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《英美大不同》-我叫你"常来家玩",你真来呀?

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1


What do you mean when you say "make yourself at home"?


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2

Your guest makes fun of your music collection,

you...?


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3

You sit next to the most boring person at someone's dinner party,

what are you going to do?


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4

You've just discovered the new neighbor you've been calling Steve is actually Dave.

What will you do?


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5

Your neighbors have been secretly counting the empty wine bottles in your recycle tub,

you...?



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第451期节目全记录文本



James

Lulu

Anlan



Hi, everyone. And welcome back to Across the Pond, one of your favorite segments with Alan and James. Hi, James.

Hi everyone.

Hi, Anlan

Hi. Everyone.

Are you guys ready for today's questions?

Yeah, ready when you are.

Maybe.

So, we've talked about traveling. That's not gonna be a topic today. We've talked about work. So today we're gonna talk about around home or at home. Alright, we're gonna start with inviting people to your home. Before I ask this question, I know that there's a saying that British people's, English people's homes are their castles. Does that mean it's not open to the public?

Yeah, pretty much. Based on the idea that your home is your ultimate refuge. So it's where you go to escape everything and also many cases everyone. If you're invited to a British person's home, it can be seen as a bit of a big deal really.

So basically, you guys are very private.

I would say so. Most of the time if you're with friends, you go out to pubs and you meet there, it's just seen as a lot easier and a lot less awkward.

So quite a bit different than America because we do invite our friends over to our house quite regularly. Because, for a lot of cases going to the bars is not that easy. You gotta drive. If you need to drink, and if you not need to drink but going to drink.

They need a designated driver.

Yeah, a sofa to crash on.

I see. So this first question is about inviting guests to your home and being British or being American, what do you actually mean when you say to them ‘make yourself at home’? Let's start with Alan.

Doesn't it so that you often say when someone comes to your home, but to be honest, it's more of a polite phrase, more of a polite expression. We probably wouldn't actually mean make yourself at home like please feel free to sleep in my bed or please feel free to go through all of my cupboards and my jewels.

It's just like courtesy. 客套话

It is a little bit.

Is that the same in America?


Partially. We say that make yourself at home, so we don't mean like go through all my stuff. It doesn't mean that. But Americans will make sure to point out a lot of important things. So like they'll say beers in the fridge, help yourself. There are the bathrooms. Here's this, here’s that. They'll show you the things that they want you to use or can use freely. But in general, there's like that doesn't mean like take your shoes off, put your feet on a coffee table. It's all good. Don't do that.

Don't make yourself too much at home.

No.

There is another extra question here though. If you say beers in the fridge or help yourself to drinks in the fridge. I open your fridge. I can see things of different prices. If I go with the most expensive bottle of drink, is that going to be a problem?

No, because we put it there for a reason.

So you're hiding the really good stuff somewhere else.

Yeah, there are things that we don't want our guests to drink. We will put it some place where they can't find it.

Same?

Yeah, but to be perfect honest, if you go to someone's home, you don't really say I can help yourself to drinks and food. It can actually come across as a host, you don't really care that much or you're a bit lazy. So we wouldn't really say very often, help yourself to anything in the fridge. The hostess is expected to go and get it for you .

That's quite a bit different for Americans because when we say help yourself, we do just means like beer is on the fridge, go grab a beer. Or in case where I'm from, there's a beer, fridge in the garage.

So basically it's another way of saying the host is not going to serve you drinks. You do yourself.

Yeah, right.

The next question is somewhat related. Again about a house guest, this guest is looking through your music collections, for example, you're playing something using like a music player any device. They start to look at your music collection and they start to make fun of it. Saying that you have absolutely horrible taste in music, being American, what would you do?

Give them a really dirty look. Because in your mind is like, what are you doing?

To be honest, I think this is perhaps unacceptable in most of the cultures unless you know this person very, very well, you’re just making fun of them to show your intimacy like you like them.

If that was the case, if it was your best friend doing that, you would probably use some fun 4-letter words to let them know what they're doing is wrong.

Get the f out of here. British people?

I think if you have that an embarrassing taste of music, you kind of do a lot better job in hiding it from anyone.

But you probably don't think you've got a horrible taste because that is your taste.

I think people with a horrible taste of music, they have an idea that is a horrible taste of music. It's all very popular.

But you haven't met the type of people I've met then.

Some people do like Nickelback so.

Yeah, there you go.

All right. Moving on to question number three. You go to a dinner party at someone else's home. You sit next to the most boring person who ever inhabited planet earth. You need an ice breaker because you are literally bored out of your skull and everyone else is talking to somebody else. 如果你去别人家里聚餐,然后旁边坐一个不认识就是特别无聊的人,what are you gonna do?Let's start with James again.

I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Jack, Jim and Jose Cuervo. We're going to drink until this is fun.

You might have to explain that to our audience.

Jack Daniels, Jim Beam and Jose Cuervo. They are brands of three different spirits.

都是烈酒,所以就是先干为净,然后I think that probably can make anyone less boring.

Either they're gonna become more interesting or I'm just not going to care anymore.

Good way to go. What about British people?

I think pretty much the same. Just basically just keep drinking until that person becomes interesting. All as James says, until you stop caring.

So what about you personally? When you go to a dinner party and you sit next to someone you don't know, are you always the one to initiate the conversation or do you just wait for the other person to initiate?

I'm generally a person that initiates because I get really embarrassed by silence. So even if I'm with someone who I find incredibly boring, have nothing in common with, I will still try to get them in a conversation. I just can't help it. I just felt so embarrassed if it's silence.

You probably do the very British thing of saying that sounds interesting. Great! Doing all those…

Oh yeah, a lot.

And James? Are you the one to initiate conversation or waiting for the other person to initiate?

I'm the person that's quiet. I was like please don't talk to me. I don't wanna talk. I came here to drink.

I wouldn't want to sit next to you at the dinner party then.

I have the good drinks. You would want to sit next to me.

Probably. If you introduce me to your friends, Jack, Jim and Jose.

They're easily available.

The next question is about your neighbor. You've just discovered that the new neighbor you have been calling Steve is actually Dave. 所以邻居的名字叫错了. Doesn't have to be neighbors. It can be anyone in your social circle. This happened to me before. You think they are called A but they're actually called B, what's gonna happen?Let's start with Anlan.

Yeah, I have to admit that sounds a lot like something I would do. I'm not very good with names. I'm always getting mixed up. Being from the area where I come from in kind of London, you can get away with it by calling everyone mate. If you don't know their name, you just call them mate.

It's a little bit like in Chinese with a哥们儿老铁, so you don't have to remember their names.

Yeah, it really does help. And eventually you'll come to know their name eventually.

But if you call someone by a wrong name and you later found out because other people told you, are you gonna change it? Are you gonna apologize?

I would change it and probably not really apologize. Just pretend that it never happened.

无缝衔接Steve to Dave. And James?

Though you were Steve. I’m gonna keep calling you Steve.

You make a joke of it or are you being serious?

That’ll actually depend. A lot of people say I'm so sorry. I didn't mean. I forgot. I didn't know, something like that and I'll say Dave, but some people like I thought you were Steve. I'll just keep calling you Steve. You're Steve to me.

After all, they're just names. Good Good. The next question: Question number five. Again about your neighbor, this time a nosy neighbor. You notice your neighbor secretly counting the empty wine bottles. So who's supposedly you've drunk a lot of wine and you left it out in your recycle like your recycle bin or recycle tub and they can see it. So they've been secretly counting how many bottles you have drunk and being British, what would you do? Would you feel embarrassed?

Hopefully my next door neighbor wouldn't be going through my rubbish. But to be honest, I would still feel a little bit embarrassed. I think being British, I'll probably kind of tried to hide the wine bottles somewhat. I put them on just paper and things like that is recycling bin, put them on your box.

But you guys do drink a lot. Most people do drink.

Oh yeah, but there's always that point where it's like maybe that's if few too many wine bottles.

If it's the other way round, if you see your neighbor with a lot of wine bottles, would you judge them?

I’d like to say No. But I guess probably the thought might go hmm that person really likes wine.

And James?

Shame! A lot of Americans get angry. It's like what are you doing in my garbage or in some people will take with you’ll be humorous about this it’s like you’re jealous?

What's there to be jealous about?

I'm having fun.

I guess. I guess. I don't know in China you just because we're living in flats in apartments so you can't really see peoples rubbish anyways.




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