说起英国文化,人们总会自然而然地想到英国绅士——从简·奥斯丁的小说到各种反映英国上流社会生活的影视作品,这群风度翩翩、气质非凡的男士随处可见。时至今日,英国还有这样的绅士吗?让我们听听《英国问答》这个节目,从中找出答案。
　　
　　Finn: Hi, I’m Finn.
　　Yang Li: Hi, I’m Li. Welcome to Ask About Britain.
　　
　　QUESTION:
　　To many Chinese minds, they believe that British people are gentlemen. However, I heard that many young people are addicted to[对……上瘾] drinking and other things, and I wonder whether British people
　　really are still gentlemen as before?
　　
　　Finn: So I think this is a really good question, Li.
　　Yang Li: Indeed. But Finn, before we do that, let’s start by asking: what exactly is a gentleman?
　　Finn: Well, I thought we should speak to a real
　　expert about this. Diana Mather runs a company called
　　Public Image which teaches social etiquette[礼仪].
　　
　　A gentleman in the old days meant somebody who was born with gentle birth, which meant they didn’t have to work. They usually were born to…they were born to a family with money and they were taught how to
　　behave.
　　(过去的绅士出身于养尊处优的家庭,也就是说他们不必工作。他们通常出生在……他们出生在有钱人家,在言行举止方面要接受悉心教导。)
　　
　　Yang Li: Someone of gentle birth, or noble birth.
　　Finn: Yes, so these gentlemen back in the old days had a lot of time and money, so they could spend their time learning how to behave properly in
　　society. Like this:
　　
　　The etiquette of the British
　　gentleman was always to stand up when a lady entered a room, to walk on the outside of the pavement[人行道],
　　to always give up his seat, to carry her bags, always to pay for her if he took her out for dinner, never to
　　swear[用脏话骂人] and not to smoke in front of her. That was a gentleman in the old days. Unfortunately, there are not many of those gentlemen left.
　　(常见的英国绅士礼仪包括:在女士进屋时起立致意,走在人行道的外侧,总是为他人让位,为女士拎包,如果邀请女士出去吃饭则要为她付钱,不在女士面前说脏话或者吸烟。这就是旧日绅士的写照。可惜如今这样的绅士已经所剩无几了。)
　　
　　Yang Li: Oh, it sounds just like you, Finn!
　　Finn: Oh, do you think so, Li, really? Well,
　　I’m not so sure, but that’s very, very kind of you. Anyway, as Diana said, this was the traditional British gentleman.
　　Yang Li: But Diana thinks there aren’t many of these left.
　　Finn: Which is exactly what our listener,
　　Amanda, was wondering.
　　Yang Li: So why is this?
　　Finn: Well, in many ways, the society which allowed the old-fashioned British gentleman to exist has changed. We no longer have such a clear class system.
　　
　　A gentleman today is somebody who has good manners. And good manners
　　mean treating other people with
　　kindness, consideration and respect. And they are in fact ageless, classless and priceless, and we all should have them.
　　(现在的绅士指的是有礼貌的人。有礼貌就意味着要以友善、体贴和尊重的态度对待他人。事实上,这些品质都是永恒不变、不分阶级的无价之宝。所有人都应该如此
　　待人。)
　　
　　Finn: Okay, so as Diana said, it’s really all about good manners. And good manners mean treating other people with kindness,
　　consideration and respect. And that these
　　values are things we should all have. She said they were ageless, classless and
　　priceless.
　　Yang Li: So being a gentleman really isn’t a question of class any more. We can all try to have better manners.
　　Finn: Yes, and I think those qualities are equally important for both men and women. Now finally, before we go, I do want to clear one little thing up.
　　Yang Li: Okay.
　　Finn: The word “gentleman” which we’ve been using today is a noun, it can’t be used as an adjective. So good, language point over; I think we’re almost finished here for the day.
　　Yang Li: Now Finn, would a gentleman such as you like to invite me to dinner?
　　Finn: Oh definitely, Li, of course. Now shall we go to a restaurant?
　　Yang Li: Yes.
　　Finn: Alright, here’s a taxi. Taxi!