A：Hey, look at these paintings on the wall! Aren’t they beautiful? Linda bought some good paintings.

喂，看墻上這些畫!它們難道不漂亮嗎?琳達(dá)買的油畫真不錯。

B：Yeah, very impressive. Oh, this one’s marvelous!

是啊，很令人欽佩。噢，這幅畫很了不起哦!

C：Sure, they’re very colorful.

當(dāng)然，它們很鮮艷。

D：Thank you. You are very generous with your compliments.

謝謝你們。你們真樂于夸獎別人。

A：You know the first thing most Chinese students would ask is how much did this painting cost?

你知道大部分中國學(xué)生第一件會問的事便是,這畫多少錢?

B：Right. I’ve noticed that too. They always ask that question before they say anything else.

是啊。我也注意到了。在他們說其它話之前，他們老喜歡問那個問題。

C：That’s true. Most Chinese do that. I don’t know why. It’s just a habit. I’ve noticed that foreigners often make compliments soon after they see a product someone has bought - even if they don’t really mean it.

的確是這樣。許多中國人都這樣做。我不知道為什么。只是個習(xí)慣。我注意到了外國人看見別人買的東西常常會馬上稱贊一番——即使他們并不真正發(fā)自內(nèi)心。

A：Yeah, we’re just different. We can’t figure out why many Chinese people don’t give big hugs to their own parents after they grow up.

是啊，我們就是不一樣。我們不明白為什么許多中國人成年以后就不再擁抱他們自己的父母親。

C：No, we don’t do that. At least very few people I know do that.

不，我們不這么做。至少我認(rèn)識的人中很少人會這樣。

B：And as far as I know, it’s not common for a Chinese to say, I love you to anyone including his or her soul mate.

而且據(jù)我所知，對于一個中國人來說，說聲我愛你是很不常見的，即使對他們的心上人。

D：Cindy, please don’t misunderstand. We’re not saying that one way is better than another. They’re just different, that’s all.

辛迪，你不要誤會。我們不是在說哪一個比另一個好。它們只是不同，就這樣。

C：I know. Americans say those three words a lot, especially in movies. I wonder if they really mean it.

我知道。美國人說這三個字說得特別多，尤其在電影里。我想知道他們是否是說真的。

B：We do, most of the time. Sometimes we tell our loved ones that we’re proud of them too. Words are important.

大部分時間，我們是說真的。有時候我們也告訴我們愛著的人我們很為他們自豪。言語是重要的。