外國人最想和你聊的文化話題：英國的天氣文化

　Realize the Weather in Britain　認識英國的天氣文化
     1　英國天氣文化的起因及表現(xiàn)
     English culture is founded upon politeness and a respect for another's privacy. Emotionalism was frowned upon due to Protestant ideals ever since the founding of the Church of England. Asking personal questions was considered impolite and it would be embarrassing to both parties if an emotional response was given to a simple question of "How are you".
     Therefore, the easiest topic to discuss that would allow both parties to be friendly and social without any risk of emotional distress is to simply discuss the weather.
     Actually it comes from a time when women and men were not allowed to discuss much of anything. Talk of children, any body parts, etc was all taboo. Weather was considered a neutral topic, and one that"womenfolk" could understand. In the 1600's ＆1700's, and perhaps even before that women were looked upon as delicate beings and could not hear or talk of things that were political, warlike, etc. Since women were not allowed to mention body parts in public, the common headache was used. Women were also not allowed a very good education, as it was thought to be too much for them and that they couldn't handle it. Some even thought that teaching a woman a foreign language was going to make them mad. So, there were few things that could be discussed in polite society, weather being all encompassing. To this day it continues, but not as it was generally used before. Now, it is just a natural subject for two parties, and either an ice-breaker or filler for a lull in conversation.
     If we do, it probably goes back to the days when the weather was much more unsettled than it is now. If I talk about the weather these days it's to comment on how much I like the good weather which is much more common now than in the past. It's probably because, when making small talk with people they don't really know very well, the English will chose a neutral subject and the weather is better than any others. So, if you are the first time to the England, you'd better talk about the weather with them who are the native. It's advisable.
     2　如何談論天氣
     Everyone thinks that the environmental extremes are awful, so it's always a safe topic for small talk with strangers. You can't bring up politics or sports with a random guy standing next to you in line or the cashier at the grocery store with getting into some sort of petty squabble, but commiserating about the shared experience of what happens. Yet talking about the weather is so obvious that it's a cliche to say it's a cliche, and often we feel bad for even engaging in such an insipid discussion. Here are some ways you can make a conversation semitolerable.
     Know the forecast 知道天氣預報
     Rule for any subject you want to discuss, but one that's particularly important when it comes to the weather. If you're going to talk about the weather, read a forecast so that you can tell others about the latest predictions. It's one thing to grouse about the situation, but it's another to share the news and let people know when there might be some relief.
     Don' tsay "Is it cold enough for you?" 不要問你今天很冷嗎？
     This is one of those questions that is supposed to be clever, but is totally obnoxious. Everyone from the mailman to the annoying lady in HR who leaves a cardigan on the back of her chair year round asks this, so it's about as original as a Super Bowl winner going to Disney Land. Just don't ask it. Take a half a second and think of something original to say. Please, we beg of you. Let this "joke" die. And this goes for all the permutations of "hot enough", "wet enough", "snowy enough", Just don't.
     Relive the bad old days 忘記那些不好的天氣
     Sometimes the only thing that makes life bearable is thinking about when the situation was worse. When discussing the weather, why not recall those days when the snow was higher, the heat more intense, or the rainy season a whole month longer. "God, this one was bad, but not as bad as the blizzard of 96. Remember that? What a doozy!" Suddenly your predicament doesn't seem so horrible, or intolerable, and you get to share your memories with someone else. Sometimes a bit of negative nostalgia is all you need to form a quick and sunny bond.
     Talk about what you did in the weather 說說你都做了什么
     Everyone knows how many inches of snow we got or how many days in a row it's been 94 degrees. What they don't know is how the weather affected you. "We got so much snow, that I decided to stay in and rearrange my closets. I'm so organized!" It's a way to turn the conversation personal and change the subject to something a bit more interesting-like organization or movies-without looking like a total jackass. After all, who really wants to talk about the weather anyway?
     英國人有一個很奇怪的現(xiàn)象，他們和別人討論的第一句話經常都是天氣變化，這是最好的切入點。而且英國人很謹慎，走在路上，可以看到很多人都帶著傘，不遮雨也不遮陽，只是預備著，這也許就是那個民族的特點吧。
Part 2　Key words ＆ Sentences　關鍵詞語全知道
     A recent survey shows that each British would spend 6 months on talking about the weather in whole life time on average.
     最近的一項統(tǒng)計顯示，平均每個英國人一生中要花6個月的時間談論天氣問題。
     In the British's view, weather is the first choice when they start a communication.
     在英國人看來，天氣可是他們與別人交流時張口必談的話題。
     When the British meet with each other and want to start a talk, eight or nine out of ten will begin with the weather.
     英國人見面寒暄的開場白，十之八九是從天氣開始談起。
     Given that people of all ages would like to talk about weather, the British media therefore take weather forecast as the focus of their daily work.
     鑒于男女老少都愛拿天氣說事，英國媒體也把天氣預報作為每天工作中的重點。
     Britain is an island which surrounded by the sea. Due to the impact of the sea breeze, the weather in British changes very quickly. At the moment is sunny and the next moment may be bad weather. Extremely changeable weather affects people's daily life.
     英國是個四面環(huán)海的島國，由于受到海風的影響，英國的天氣變化很快。這會兒還是大晴天，下一刻可能就刮風下雨，天氣異常多變影響到人們的日常生活。
     Up to now, global warming has made the British weather quite different from it a hundred years ago.
     現(xiàn)在，由于地球變暖導致英國的天氣和一百年前大不一樣了。
     Concerns about the weather are also reflected in British cultural life. For example, because rain is as common as cats and dogs on the street, so in English when they describe the heavy rain, the British simply say "It rains dogs and cats". It's so vivid.
     對天氣的關注也反映在英國人的文化生活中，比如下雨如同街上的小貓小狗一樣常見，因此在英語當中，形容下大雨時，英國人干脆說成是"貓貓狗狗"。這十分的形象生動。
     In the office, colleagues often murmured new colleagues. If you hear "he does not even take an umbrella", it means that people think the newer is not stable enough, and lack of consideration.
     在辦公室里，同事間常會私下議論新同事，如果聽到"他連雨傘都不帶"，就說明大家認為這位新人不夠穩(wěn)重、做事欠考慮。
     During the age of Industrial Revolution, the dust pollution in the air once often led to "Black Rain" in London, Manchester and other big cities which made the gentlemen in white shirt have to care about the weather, because if they went out without an umbrella, they would be made fun of being a "zebra" or "leopard" by his colleagues around him.
     在工業(yè)革命時代，空氣中的粉塵污染曾經讓倫敦、曼徹斯特等大城市常常降下"黑雨"，這讓愛穿白襯衣的紳士們不得不關心天氣，因為一旦沒有帶傘出門，自己難免就會被身邊同事取笑成"斑馬"或是"花豹"。
     Although British people like to complain about bad weather, they generally put a brave face on it. If someone complains about too much rain, you might hear："Never mind-it's good for the garden."If someone complains that it's too hot, you could hear："At least my tomatoes will be happy." If the conversation has been about general bad weather, perhaps someone will say："Well, I've heard it's worse in the west. They've had terrible flooding."
     雖然英國人喜歡抱怨天氣不好，但他們總能樂觀面對。比如有人抱怨雨水過多，你可能會聽到："沒關系。這雨水對花園好"，如果有人抱怨說，天兒太熱了，你能聽到："至少我的西紅柿會很快樂。"如果談話是關于普遍的惡劣天氣，也許有人會說："嗯，我聽說西方的天氣更糟糕，他們已經有可怕的洪水了。"