【社會】美國人到底是怎麼看英國人的?_風聞

【來源龍騰網】

評論原創翻譯：

Taylor Ahern

Having been to England three times I can honest to God say that there was never one dull moment spent in that country, as I always had a fantastic time & would return in a heartbeat. Loved spending time over there.

The rural scenery was breathtaking & magnificent in its lushness, as I was often transfixed upon the wondrous & sublime beauty of the English countryside. Mesmerized, it was all heavenly to behold.

Also, the pub scene was truly an experience to savor & enjoy, as there is a relaxing, quaint, & surreal atmosphere to most English pubs, especially those in rural areas. I felt at ease in them, filled with a tranquility & bliss that brought me to another level of awareness, of calm, & of happiness. And much of the chit chat was of an intellectual caliber that was very impressive, & hard to experience back home.

我去過英國三次，我可以誠實地説，在那裏的每一刻都充滿了樂趣，我隨時都願意再次回去。我非常喜歡在那裏度過的時光。

那裏的鄉村景色美得令人窒息，鬱鬱葱葱，我常常被英國鄉村的壯麗美景所吸引，被其深深迷住，這一切都是天堂般的景象。

此外，酒吧文化也是一次真正值得體驗和享受的，大多數英國酒吧都有着輕鬆、古雅、超現實的氛圍，尤其是在鄉村地區。在這些酒吧裏，我感到非常自在，充滿了寧靜和幸福，帶我達到了另一種意識、平靜和快樂的境界中。而且，許多閒聊都具有相當高的智力水平，給我留下了深刻印象，這在我自己的國家是難以體驗到的。

And the people were mostly great! I was often enchanted by them & their gentility, for which English people are renowned. Very polite & courteous indeed. Loved interacting & intermingling with the people over there, as it was a very healthy, positive & upbeat experience.

The food was also more than decent, as there is a great & outstanding variety of it, often very tasty, while the fish & chip meals were savored in a spectacular, hearty fashion.

I would return to England in a heartbeat!

那裏的人大多很棒！我經常被他們以及他們所聞名的温文爾雅所吸引。他們非常禮貌和體貼。我喜歡和那裏的人互動和交往，因為這是一個非常健康、積極和樂觀的經歷。

那裏的食物也非常不錯，種類繁多，常常非常美味，尤其是炸魚薯條，人們以一種令人驚歎而豐盛的方式品嚐薯條。

我會毫不猶豫地再次回到英國！

Ken Walker

What do Americans think of the U.K.?

I’m an American who moved to the U.K. 9 months ago, and I think I can offer a unique perspective to this discussion.

I served in the U.S. military for 23 years, and during my career my family and I lived in 7 different states across the U.S. We immersed ourselves in the local communities and attempted to blend in with the local culture. We sent our kids to local schools, bought or rented houses in local neighborhoods, and sought entertainment and shopping in whatever the local area offered.

When I left the U.S. last year, I was absolutely pissed off.

I was angry that the country I’d spent nearly a quarter century defending was broadcasting its infantilism and its internal divisiveness to the world. I was angry that we’ve become so consumed with social media, and technology, and racism, and inequality of the sexes that we completely forgot how to treat our neighbor with respect. And mostly I was angry at the apathy.

美國人怎麼看英國?

我是一位9個月前搬到英國的美國人，我想我可以為這次討論提供一個獨特的視角。

我在美國軍隊服役了23年，在服役期間，我和我的家人在美國7個不同的州生活過。我們深入當地社區，嘗試融入當地文化。我們送孩子去當地學校，在本地社區購買或租賃房屋，並在當地區域尋找娛樂和購物。

去年我離開美國時，感到非常憤怒。

我對我花了將近四分之一世紀保衞的國家感到憤怒，因為它向世界展示了它的幼稚和內部分裂。我對我們的社交媒體、科技、種族主義和性別不平等感到憤怒，以至於我們完全忘記了如何尊重地對待我們的鄰居。最讓我生氣的是他們的冷漠。

Some weird twist of fate led to my family relocating to a small town in England last year, and I have absolutely loved every minute of this experience. We speak roughly the same language, making communication relatively easy, but beyond that, I wasn’t prepared for just how different the culture is here than what I knew in America.

The main difference, in my opinion, is the vastly different level of fear. Americans are scared shitless. We’re scared of our neighbors, and so we never speak to them. We’re scared in our local towns, and so we purchase firearms (I had several myself). We’re scared of other races and so we congregate with our own. We’re scared of our police and so we attack every misstep they make. We’re scared of our government, and so we choose a side and vehemently attack the opposition, regardless their stance on any issue. We’re scared of not being important, and so we flood social media and reality TV with our important faces so everyone else is aware of just how amazingly awesome each of us really is.

Are there fearful people in the U.K.? Sure there are.

一些奇怪的命運轉折讓我們一家去年搬到了英國的一個小鎮，我非常享受這次經歷的每一分鐘。我們説大致相同的語言，使交流相對容易，但除此之外，我沒有想到這裏的文化與我在美國所知道的如此不同。

在我看來，主要的區別是恐懼的程度大不相同。美國人害怕得要死。我們害怕我們的鄰居，所以我們從不與他們交談。我們害怕我們的當地城鎮，所以我們購買槍支（我自己也有幾把）。我們害怕其他種族，所以我們只與自己的種族聚集。我們害怕警察，所以我們抨擊他們的每一個失誤。我們害怕政府，所以我們選擇一方政黨，並激烈的攻擊反對政黨，不管他們在問題上的立場如何。我們害怕自己不重要，所以我們用我們重要的面孔充斥社交媒體和真人秀，以便其他人都知道我們每個人有多棒。

英國是否存在讓我感到恐懼的人？確實存在。

But the average level of consciousness here is not the same as in the U.S. The British aren’t scared. They’re confident. They’re proud, without being boastful. They’re well-grounded in their history and culture, and ready and willing to share it with anyone who’s interested in learning. They can’t imagine getting pissed off about whether you stand, kneel, or masturbate during their national anthem…they know that in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter one bit.

I can walk into a local park and engage in comfortable conversation with a Muslim, a Russian, a Canadian, a Christian, and people with every shade of skin imaginable, and nobody feels territorial or defensive. There’s a level of common acceptance I’m not used to.

Whether it’s in the local Tesco, or walking the halls of a local church or school, do you know what the British are scared of? They ask what I think about our President. They know he’s a destructive egotistical force that flies in the face of democratic ideals, and they’re as fearful as we are that he’s going to disrupt the progress our nations have made jointly over the past 4 or 5 decades. They wonder why we lost our goddamn minds and put a 3 year old child in charge. I don’t blame them.

I feel as welcome in the U.K. as I ever have been in any American town, and honored to be part of their community for a few years. While our nation’s leadership has no problem enacting a policy of fractured disrespect to our allies, my biggest hope is that my presence here, in some small part, can convince my British counterparts that not all Americans are egotistical shit biscuits.

但這裏人們的平均意識水平與美國不同，英國人不害怕。他們有信心，他們自豪，但不吹噓。 他們對自己的歷史和文化有很好的瞭解，並且願意與任何對學習感興趣的人分享。他們無法理解為什麼會因為在國歌奏響時選擇站立、跪下或做出不恰當行為而感到憤怒……他們知道，從大局來看，這一點都不重要。

我可以走進當地的公園，與穆斯林、俄羅斯人、加拿大人、基督徒以及各種膚色的人進行舒適的交談，沒有人有領土意識或防衞意識，存在一種我不習慣的普遍接受程度。

當你身處當地的特易購超市，或者漫步在教堂或學校的走廊時，你知道英國人害怕的是什麼嗎？他們會詢問我對我們的總統有什麼看法。他們認識到他是那種破壞性的、自我中心的人物，這種行為違背了民主的基本原則。他們也和我們一樣擔心，他可能會中斷我們各國在過去四五十年間共同取得的發展進步。他們不解我們為何會如此失去理智，竟然讓一個三歲小孩來掌管一切，我理解他們的疑惑。

我在英國和在美國任何一個城鎮一樣感到受歡迎，並且很榮幸能在幾年內成為他們社羣的一員。儘管我們國家領導層在執行對我們盟友不敬的政策時毫無顧忌，我最大的希望是，通過我在這裏的小小存在，能夠向英國的朋友們證明，並非所有美國人都是自以為是的蠢貨。

Marshall Gittler

I lived in London for 7 years and loved it. Especially the people, most of whom were wonderful. They have a great sense of humor and many are more culturally literate than Americans. Also, the average person is simply more eloquent, i.e. has a larger vocabulary and more creative way of speaking. More fluent in English. I also found people to be quite kind. It’s a wonderful country filled with wonderful people.

Of course there are always some outliers but overall I had a great time.

我曾在倫敦生活了7年，並且非常喜歡那裏，特別是喜歡那裏的人們，他們大多數人都很棒。他們有很好的幽默感，許多人比美國人更有文化修養。此外，普通人更雄辯，也就是説，他們的詞彙量更大，説話方式更有創意。英語更流利。我還發現人們都很善良。這是一個充滿了優秀人民的美好國家。

當然，總有一些例外，但總的來説，我過得很愉快。