？”就是年轻黑人打招呼的用语 (a form of greeting or open statement) 或 Hey, hey, hey, are you going to the movie？(帅哥，你是去看电影吗？)


　5. She is a ho

　　ho 这个字，也是美国年轻人把 whore 字改变而成的一种口头禅或俚语。意思是指一些年轻女人，也许因为 peer pressure 或 curiosity 或 enjoyment 的心理，随便自愿与男子免费上床。(a girl or woman gives sex freely without charge)，也就是说：She is very loose. 或 She is a loose woman (girl)。 ho 也可用复数：

　　They are (were) hos.

　　There are quite a few hos in high schools. 但是如果用 whore，是指妓女，男人需要付钱的。(a girl or woman is paid for sex.)

　　6. Catch you later！

　　这是年轻人说「再会」的口语。(a form to say“good乡bye”) 也就是说：现在没有时间与你交谈，以後再谈吧！(I don't have time to talk with you now, but we can talk later.) 因此，catch 就是 talk 或 contact 的意思。catch 後面，也可用其他人称代名词（him, her, them 等）

　　有时年轻小伙子也用：I am off. 意思就是：I am leaving now; I'll talk to you again.

　　(我要走了，再谈吧！)