标题: Taiwan Journal, Parts III and IV [打印本页] 作者: choi 时间: 7-12-2012 07:49 标题: Taiwan Journal, Parts III and IV (3) Part III. June 13, 2012 http://www.nationalreview.com/ar ... jay-nordlinger?pg=1
("On the streets, I see many a New York Yankees baseball cap. I see none from any other team")
Note:
(a) The journal said, "It’s wonderful to have a fresh guava in the morning. (Not that I’m knocking chocolate Pop-Tarts.)"
(i) guava 芭樂/番石榴 (in Taiwan, anyway) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guava
(native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America; section 2 Common names)
(ii) knock (vt): "to find fault with <always knocking those in authority>"
(iii) Pop-Tarts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop-Tarts
(made by the Kellogg Company; Although sold pre-cooked, they are designed to be warmed inside a toaster or microwave oven)
(b) The journal commented, "Is there any society, anywhere, that is not completely effed up on the subject of skin color?"
The "ef" stands for the first letter of "fuck." In US, women and refined people are not supposed to say the four-letter word. So they write and say "ef"--like effing (meaning "fucking"). Thus the above quotation means "fucked up."
(c) pièce de résistance (n; French, literally, piece of resistance; First Known Use 1839):
"1: the chief dish of a meal
2: an outstanding item or event : SHOWPIECE" http://www.merriam-webster.com/d ... e%20r%C3%A9sistance
(d) The journal stated, " If you’d like to see it without budging from your computer, go here."
budge (vi): "MOVE, SHIFT <the mule wouldn't budge>"
(e) rustic (n): "an inhabitant of a rural area"
(f) “Once they’ve seen the lights of Paree, you can’t keep ’em down on the farm.”
"(Paree) is an alternate pronunciation of Paris, which is closer to the French pronunciation."
(g) The journal talked about "political talk shows, of which there are scads here in Taiwan."
scad (n; probably alteration of English dialect scald a multitude):
"a large number or quantity —usually used in plural <scads of money>"
(h) In "honest-to-goodness," goodness is an euphemism for "god."
(i) Der Alte http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Alte
(German for "the old man and can refer to: the late German politician Konrad Adenauer)
* Konrad Adenauer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konrad_Adenauer
(1876-1967; Chancellor of Germany 1949-1963; Adenauer, dubbed "Der Alte" ("the old one"), belied his age as the oldest elected leader in world history by his intense work habits and his uncanny political instinct; At age 73 [in 1949], it was initially thought that he would only be a caretaker chancellor. However, he would go on to hold this post for 14 years [re-elected as chancellor in 1953, 1957 and 1961 (age 85)])作者: choi 时间: 7-12-2012 07:51
(4) Part IV. June 14, 2012. http://www.nationalreview.com/ar ... t-iv-jay-nordlinger
Three consecutive paragraphs:
"I ask [Chen-shen] Yen what he and his wife speak at home.
"He says, 'Mandarin, sometimes English — sometimes Cantonese.' They used to speak Cantonese with each other when they didn’t want their kids to understand. Then, the kids learned some Cantonese. Now, the elder Yens speak Cantonese when they don’t want their dog to understand.
"This smart canine understands key, doggy words in Mandarin and English. ('Out,' for example.) But she has not yet gotten wise to the Cantonese. Only a matter of time, I suppose.
Note: "Chen-Shen YEN is a scholar at the Institute of International Relations, National Chengchi University."