世界各地存在一个普遍现象,那就是城市居民和农民之间互相瞧不起,用一些贬低对方的名称称呼对方。美国人在这方面也不例外。住在像纽约这种大城市的居民往往把农民看成是一些土里土气、脑子很简单,而且容易上当受骗的人。这些城里人经常把农民称为:hick。Hick这个字和中文里的乡下佬差不多。但是,一个hick并不见得一辈子做乡下佬。请听下面这个例子:
例句-1: See that well-dressed man across the room? That's Mr. Green. When he came to New York 20 years ago, he was only a hick fresh out of the cornfields of Kansas. But he turned out to be a lot smarter than he looked; they say he made ten million dollars last year trading in the stock exchange.
这个人说:你瞧屋子那边那个衣着很讲究的人。那是格林先生。二十年前他来纽约之前,只不过是勘萨斯州种玉米的乡巴佬。他当时虽然看起来不怎么样,但是脑子却非常灵活。他们说,去年他通过买进卖出股票就赚了一千万美元。
下面是一个人在回顾他大学时代的一个同学:
例句-2: My roommate in my freshman year was a real hick. He came from a town so small it didn't have a stop light, a building with an elevator or a movie theater.
他说:大学一年级时和我住一个房间的那个同学真是个乡下佬。他的老家是一个非常小的镇,那里连红绿灯都没有,没有一个楼里有电梯的,甚至连电影院都没有。
美国农民的人数现在越来越少了。一百年前,美国有百分之四十二的人生活在农村。可是,随着城镇的发展和农业机械化,美国农民的人数现在已经下降到只占总人口的百分之二点二。农民用来贬低城里人的名词很有限。他们常用的一个是:city slicker。Slick这个字的意思是很滑流。所以,一个city slicker 也就是说话很圆滑,衣着很时髦,但是很可能是一个不老实、不可信任的家伙。比如说,一个农民的女儿就要到城里去工作,这个农民对他的妻子说:
例句-3: Yep, I told Susie not to go out with any of them city slickers with their smooth talk and fancy clothes. If she has to go out, look for a farm boy. He may be a hick, but she can trust him a whole lot more.
他说:是的,我告诉苏琦不要和那些圆嘴滑舌、衣着讲究的城里人出去玩。要是她一定要出去玩,找一个农村来的男孩。他也许是个乡巴佬,但是至少是可以信得过的。
下面这个例子是对城里人的一个评价:
例句-4: Sure, a city slicker looks smart as long as he stays in a place like New York. But you put him down on a farm and he won't do much better than a newborn baby!
这句话的意思是:是的,一个油滑的城里人在像纽约这种地方看起来都很精明。但是,你要是把他送到农村去,他肯定什么也不会干,比一个新生婴儿好不了多少。
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