什么是美國文化?（下）

Ronny Reeves
America Culture
Meeting someone
When meeting someone for the first time, it is customary to shake hands, both for men and for women. Hugs are only exchanged between close friends. Kissing is not common, and men never kiss other men.
Americans will usually introduce themselves by their first name and last name (such as "Hello, I'm John Smith"), or, if the setting is very casual, by their first name only ("Hi, I'm John"). The common response when someone is introduced to you is "Pleased to meet you." Unless someone is introduced to you with their title and last name (such as Mister Smith or Miss Johnson), you should address them by their first name. Americans normally address everyone they meet in a social or business setting by their first name. However, you should always address your college professors by their title and last name (such as Professor Jones), unless they ask you to do otherwise.

美國文化中，當(dāng)你第一次與人見面時(shí)，通常的做法是握手，無論男女都適用。只有親密朋友之間才會(huì)擁抱，而親吻并不常見，男性之間不會(huì)互相親吻。
美國人通常會(huì)自報(bào)姓名，包括名和姓（例如：“你好，我是約翰·史密斯”），或者在非正式場合只說名字（“嗨，我是約翰”）。當(dāng)別人向你介紹時(shí)，你通常會(huì)回答“很高興認(rèn)識你”。除非某人是以頭銜和姓氏介紹的（如史密斯先生或約翰遜小姐），否則你應(yīng)直接稱呼他們的名字。在美國，無論是社交還是商務(wù)場合，人們習(xí)慣于用名字來稱呼對方。不過，對于大學(xué)教授，除非他們另有指示，否則你應(yīng)該使用他們的頭銜和姓氏來稱呼（如瓊斯教授）。

Speaking on the telephone
Americans normally answer the telephone by simply saying "Hello." If you are calling a business, the person answering the phone will give the name of the business and usually their own name as well. If the person you would like to speak to has answered the phone, you should say hello and state your name. If not, you should ask for that person politely: "May I please speak with Andrew Brown?"
The majority of Americans have answering machines in their homes. Also, the majority of businesses have voice mail accounts for their employees. When leaving a message, state your name clearly and leave a telephone number where you can be reached. Telephone messages should be brief and to the point.

接打電話
美國人習(xí)慣直接用“Hello”來應(yīng)答。如果你是在給一家公司打電話，接電話的人通常會(huì)先報(bào)出公司名稱，然后可能還會(huì)說出自己的名字。如果你要找的人親自接了電話，你應(yīng)該先打招呼，然后報(bào)上自己的名字。如果接電話的不是你要找的人，你應(yīng)該禮貌地詢問：“我可以和安德魯·布朗先生通話嗎？”
在美國，大多數(shù)家庭都裝有答錄機(jī)，而且大多數(shù)公司也為員工配備了語音信箱。留言時(shí)，請確保清楚地說出你的名字，并留下一個(gè)可以聯(lián)系到你的電話號碼。電話留言應(yīng)該盡量簡短并直截了當(dāng)。

Eating out
All restaurants in America accept cash for payment, and most (even some fast food restaurants) also accept credit cards. A few restaurants also accept ATM cards for payment. You will rarely find a restaurant that accepts checks.
It is common to have to wait for a table at a popular restaurant. There are many popular restaurants that do not accept reservations, or will only accept reservations for large parties (for example, six or more people). At these restaurants, the wait can be very long on a weekend night, sometimes up to 1 hour. However, almost all upscale, or more formal, restaurants will accept reservations.
Many restaurants in America (except for fast food restaurants) have a license to serve alcohol. Beer and wine are always available, and at some restaurants hard liquor (such as vodka or whisky) is also available. Restaurants that serve hard liquor are said to have "a full bar." The drinking age in America is 21. If you look young, be prepared to show proof of your age when ordering alcohol.

外出就餐
在美國的餐館就餐，幾乎所有餐館都接受現(xiàn)金支付，而且大部分餐館（包括一些快餐店）也接受信用卡。少數(shù)餐館還接受使用ATM卡結(jié)賬，但接受支票的餐館則較為罕見。
熱門餐廳常常需要等位，許多受歡迎的餐廳不接受預(yù)訂，或者只對大型聚餐（比如六人以上）開放預(yù)訂服務(wù)。在這些餐廳，周末晚上可能需要等待很長時(shí)間，有時(shí)甚至要等上一個(gè)小時(shí)。不過，大多數(shù)高端或正式的餐廳通常接受預(yù)訂。
美國很多餐廳（快餐店除外）都有售酒許可。啤酒和葡萄酒是標(biāo)配，某些餐廳還提供烈酒，如伏特加或威士忌。提供烈酒的餐廳通常被稱為有“全吧”。美國的法定飲酒年齡為21歲，如果你看起來比較年輕，在點(diǎn)酒時(shí)可能需要出示身份證明。

Tipping
There are only a few situations where tipping is expected. The one you will encounter most often is at restaurants. American restaurants do not add a service charge to the bill. Therefore it is expected that the customer will leave a tip for the server. Common practice is to leave a tip that is equal to 15% of the total bill for acceptable service, and about 20% for superior service. If the service was unusually poor, then you could leave a smaller tip, about 10%.
Other professions where tipping is expected include hairdressers, taxi drivers, hotel porters, parking valets, and bartenders. The general rule is to tip approximately 15% of the bill. In situations where there is no bill (as with hotel porters and parking valets), the tip may range from $1 to $5, depending on the type of establishment and on how good the service was.

小費(fèi)
在美國，小費(fèi)文化主要適用于幾種特定場合。最常見的是餐廳就餐。美國的餐廳不會(huì)在賬單上自動(dòng)加上服務(wù)費(fèi)，因此，顧客給服務(wù)員小費(fèi)是一種普遍的禮節(jié)。通常情況下，如果服務(wù)令人滿意，小費(fèi)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)是賬單總額的15%，如果服務(wù)非常出色，則給20%。如果服務(wù)非常差，你也可以選擇給10%的小費(fèi)。
其他需要給小費(fèi)的行業(yè)還包括美發(fā)師、出租車司機(jī)、酒店行李員、代客泊車服務(wù)人員和酒吧調(diào)酒師。一般規(guī)則是，小費(fèi)金額大約為賬單的15%。在沒有賬單的情況下，比如酒店行李員和代客泊車服務(wù)，小費(fèi)通常在1到5美元之間，具體金額取決于服務(wù)的質(zhì)量和場所的檔次。

Smoking
Smoking is not as common in America as in many other countries. Generally, Americans smoke less than Europeans and much less than Asians. It is a practice that is becoming less and less socially acceptable.
Smoking is prohibited in many places. It is not allowed in any public buildings, on any public transportation (including airplane flights within the United States), in shops, movie theaters, schools, and office buildings. The general rule is if you are indoors, then you probably are not allowed to smoke. The exceptions are bars, nightclubs, and some restaurants. Perhaps this is the reason why people are making the switch to those portable vaporizers since it's discreet, a healthier alternative and a good way to start on the path of actually quitting smoking. If a restaurant does allow smoking, it will only be in an area that is designated for smokers. If you are with someone, even outdoors, it is polite to ask if they mind before you start smoking.
The legal smoking age in America is 18. If you are buying cigarettes (or another tobacco product) and you look young, the store clerk is required by law to ask you for proof of legal age. You should be prepared to provide identification.

吸煙
在美國，吸煙并不像在許多其他國家那樣常見。通常來說，美國人吸煙的比例低于歐洲人，更遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)低于亞洲人。吸煙正逐漸變得不太被社會(huì)接受。
許多場所都明確禁止吸煙。任何公共建筑、公共交通工具（包括美國境內(nèi)的航班）、商店、電影院、學(xué)校和辦公樓內(nèi)都不允許吸煙。基本上，如果你身處室內(nèi)，很可能是禁止吸煙的。酒吧、夜總會(huì)和部分餐館是例外。這也許是為什么越來越多的人選擇使用便攜式電子煙，因?yàn)樗鼈兪褂闷饋砀[蔽，是更健康的替代品，并且有助于逐步戒煙。如果餐館允許吸煙，通常也只能在特定的吸煙區(qū)內(nèi)。如果你和別人在一起，即使是在戶外，開始吸煙前禮貌地詢問他們是否介意也是很重要的。
美國的法定吸煙年齡為18歲。如果你購買香煙或其他煙草產(chǎn)品，并且看起來比較年輕，店員依法必須要求你出示年齡證明。因此，你應(yīng)該準(zhǔn)備好提供身份證件。

What Americans generally believe
That all people are equal and deserve an equal opportunity in life. They should all be treated fairly and with the same level of respect. This is one of the most basic principles of American philosophy.
That everyone is free to be an individual. Americans do not believe in conforming to a general ideology or behavior. Individuality and self-expression are encouraged.
That competition brings out the best in people and in businesses. Competition is another of the basic principles of American philosophy.

美國人普遍認(rèn)同以下幾個(gè)觀點(diǎn)：
人生而平等，每個(gè)人都應(yīng)享有平等的生活機(jī)會(huì)，并且應(yīng)受到公正對待和同等的尊重。這是美國最基本的哲學(xué)原則之一。
每個(gè)人都應(yīng)該有權(quán)展現(xiàn)個(gè)性。美國人鼓勵(lì)展現(xiàn)個(gè)性和自我表達(dá)，不主張盲目遵從某種普遍的思想或行為模式。
競爭能夠激發(fā)人們的潛能和企業(yè)的活力。競爭是美國哲學(xué)的核心原則之一。

That you are responsible for taking control of your own life and determining your own future. Americans do not believe in luck or fate. They are very proud of their individual achievements.
That change is good and necessary. It brings about progress and improvement. Tradition is not as valued in America as it is in other cultures.
That it is best to be honest and direct. In many cultures, it is considered impolite to speak too frankly or directly about a subject. Americans prefer to speak openly, even when giving a negative opinion or delivering bad news.

你應(yīng)該掌握自己的命運(yùn)，決定自己的未來。美國人不相信運(yùn)氣或命運(yùn)，他們?yōu)樽约旱膫€(gè)人成就而自豪。
變化是積極的，也是必要的，它帶來進(jìn)步和改善。相比于其他文化，美國不太重視傳統(tǒng)。
誠實(shí)和直接是最好的溝通方式。在許多文化中，過于直率或直接談?wù)撃硞€(gè)話題可能被認(rèn)為是不禮貌的，但美國人傾向于坦率交流，哪怕是在表達(dá)負(fù)面意見或傳遞壞消息時(shí)也是如此。

What Americans love
Their country. Americans are very patriotic. They are very proud of their country and their way of life. They also have great respect for those who serve or have served in the armed forces.
Their free time. Americans may not have much free time compared to people in some countries, but they value what they have. They will spend that time doing something for themselves, their family, or their community. Weekends and vacations are always full of activities.

美國人深愛的事物包括：
他們的國家。美國人非常具有愛國情懷，他們對自己國家和生活方式感到無比自豪。對于那些正在或曾經(jīng)在軍隊(duì)服役的人，他們也懷有極高的敬意。
他們的閑暇時(shí)光。盡管與某些國家的居民相比，美國人的休閑時(shí)間可能并不多，但他們非常珍視這些時(shí)間。他們會(huì)利用這些時(shí)間來為自己、家人或社區(qū)做些事情。周末和假期總是被各種活動(dòng)安排得滿滿當(dāng)當(dāng)。

The outdoors. The United States government protects large sections of land from development and preserves them for the enjoyment of all. Americans enjoy outdoor activities all year round. Depending on the region, popular activities include sailing, hiking, mountain climbing, camping, and skiing.
Sports. The United States probably has more professional athletes participating in a greater number of professional sports than any other country. Americans love to watch sports, either live or on television. They also love to participate in sports, and there are countless leagues for players of all ages and skill levels.

戶外活動(dòng)。美國政府對大片土地進(jìn)行了保護(hù)，避免被開發(fā)，以供所有人享受。美國人全年都熱衷于各種戶外活動(dòng)，根據(jù)地區(qū)不同，他們喜歡的活動(dòng)可能包括帆船、徒步、登山、露營和滑雪。
體育運(yùn)動(dòng)。美國可能比其他任何國家都有更多的職業(yè)運(yùn)動(dòng)員參加職業(yè)運(yùn)動(dòng)，職業(yè)運(yùn)動(dòng)類別也更多。美國人非常喜愛觀看體育賽事，無論是在現(xiàn)場還是通過電視轉(zhuǎn)播。同時(shí)，他們也熱衷于參與體育活動(dòng)，無論是哪個(gè)年齡段或技能水平，都能找到適合自己的體育聯(lián)賽。

Muhammad Zaman
What does 'American Culture' mean to you?
Puritanical hard work, exemplified by a work hard, play hard mentality
Independent and self sufficient, exemplified by little support for universal healthcare
Hero worship for winners, but complete disregard of losers. From adulation of sports teams and celebrities to very little thought for the poor.

“美國文化”在你看來意味著什么？
清教徒式的勤奮：一種“努力工作，盡情娛樂”的生活哲學(xué)。
獨(dú)立自主：不太傾向于支持全民醫(yī)療保健系統(tǒng)。
成功者的崇拜：對勝利者和名人的極度追捧，而對失敗者和貧困人群的關(guān)注不足。

Practical but also emotive - they will love guns despite the many tragedies steming from gun related mass killings; they can really dislike an individual or group, but will hire them if they perceive talent or benefit
Accepting, accommodating but demanding - they will welcome foreigners, and appreciate any efforts to integrate. However you must integrate. This is a very sensible and fair outlook. Talk about demanding - I’d hate to be a sandwich in the US - customers are so demanding about what they want on them.

實(shí)際而又充滿情感：他們可能因?yàn)闃屩П┝κ录柺芡纯?，但仍然熱愛槍支；他們可能對某個(gè)人或團(tuán)體有強(qiáng)烈的反感，但如果認(rèn)為對方有才華或能帶來好處，他們還是會(huì)毫不猶豫地聘用。
開放而又要求嚴(yán)格：他們歡迎外國人，并贊賞那些努力融入當(dāng)?shù)厣鐣?huì)的行為。但同時(shí)，他們期望你真正地融入其中。這是一種非常理性和公正的態(tài)度。說到要求嚴(yán)格，在美國做三明治生意可能會(huì)很有挑戰(zhàn)——顧客對他們想要的配料非常挑剔。

Lynn E.
Could you tell me about the U.S culture?
Although Americans love their family, they are more individualistic in their thinking than people in many other cultures. They (we) are raised that way—babies are expected to sleep in their own room, away from their parents. Little kids are asked to choose things for themselves all the time (do you want this cereal or that cereal for breakfast?) It doesn’t feel “cold” to us (as others might perceive it)—it feels free, to depend on yourself and make your own choices. We are people who left our homes and our countries and came here, and then left the settled parts of the country and went west. There is community and family and interdependence, but not to the extent that there is in more settled and ancient cultures. Immigrants who come here often find this trait disturbing, but they too are people who left and struck out on their own!
This is why we are so bad at things like wearing masks when we’re told it’s for the good of the community!

你能給我講講美國文化嗎?
美國人雖然深愛著自己的家庭，但相比其他許多文化中的人，他們在思想上更加傾向于個(gè)人主義。這種思想是從小培養(yǎng)的——嬰兒被期望獨(dú)自在自己的房間睡覺，與父母分開。孩子們常常被要求自己做決定（早餐你想吃這種麥片還是那種？）。對我們來說，這并不是“冷漠”，而是一種自由——依靠自己，做出自己的選擇。我們的祖先離開了自己的家園和國家來到這里，然后繼續(xù)向西部未開發(fā)的地區(qū)進(jìn)發(fā)。我們有社區(qū)、家庭和相互依賴，但這種聯(lián)系并不像在那些歷史悠久、更加穩(wěn)定的文化中那樣緊密。許多移民剛到這里時(shí)可能會(huì)覺得這種特質(zhì)令人不適，但要知道，他們自己也是離開故土、獨(dú)立奮斗的人。
這也許就是我們在被告知戴口罩是為了社區(qū)利益時(shí)，卻往往執(zhí)行得不夠好的原因。

Connie Commie
What is the culture in America?
Well here is a misconception from those who don’t live or study the United States of America, their only knowledge of us comes from stereotypes on the media or sassy political cartoons poking fun at our government’s hubris. So often they made broad generalizations based on those “surface level observations” alone and not much else. We’re not a monolith.

美國的文化是什么?
有一種普遍的誤解，那些沒有在美國生活或深入了解美國的人，他們對我們的認(rèn)識往往只停留在媒體刻板印象或政治諷刺漫畫上，這些內(nèi)容常以戲謔的方式揭示政府的傲慢。因此，他們往往僅憑這些“表面觀察”就草率地下結(jié)論，而忽略了更深層次的真相。美國并不是一個(gè)單一的、同質(zhì)化的社會(huì)。

Though… to be fair, America exactly hasn’t been the best at showing our good sign, considering all the countries we bomb into oblivion and how much our leadership makes us look like complete asses in the world. But those people do not represent all of us, not even close, we’re a surprisingly diverse country with a rich history, an amalgamation of various different cultural, linguistic, religious, and ethnic groups that came together to make a giant whole. Now we’re not the most diverse country in the world, that titles goes over to Papua New Guinea. But that doesn’t discount our culture(s) as any more or less special than any other country on Earth.

不過,平心而論，美國在展示積極形象方面確實(shí)做得不夠，無論是我們曾經(jīng)轟炸過的國家，還是那些讓我們在世界舞臺上顯得尷尬的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)層行為。但這些并不代表我們所有人，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不夠。美國是一個(gè)令人驚訝的多元化國家，由各種不同的文化、語言、宗教和族裔群體匯聚而成，共同創(chuàng)造了一個(gè)多元而統(tǒng)一的國度。雖然我們可能不是世界上多樣性最豐富的國家——這一榮譽(yù)屬于巴布亞新幾內(nèi)亞——但這并不會(huì)使我們的文化比地球上任何其他國家的文化更或更不特別。

The United State of America is more like a Nation of Nations, a country of various cultures united by a common semblance on national identity through shared values and virtues, built on the notion that “All men are created equal.”

美國更像是一個(gè)由眾多民族組成的國家，不同文化通過共同的價(jià)值觀和美德，以及“人人生而平等”的理念，形成了一種國家身份感。

Really American history could be described as a constant conflict between two conflicting interpretations of that phrase, those who champion for a more inclusive democracy, equal civil rights, and unity through universal liberal values and those who champion for an exclusive, reactionary society where some are more equals than others, and unity through nationality and oppression of “inferior peoples”. A conflict that still persists to this day, especially during and after the Trump presidency, when he stirred up the reactionary base of the Republican Party to become more aggressive and ruthless in their pursuit of the ladder over the former. This conflict expands across all the different nations and groups that dwell and inhabitant this country.

美國的歷程可以說是在兩種對“人人生而平等”理念的解釋之間不斷斗爭的歷史。一方面是那些支持更具包容性的民主、平等民權(quán)和通過普遍自由價(jià)值觀實(shí)現(xiàn)團(tuán)結(jié)的力量；另一方面則是那些支持排他性、反動(dòng)的社會(huì)，主張某些人比其他人更平等，并通過民族主義和對“劣等民族”的壓迫來實(shí)現(xiàn)團(tuán)結(jié)的力量。這種沖突至今依然存在，特別是在特朗普總統(tǒng)任期內(nèi)及其后，他激發(fā)了共和黨基礎(chǔ)中的激進(jìn)分子，使他們在追求自身利益的過程中變得更加激進(jìn)和無情。這種沖突滲透于這個(gè)國家的所有不同民族和群體之中。

Early America was founded by English religious dissents like the Puritans and Quakers, Opportunistic English Businessmen, Dutch merchants, German Protestants, Scots-Irish Immigrants, and of course African-American slaves.
Then later we had a flurry of immigrations coming from southern and eastern Europe, like Italy and Poland, as well as immigrants from Latin America and East Asia.

早期的美國是由英國宗教異見者如清教徒和貴格會(huì)教徒、機(jī)會(huì)主義的英國商人、荷蘭商人、德國新教徒、蘇格蘭-愛爾蘭移民，以及非洲裔美國奴隸所建立的。
后來，我們又經(jīng)歷了來自南歐和東歐的移民潮，如意大利和波蘭，以及拉丁美洲和東亞的移民潮。