The 8,000 volunteers who will welcome international visitors to London 2012 have been issued with a 66-page instruction manual, covering everything from foreign etiquette to uniform care and advice on dealing with journalists. But what of the visitors themselves? Could they not do with a manual outlining the customs, manners and practicalities of the islands they are visiting? We hereby present a simple guide to UK etiquette for the 2012 Olympics.
負(fù)責(zé)2012倫敦奧運(yùn)會(huì)國(guó)際游客接待的8000名志愿者，收到了一份長(zhǎng)達(dá)66頁(yè)的指南手冊(cè)，里面包含了大小事項(xiàng)，從國(guó)外禮節(jié)到著裝細(xì)節(jié)再到如何和記者打交道?？墒峭鈬?guó)游客們的指南在那里呢？沒(méi)有指南手冊(cè)告訴他們即將游覽的英倫三島的習(xí)俗、禮儀和其他事項(xiàng)，他們能行嗎？為了2012倫敦奧運(yùn)會(huì)，我們下面就來(lái)簡(jiǎn)單介紹一下外國(guó)游客在奧運(yùn)會(huì)期間的倫敦生存指南。
Welcome, and before we begin – please accept our apologies. Your four-hour nightmare wait at passport control should not be taken as a symptom of Britain's contempt for foreigners. It is merely a symptom of a woeful lack of spending on a key aspect of travel infrastructure in the run-up to a hugely important event. In other words, it's the government that hates you. Don't worry, they hate us too.
歡迎來(lái)到英國(guó)，不過(guò)在我開(kāi)始介紹之前請(qǐng)先接受我們的道歉。你們?cè)谌刖硻z查時(shí)等了4個(gè)小時(shí)的噩夢(mèng)本不應(yīng)該是英國(guó)輕視外國(guó)人的象征。這只反映了英國(guó)在一項(xiàng)如此重要的賽事來(lái)臨時(shí)對(duì)旅游基礎(chǔ)建設(shè)的投入嚴(yán)重不足。換句話說(shuō)，是英國(guó)政府怠慢了你們。別不開(kāi)心，政府對(duì)我們也不咋地。
Canadians: I'm afraid that while you are here you will be repeatedly mistaken for Americans and blamed for all sorts of stuff you had nothing to do with. Unless you can think of a quick and simple way to distinguish yourselves at a glance – flower in lapel? Saddle shoes? Maple leaf eyepatch? – then you are just going to have to suck it up.
加拿大人：到了英國(guó)，你們恐怕會(huì)一次又一次地被人誤認(rèn)為是美國(guó)人，還會(huì)因?yàn)槟切┖湍銈兒翢o(wú)關(guān)聯(lián)的事情而備受指責(zé)。除非你能想出一種簡(jiǎn)便快速的辦法，讓人一眼就能看出你是加拿大人：在衣領(lǐng)上夾一朵花？穿馬鞍鞋？戴楓葉圖案的眼罩？然后你也就慢慢習(xí)慣，不再抱怨了。
Americans: While you're here, why not pretend to be Canadian? Very few Britons can tell the difference, and it will allow you to rescue yourself from awkward conversations about the death penalty.
美國(guó)人：對(duì)于你們來(lái)說(shuō)，干脆裝成是加拿大人好了。英國(guó)人很難判斷你們之間的區(qū)別，這樣你們就可以避免卷入到關(guān)于死刑的尷尬談話中了。
1. Under no circumstances should you ask your taxi driver how excited he is about having the Olympics in London this summer. It's not that he will be reluctant or embarrassed to offer a personal opinion on the matter. That is not the problem at all.
無(wú)論在什么情況下都不要問(wèn)出租車(chē)司機(jī)，對(duì)于今年夏天倫敦的奧運(yùn)會(huì)有多么激動(dòng)。不是說(shuō)他會(huì)勉強(qiáng)或?qū)擂蔚匕l(fā)表個(gè)人意見(jiàn)，而是你根本就不該問(wèn)這個(gè)問(wèn)題。
2. Nobody here can answer any questions you have about fencing. Google it.
7. Do not ask a policeman the best way to get to the West End or how to use an Oyster card. He wants to help, but he's from the West Midlands.
別問(wèn)警察怎樣去倫敦西區(qū)最快，也別問(wèn)他如何使用牡蠣交通卡。他也很想幫你，不過(guò)他是從西米德蘭茲郡來(lái)的。
8. Please aid the Olympic authorities and organisers by demonstrating at all times that you are not a terrorist. Do not perspire, take off your shoes, smile in a weird way while texting someone, or point and shout: "Hey! Look at all those missiles on that roof over there!" In fact, if you're not using your hands for anything, it's probably best if you keep them in the air where everybody can see them.
請(qǐng)時(shí)刻注意證明你不是恐怖分子，這樣就是對(duì)奧運(yùn)組委會(huì)和主辦方最大的幫助。別出汗，別拖掉鞋子，別在發(fā)短信時(shí)保持詭異的微笑，別指著某處大喊：“嘿！看那邊房頂上的飛過(guò)的導(dǎo)彈！” 事實(shí)上，如果你的手閑著沒(méi)事兒，最好能放在讓所有人都能看見(jiàn)的地方。
9. We here in the UK want nothing more than to provide you, our guests, with a fantastic experience this summer, combining the best in international sport, brilliant facilities, fantastic entertainment and a cultural legacy that draws on centuries of excellence in art and architecture. If you ended up with four tickets for the wrestling at the ExCel Centre, well, better luck next time.
親愛(ài)的貴客們，我們希望英國(guó)能為你們貢獻(xiàn)一個(gè)美好的夏天，這個(gè)夏天包括了頂尖的國(guó)際賽事、先進(jìn)的設(shè)施、有趣的娛樂(lè)、以及匯集了幾個(gè)世紀(jì)的藝術(shù)建筑精華的文化遺產(chǎn)。如果你最終只收獲了四張卓著中心的摔跤比賽門(mén)票，好吧，祝你下次好運(yùn)。
這里沒(méi)有人能夠回答你問(wèn)的任何關(guān)于擊劍的問(wèn)題。還是去google一下吧。
3. Pay no attention to those bow-tied etiquette experts you sometimes see on CNN International, telling you how to behave while in Britain. These people are generally of dubious provenance, normally live in California and tend to peddle advice that is either irrelevant or out of date. For example, they will often say that Britons love queuing and are so fond of apologising that they will often say "sorry" even when something isn't their fault. In reality, Britons are just as likely to jump to the front of a queue and then punch the person behind them for coughing. It all depends on how muggy it is.
別理會(huì)那些出現(xiàn)在CNN國(guó)際頻道里、告訴你英國(guó)行為規(guī)范的打領(lǐng)結(jié)的專(zhuān)家。這些家伙通常來(lái)歷不明，自己住在美國(guó)加州，卻試圖提供一些要么不相干要么過(guò)時(shí)了的建議。比如說(shuō)，他們通常會(huì)告訴你，英國(guó)人喜歡排隊(duì)；喜歡說(shuō)對(duì)不起，即使有時(shí)候并不是他們的錯(cuò)誤。而事實(shí)上，英國(guó)人也喜歡插隊(duì)，而且還會(huì)用咳嗽把排在他們后面的人也嚇跑。這取決于天氣有多悶熱潮濕。