双语故事:何保罗在中国大连的淘宝生活

可可听力网 2013年05月06日 11:42:03
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      IfyoureadtheWesternpressmuch, youwillgetaverydistortedviewofwhatChineselifeis -reallylike. TheaverageforeignerwillprobablyassumethatthereislittlefreedominChina, thatdailylifeishighlyregulated, andthatmostofwhatyoubuyissubstandardandfake. Youmightfinditstrangethatinfact, dailylifeismuchfreerandmorecasualinChinathanelsewhere, thatthereisaverylargemajorityofhonestworkersandbusinesspeople, thatyoucanpurchasethousandsofhighqualityandauthenticproductshere, andthattheso-called "AmericanDream" isactuallyatthemomentmorealiveandwellinChinathaninAmerica!

      如果你读过够多西方报道,你将会对中国的真实生活产生一种曲解。一般外国人都会认为中国人少有自由,日常生活受到严格控制,大部分商品都是不合格的假冒伪劣产品。但你会惊奇的发现,事实上,这里的生活比其他国家都要自由而随意,这里有如此多诚实可靠的工人和商人,你能买到许许多多高品质、值得信赖的产品;你会看到所谓的“美国梦”正在中国一幕幕真实上演,甚至超过了它的梦乡美国。

      AsimplewaytodescribewhatTaobaowouldbetosayit'stheChineseequivalentofAmazon.comorbetter, buyingonlinewith "Chinesecharacteristics". The "oldschoolofthought"hereinChinaisthatitisdangeroustobuyonline, thattheproductsareallfake, andthatyouwilloftenloseyourmoney. Basedonmyexperience, thismannerofthinkingisdefinitely "guoshile" orout-of-date. Taobaohasasystemforreviewingsellersandhelpingyoupicktheresponsibleones.

      简而言之,淘宝相当于中国版的亚马逊或者比它更好,进行的是带有“中国特色”的网上购物。中国的“守旧派”认为,网上购物是危险的,卖的商品都是假货,你会经常上当受骗。鉴于我的个人经验,这种想法当然“过时了”。淘宝自有一套审查卖方的系统,能帮助你挑选那些负责任的卖家。

      Inthelastfewyears, IhaveboughtsomanythingsonlinethatIhavelosttrack. Iamnowa "4 heart" buyerandsoontograduateto "5 hearts" (ascoringsystembasedonhowmanyitemsyoubuyandreviewsyouwrite). SomeofthethingsIhaveboughtonlinewereexpensiveandmanyofmyChinesefriendswerereallyshockedthatIwoulduseTaobao. IusedTaobaotobuyarareandbeautifulguzhengmadeinXi'anandlaterdiscoveredthatthesoundwassuperiortothosefreshfromthefactory, definitelyanauthenticScarletBirdzheng. IalsousedTaobaotobuyanexpensivecoffeemachinefromGermanyandalthoughtheprocesstookafewweeks, themachinearrivedatcustomsinDaliantriplewrappedandinperfectconditionandthesellerquicklycompensatedmeforthedutyIhadtopay, nottomentionthatthepricewasverygoodtobeginwith. WhenItraveledtoYunnan, IdiscoveredhowwonderfulYunnancoffeeis, butpaidaheftypriceforabagofbeansinatouriststoreinDali. Returninghome, IdiscoveredIcouldbuythebeansatarockbottompriceonTaobaoandtheywerequicklyshippedabsolutelyfreshfromthefactory. Andtheexamplescangoonandon…

      在过去的几年里,我在网上买了很多东西,几乎找不完购买记录。我现在可是四星买家,要不了多久就荣升五星了(星级是根据你的购物数量以及评论而定的)。我买的东西中,有些非常昂贵,我的很多中国朋友对此都非常震惊,我居然会上淘宝。我买过一架西安的珍稀古筝,它的音色比那些厂家刚产的古筝还要出色动听,当然咯,这是一架纯正的朱雀古筝。我还买过一台德产的咖啡机,尽管这期间花费了几个星期的时间,当这台海外货达到大连海关时,它裹着三层包装,保护完好,卖家还很快补偿了我不得不付的关税,更别提这台咖啡机便宜的价格了。当我去云南旅行时,尝到了云南咖啡觉得非常美味,但是从大理店里买下的一袋咖啡豆花了不少钱。回来后我发现淘宝上的这种咖啡豆便宜很多,并且直接从厂家运来速度也很快。这样的例子还有很多很多……

      Youmightthinklivinginaforeigncountrymeansyouwillbealittlelonelyattimes, butImostenjoychattingonlinewiththesellersandexpeciallyenjoythecasualonlinelanguageofTaobao. Ofcourse, youhavetobeabletoreadandwriteChinese, butnotonaterriblyhighlevelifyouhaveagooddictionaryonyourcomputer. Iparticularlylikebeingcalled "Qin"亲!

      你在异国他乡生活的话,难免有时会觉得一点孤单。但我最喜欢在线和卖家们聊天,特别是喜欢用轻松随意的淘宝体和对方交流。当然,你得必须会读,会写汉字,但如果你的电脑里有一款好字典的话就不必一定要达到高水准的汉语水平。我特别喜欢开头的问候语“亲!”

      ThisisanabbreviatedformofdearwhichisafamiliargreetingonTaobao. Togotothepaybillpageiscalled "paiqian" 拍钱 orjust "pai". "Kuaidi" 快递 isthemethodmostpeoplewantusedforshippingbecauseitwillcometoyourdoorjustlikeUPS. Yourchatsonlinecanbequiteelaborate. Thesellerwillspendalotoftimetoexplainsize, color, use, etc. inhopesthatyouwilleventuallybuy, andalwaysinaverycourteousmanner. Ihaveayoungfriend, wholikemecanbeveryindecisiveinbuyingsomething. Hewillgosofarastoaskthesellerwhatcolortheypreferandhowmanypeoplearebuyingwhatitem, etc. Youcansurelytesttheseller'spatiencewithallthesequestions.

      这是“亲爱的”的一种缩写,是淘宝上熟悉的一种招呼语。转到付款页面叫“拍钱”或直接“拍”。大部分人都会选择快递这种运送方式,因为它可以送货到家门,就像美国联合包裹(UPS)一样。卖家会花很长时间来解释说明该款宝贝的大小、颜色、用法等,希望你最终能把它买下来,并总是用非常礼貌地方式和你交流。我有一年轻朋友,和我一样,买东西时常犹犹豫豫,不知如何选择。他甚至会问卖家推荐哪种颜色,有多少人在买哪种物品等等之类的问题。当然你可以用这些问题来考验卖家的耐心。

      WhichbringsmetotheheartofthematterandtheheartofTaobao. AlloverChinatherearethesewonderfulpeoplewhohavealittleTaobaobusinessthatisoftenparttime. Accordingtomyexperience, thevastmajorityareverysincereandhonest. Whenyouchatonline, youmaybeconnectingwithacomputerinsomeone'skitchenthatisrunning 16 hoursadayonalittletablewithafewboxesofitemsstackedinthecornerofthekitchen. Theyareveryproudofwhattheysellandveryattentivetogoodservicefortheircustomers. Theextramoneytheymakeoftenfundsafamilyvacationoranewcar.

      正是这些让我深深体会到淘宝购物和淘宝的好。全中国有很多做淘宝兼职生意的可爱人。根据我的经验,绝大部分人都是很真诚,守信用的。当你在线聊天时,链接的另一头可能是一位坐在厨房里一天开机16个小时的人,他的电脑就放在小小的桌上,在厨房角落里堆叠着一些商品的包装盒。他们对自己的产品非常自豪,对顾客的服务十分上心。他们想用这份额外的收入换一次家庭度假或买一辆新车。

      IonceboughtanexpensivecomputerfromTaobaoandthesellerturnedouttobelivingjustdownthestreet, soIwasinvitedtopickitupattheirhome. Yes, therewasthecomputerrunninginthekitchenwhilethewomanofthehouseprepareddinner. ShecarefullyloadedtheChineseservicepackontothecomputerandexplainedhowtouseit. Ireturnedtobuysomeaccessoriesandmetherhusband, areallyfriendlyyoungcouplewhowereveryinterestedinwhatIwasdoinginDalian. IfIamverycleverwithmyChinese, sometimesTaobaopeoplewillnotknowIamaforeigner, butsheguessedbecausemyChinesenameisnotcommonlyusedbyChinesepeople. Wehadawonderfultimechattinginpersonthistime, andIalsowrotethemagreatreview. Bytheway, thecomputerturnedouttobetheverybestcomputerforstudyingChineseIhaveeverowned!

      我曾在淘宝上买过一台昂贵的电脑,结果发现卖家和我住同一条街。所以我就应邀去他家取电脑。是的,厨房里开着一台电脑,女主人在准备晚饭。她仔细地在电脑上装载中国版服务包并向我解释如何使用。我回来买一些配件时遇到了她的丈夫,这一对年轻的夫妇非常友好,他们对我在大连的工作很好奇。如果我汉语用的很溜的话,淘宝卖家有时是不会知道我是一名外国人的。但是她猜到了,因为我的中文名在中国不常用。这次我们聊得非常愉快,而且我还在淘宝上给他们写了一段很棒的点评。顺便说一句,这台汉语学习电脑是我买过最好的一台。

      Isitpossibletohaveareal "Taobaolife"? Maybe. Youcouldspendhoursonlinechattingwithliterallythousandsofsellersandbaskingintheircourteousattention. Thenyoucouldsitathomeandwaitforthe "kuaidi" guysandhaveafriendlychatwiththem. Betteryet, whenyouareouttheywillcallyouandyoucanloudlyexplainthatsinceyouareaway, pleaseleaveyourpackage(s) withthepropertymanagementoffice (WuYe) 物业 (averycommonlyreceivedcellphonecall). Inthisway, othersaroundyouwillsurelyknowyouareprosperousandeverydayverybusy! Also, don’tforgetthatpackagesoftencomewithunexpectedfreegiftsthatwilllivenuptheday. Ijustreceivedonethatlookslikeaverywideportablemarkerthatcangoinyourpocketlikeapen. However, popoffthetopandinsideyoufindasmallforkandspoonaswellasasetofcollapsiblestainlesschopsticks!

      拥有一段真正的“淘宝生活“可能吗?可能。你可以花很多时间一字一句地和上千个卖家在线聊天并享受对方尽心尽力的关怀。然后你可以坐在家里等待快递小哥,和他们友好地交谈几句。再好的是,当你外出时,他们会打给你,你可以大声地解释说,现在不在家,麻烦把你的包裹放到物业那儿。这样的话,周围人肯定会觉得你很成功,每天都很忙!另外,别忘了,包裹里常有一份意外的免费小礼物。我就收到过一个看上去很宽的便携式书签,可以把它像笔一样塞到口袋里。然而,拆开包裹,你就会找到一把小刀和汤勺,还有一双可折叠的不锈钢筷子!

      Andisn'thavingyourownbusinessacornerstoneofwhatsomecallthe "AmericanDream"?

      难道拥有一笔自己的小生意不正是“美国梦”的基石吗?

      Aren'talltheseindependententrepreneursscatteredoverthecountryhonestlysellingproductsandtakingprideintheirserviceandhighnumbersofgoodreviewssomuchlikethesmallbusinessAmericawearepersuadedtothinkisuniquelyAmerican? IhopeeveryonewillstoppayingattentiontotheChinabashingWesternpress. ChinainsomanywaysisjustlikeAmerica, alandofindependenceandselfdeterminationandTaobaotrulyrepresentsakindof"AmericanDream" "withChinesecharacteristics"!

      这些独立企业遍布全国,勤勤恳恳售货,以自己的服务和买家们的高度好评为豪,他们不正和我们一直认为的美国特色小企业一样吗?我希望大家不要再关注中国痛击西方媒体的事件了。中国在很多方面和美国一样,也是一块独立而自决的土地。淘宝真实地展现了一种具有中国特色的“美国梦”!

      HeBaoluo (PaulHuebner) cametoChinatostudyChineselanguageandmusicafterasuccessfulcareerinLosAngelesteachingpianotomostlyChinese-Americanstudents. In 2003, hebeganstudyinginthesummeratLiaoningUniversityuntilheandhiswifefinallydecidedtomovetoShenyang. Morerecently, hehasattendedclassesatDalianUniversityofFinanceandEconomics. InadditiontostudyingChinese, henowstudiesguzhengandguqinandwashonoredtoperformataChina 60thBirthdayConcertinDalian.

      作者简介:何保罗(音)在美国拉斯维加斯有一份成功的钢琴教学事业,他大部分教的是美籍华裔,后来他来到中国学习汉语和音乐。2003年夏天,他在辽宁大学开始了学习直到他和妻子决定搬去沈阳。最近,他在大连大学学习金融和经济学。除了学习汉语,他现在还学习古筝和古琴,并有幸在大连的建国60周年晚会上进行演出。