【又中又英】Blind Date

作者：Alice的学习笔记

原文

There was an interesting article in the British newspaper The Guardian last week. I read this newspaper every day although I consider it too liberal. But the article I read last week was not about politics. It was about a "blind date". A "blind date" is when a male and female who have never met before go out together for the first time. Different cultures have their types of blind dates. In Asia, particularly in India and China, parents arrange blind dates with the intention of getting their sons and daughters to marry. In the US, the expression "blind date" became more commonly used in the early 20thcentury when parents arranged for their sons and daughters to meet but not with the specific intention of marriage.

This changed in the 1950s and 1960s when young people in the West, not parents, fixed blind dates for their friends. In today's internet world, many companies arrange for strangers who share the same interests to meet. The Guardian article was interesting because the 57-year-old sales manager named Philip and the 61-year-old illustrator named Liz did not meet in person. Their blind date was online because of the coronavirus pandemic in Britain. When the newspaper asked Philip for his first impression of Liz, he said "She has a gap in her teeth, which was a bit boho." The expression "gap teeth" means having a small opening between the front teeth.

The word"boho" means someone who ignores the usually accepted way of behaving. It is most commonly used to describe artistic people. The word "bohemian" has a similar meaning. When the newspaper asked Liz what she thought Philip's first impression of her was, she replied, "Crikey, no idea" but added Philip said she was"arty". The British slang word "crikey" is an expression of surprise. To be "arty" means being or wishing to seem very interested in everything connected with art or artists. I hope when the pandemic is over, people will get back to real blind dates!

单词、短语

• blind date
  从未晤面的男女间的约会，英语解释为：an arranged meeting between a man and woman who have not met each other before，也就是我们说的“相亲”。
           Would you ever go on a blind date?
           你会不会经人介绍跟异性去约会？

• gap
  可以表示时间上的间隔，也可以表示缝隙，缺口，豁口。
           He pulled the thick curtains together, leaving just a narrow gap.
           他拉上厚厚的窗帘，仅留下一条狭窄的缝隙。

• boho
  与bohemian同义，可以表示艺术家波希米亚风格的，也可以表示不拘于传统的，放荡不羁的。
           a boho lifestyle *
           放荡不羁的生活方式*

• crikey
  [感叹语] (尤指对某些不愉快的事表示惊讶时说)哎呀，哎哟。

• arty
  附庸风雅的，装作爱好艺术的，英文解释为：being or wishing to seem very interested in everything connected with art and artists。
           She hangs out with a lot of arty types.
           她经常和一些附庸风雅的家伙混在一起。

翻译

英国报章《卫报》上星期有一则有趣的报道。我每天都读这份报纸，虽然我觉得它过于自由主义了。但我上星期读的那篇文章非关政治，是关于一场“blind date”。A“blind date”就是一对从未见过面的男女的首次约会。不同的文化有他们各自的相睇（blind dates）模式，在亚洲，尤其是印度和中国，父母会安排相睇（blind dates），意图让自己的子女可以嫁娶。在美国，习语“blind date”在二十世纪初日渐流行，父母会安排他们的子女见面，但不完全是以婚嫁作为前提。

这在一九五○及六○年代有所改变，在西方不再是父母，反而是年轻人会为朋友安排相亲（blind dates）。在今天的网络世界，许多公司都会安排有相同兴趣的陌生人相见。《卫报》的文章很有趣，因为那位五十七岁的销售经理菲腊，以及六十一岁的插画师丽丝并非亲身相见，因着英国的新冠肺炎疫情，他们的「盲约会」（blind date）要在网上进行。当那份报章问菲腊对丽丝的第一印象，他说：「她有gap in her teeth，那有一点boho。」习语“gap teeth”意即门牙中间有一道细小的罅缝。

“Boho”意即一些人无视世俗行为规范，它通常用来形容一些放荡不羁的文化人；“bohemian”（波希米亚）也有相近的意思。当报章问丽丝，怎样看菲腊对她的第一印象时，她回应道：「Crikey，没想法。」但也补充指菲腊有说她是“arty”。英式俚语“crikey”即「哎呀」，是表示惊讶的感叹词。To be“arty”意即附庸风雅的，对于一切有关艺术或艺术家的事情非常感兴趣，或希望显得很感兴趣。我希望当疫情完结之时，人们可以回复真正面对面的盲约会（blind dates）吧！*

原文作者：Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
中文翻译：七刻

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以上就是今天的内容。