英語(yǔ)早間課堂:教您一招說愛(5)
上回我們談到“絕交信”“絕情信”的地道英文表達(dá)是：a Dear John letter，這其中含有一個(gè)人的名字“John”，英美國(guó)家有那么多男子的名字，為何這里偏偏要用John呢?因?yàn)椋?/p>
There are a number of theories on why the name John is used rather than any other. John was a common name in America at the time the term was coined. John is also the name used in many other terms that refer to an anonymous man , such as "John Doe" or "John Smith".
因?yàn)榱思s翰在美國(guó)實(shí)在是一個(gè)超級(jí)大眾的名字，尤其在這個(gè)詞組誕生的時(shí)候格外普遍。另外了，約翰這個(gè)名字也往往被用來(lái)指示無(wú)名人士，比方很常見的John Doe或者John Smith。
那么在英美國(guó)家為何用a Dear John letter(一封寫給約翰的信件)來(lái)表示女方要和其男方斷絕戀情或者是夫妻關(guān)系呢?這要追溯到美國(guó)二戰(zhàn)時(shí)期，so, now, let's go back to then American history：
While the exact origins of the phrase are unknown, it is commonly believed to have been coined by Americans during World War II. Large numbers of American troops were stationed overseas for many months or years, and as time passed many of their wives or girlfriends decided to begin a new relationship with a new man rather than waiting for their old one to return.
在美國(guó)人二戰(zhàn)時(shí)期，當(dāng)時(shí)大量的美軍部隊(duì)被派往海外，短則數(shù)月，長(zhǎng)則多年。光陰流逝，軍嫂們或者在家的女朋友不愿意再獨(dú)守空閨盼著其良人歸來(lái)，決定開始與另一男子開始一段全新的感情。
信件的開頭經(jīng)常是這樣寫的：“Dear John, I have found someone else whom I think the world of. I think the only way out is for us to get a divorce, to get a divorce....”譯文為：親愛的約翰，我找到了另一個(gè)人，我愿意與他共度一生，唯一解決我們之間的問題的方案就是咱倆離婚吧。So, sometimes, I think loneliness is dreadful!
我們現(xiàn)在知道a Dear John letter是絕交信的由來(lái)，下面我們就來(lái)看看上回課后翻譯功課的答案。
Eg.Tom was very upset today for he got a Dear John letter from hisgirlfriend.dear_john_letter.jpg
Tom今天特別沮喪，因?yàn)樗盏搅伺笥训拇禑粜拧?/p>
Eg.She wrote to her Boy friend a Dear John letter yesterday.
她昨天給她的男朋友寫了一封絕交信。
Eg.That Dear John letter ended their marriage.
一封絕情信結(jié)束了他們的婚姻。
Eg.I received a Dear John letter while I stayed in Japan.
我在日本時(shí)收到了一封絕交信。
Eg.Reading between the lines, he knew it was a Dear John letter.
他從字里行間看出這是一封絕交信。
好，各位親愛的朋友們，我們今天究其源，探其本深入學(xué)習(xí)了a Dear John letter這個(gè)詞語(yǔ)，一個(gè)詞語(yǔ)往往跟那個(gè)國(guó)家的歷史事件或者習(xí)俗有關(guān)，就如我們中文中的成語(yǔ)也是有典故來(lái)源的。最后Juliet送給大家一首歌，這首歌的名字就叫做A Dear John Letter那么您不妨您不妨輕輕松松地跟著唱，這樣更為深刻理解這個(gè)詞語(yǔ)，記住這個(gè)詞語(yǔ)。
