【社会】美国人到底是怎么看英国人的?

【来源龙腾网】

评论原创翻译：

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.

我去过英国三次，我可以诚实地说，在那里的每一刻都充满了乐趣，我随时都愿意再次回去。我非常喜欢在那里度过的时光。

那里的乡村景色美得令人窒息，郁郁葱葱，我常常被英国乡村的壮丽美景所吸引，被其深深迷住，这一切都是天堂般的景象。

此外，酒吧文化也是一次真正值得体验和享受的，大多数英国酒吧都有着轻松、古雅、超现实的氛围，尤其是在乡村地区。在这些酒吧里，我感到非常自在，充满了宁静和幸福，带我达到了另一种意识、平静和快乐的境界中。而且，许多闲聊都具有相当高的智力水平，给我留下了深刻印象，这在我自己的国家是难以体验到的。

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!

那里的人大多很棒！我经常被他们以及他们所闻名的温文尔雅所吸引。他们非常礼貌和体贴。我喜欢和那里的人互动和交往，因为这是一个非常健康、积极和乐观的经历。

那里的食物也非常不错，种类繁多，常常非常美味，尤其是炸鱼薯条，人们以一种令人惊叹而丰盛的方式品尝薯条。

我会毫不犹豫地再次回到英国！

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.

美国人怎么看英国?

我是一位9个月前搬到英国的美国人，我想我可以为这次讨论提供一个独特的视角。

我在美国军队服役了23年，在服役期间，我和我的家人在美国7个不同的州生活过。我们深入当地社区，尝试融入当地文化。我们送孩子去当地学校，在本地社区购买或租赁房屋，并在当地区域寻找娱乐和购物。

去年我离开美国时，感到非常愤怒。

我对我花了将近四分之一世纪保卫的国家感到愤怒，因为它向世界展示了它的幼稚和内部分裂。我对我们的社交媒体、科技、种族主义和性别不平等感到愤怒，以至于我们完全忘记了如何尊重地对待我们的邻居。最让我生气的是他们的冷漠。

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.

一些奇怪的命运转折让我们一家去年搬到了英国的一个小镇，我非常享受这次经历的每一分钟。我们说大致相同的语言，使交流相对容易，但除此之外，我没有想到这里的文化与我在美国所知道的如此不同。

在我看来，主要的区别是恐惧的程度大不相同。美国人害怕得要死。我们害怕我们的邻居，所以我们从不与他们交谈。我们害怕我们的当地城镇，所以我们购买枪支（我自己也有几把）。我们害怕其他种族，所以我们只与自己的种族聚集。我们害怕警察，所以我们抨击他们的每一个失误。我们害怕政府，所以我们选择一方政党，并激烈的攻击反对政党，不管他们在问题上的立场如何。我们害怕自己不重要，所以我们用我们重要的面孔充斥社交媒体和真人秀，以便其他人都知道我们每个人有多棒。

英国是否存在让我感到恐惧的人？确实存在。

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.

但这里人们的平均意识水平与美国不同，英国人不害怕。他们有信心，他们自豪，但不吹嘘。 他们对自己的历史和文化有很好的了解，并且愿意与任何对学习感兴趣的人分享。他们无法理解为什么会因为在国歌奏响时选择站立、跪下或做出不恰当行为而感到愤怒......他们知道，从大局来看，这一点都不重要。

我可以走进当地的公园，与穆斯林、俄罗斯人、加拿大人、基督徒以及各种肤色的人进行舒适的交谈，没有人有领土意识或防卫意识，存在一种我不习惯的普遍接受程度。

当你身处当地的特易购超市，或者漫步在教堂或学校的走廊时，你知道英国人害怕的是什么吗？他们会询问我对我们的总统有什么看法。他们认识到他是那种破坏性的、自我中心的人物，这种行为违背了民主的基本原则。他们也和我们一样担心，他可能会中断我们各国在过去四五十年间共同取得的发展进步。他们不解我们为何会如此失去理智，竟然让一个三岁小孩来掌管一切，我理解他们的疑惑。

我在英国和在美国任何一个城镇一样感到受欢迎，并且很荣幸能在几年内成为他们社群的一员。尽管我们国家领导层在执行对我们盟友不敬的政策时毫无顾忌，我最大的希望是，通过我在这里的小小存在，能够向英国的朋友们证明，并非所有美国人都是自以为是的蠢货。

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.

我曾在伦敦生活了7年，并且非常喜欢那里，特别是喜欢那里的人们，他们大多数人都很棒。他们有很好的幽默感，许多人比美国人更有文化修养。此外，普通人更雄辩，也就是说，他们的词汇量更大，说话方式更有创意。英语更流利。我还发现人们都很善良。这是一个充满了优秀人民的美好国家。

当然，总有一些例外，但总的来说，我过得很愉快。