英语导读1000句（五十一）

　　Section 51 Toilet

　　Do you know what euphemism is?你知道隐喻是什么吗?

　　Sure. Itrsquo;s when we use a polite word instead of a more accurate one.当然。它是指我们用一个礼貌用词来代替一个准确用词。

　　Thatrsquo;s right. And I was thinking that there are probably more euphemisms for toilet than any other word.没错。我想有关ldquo;洗手间rdquo;一词的隐喻比其它词多得多。

　　Yeah. I can think of loads, like WC, washroom, bathroom, powder room, little boyrsquo;s room and lavatory, loo, bog and some words which are really not very polite at all.对，我可以想出一大堆。像WC、洗手间、浴室、化妆间、小孩房以及一些实在不很雅致的词。

　　But do you know that the word toilet can also be a verb?你知道ldquo;TOILETrdquo;也可作为动词吗?

　　No, I didnrsquo;t. How?不知道。怎么用呢?

　　Well, many many years ago, people would say to do onersquo;s toilet which meant to wash and dress.很多年以前，人们说ldquo;to do onersquo;s toiletrdquo;，指的是洗澡和更衣。

　　So which do you think is the best one to use?那你觉得哪一个是最好的用法呢?

　　Well, I think it depends where you are.我想它取决于你在哪里。

　　In China, for example, most people will call it the WC.比如在中国，大多数人称之为ldquo;WCrdquo;。

　　Yeah. Thatrsquo;s short for water closet, isnrsquo;t it?它是ldquo;water closetrdquo;的缩写，是吗?

　　Um. But the Americans seem to prefer to use bathroom or washroom or even restroom.嗯。但是美国人喜欢称之为ldquo;浴室、洗涤间或是休息室rdquo;。

　　The British often use gents or ladies.英国人常用ldquo;gentsrdquo;或ldquo;ladiesrdquo;。

　　And I have also seen the word lavatory used on some aeroplanes.我也在一些飞机上见过ldquo;lavatory rdquo;一词。

　　I think the best thing is to listen to what the people use in the country you are in, and copy that.我想最好听听你所在国家的人们的用词习惯，并随着他们说。