如此“谨慎和谦虚”，文章开头写道，以至于他们都没有词语来表达“是”和“不是”。
11 Why do people keep fabricating these rumors? I thought. They describe us as though we were a tribe of those little dolls sold in Chinatown tourist shops, heads moving up and down in contented agreement!
我思索着，为什么人们会不断地编造这样的谣言呢？他们把我们描述得就像是唐人街旅游品商店里出售的一批小布娃娃。那些布娃娃的头不停地上下晃动，似乎对一切都心满意足，完全赞同。
12 As any child of immigrant parents knows, there is a special kind of double bind attached to knowing two languages. My parents, for example, spoke to me in both Chinese and English; I spoke back to them in English.
生于移民家庭的孩子都清楚，有一种特殊的两难境地与说两种语言的生活联系在一起。比如我父母，他们和我说话时中文和英文都用，但我和他们说话时只用英文。
13 \
“艾米啊！”他们会这样责备我。
14 \“怎么啦？”我会回问道。
15 \“我们叫你时，不要对我们反问，”他们会用中文训斥道“这是不礼貌的！”
16 \
“你们什么意思？”
17 \“哎！我们不是刚刚说过，叫你不要反问吗？”
18 If I consider my upbringing carefully, I find there was nothing discreet about the Chinese language I grew up with, no censorship for the sake of politeness. My parents made everything abundantly clear in their consecutive demands: \engineer,\仔细想想自己的成长过程，我发现，我从小到大所接触到的中文并不是什么特别谨慎的语言，也不存在出于客气而对所说的话进行仔细检查的现象。我父母向我提一连串的要求时，总是把一切都表述得清清楚楚：“你当然会成为著名的航空工程师，”他们会鼓励我说，“对了，你业余时间还要做音乐会的钢琴师。”
19 It seems that the more forceful proceedings always spilled over into Chinese: \You must wash rice so not a single grain is lost.\似乎更加强硬的事情总是通过中文倾泻出来：“不能那样！你淘米的时候，必须一粒都不漏。”
20 Having listened to both Chinese and English, I'm suspicious of comparisons between the two
languages, as I notice the reciprocal challenges they each present. English speakers say Chinese is extremely difficult because different words can be denoted by very subtle variations in tone. English is often bracketed with the label of inconsistency, a language of too many broken rules. 由于一直同时听着中英文两种语言，故而我对它们之间的任何对比总是心存怀疑，因为我注意到它们各自都有对方所没有的难点。说英文的人会认为中文极其难，因为中文用非常微妙的声调变化就可以表示不同的词语。而英文则常常被认为缺乏一致性，因为英文具有太多不合规则的用法。
21 Even more dangerous, in my view, is the temptation to view the gulf between different languages and behavior in translation. To listen to my mother speak English, an outside spectator might make the deduction that she has no concept of the temporal differences of past and future or that she is gender blind because she refers to my husband as \one might also generalize that all Chinese people take an indirect route to get to the point. It is, rather, my mother's individual tendency to ornament her language and wander around a bit. 在我看来，更危险的做法是，人们往往倾向于通过翻译来理解不同语言和行为之间的差异。如果一个旁观的外人听我母亲说英语，可能会得出结论，说她对过去和将来这样的时间区别没有概念，或者认为她对人的性别不加区分，因为她提到我丈夫时总是说“她”。如果一个人对此类现象不假思虑，他也许还会概括说，所有中国人都是通过委婉迂回的方式才能说到话题重点的。而实际上喜欢修饰和绕弯子只是我母亲个人的说话风格。
22 I worry that the dominant society may see Chinese people from a limited perspective, hedging us in with the stereotype. I worry that the seemingly innocent stereotype may lead to actual intolerance and be part of the reason why there are few Chinese in top management positions, or in the main judiciary or political sectors. I worry about the power of language: If one says anything enough times, it might become true, with or without malicious intent.
我担心主流社会可能会从一个狭隘的角度、以一种成见看待中国人。我担心这种看似无害的成见实际会导致人们对中国人难以容忍，并成为中国人在高层管理职位或主要的司法及政府部门寥寥无几的部分原因。我担心语言的力量，即如果一个人将一件事说了很多遍，无论其是否有恶意，这件事都会变成事实。
23 Could this be why the Chinese friends of my parents' generation are willing to accept the generalization?
这会不会就是我父母辈的中国朋友愿意接受那些对中国人的简单概括的原因呢？
24 \are you complaining?\one of them said to me. \people think we are modest and polite, let them think that. Wouldn't Americans appreciate such an honorary description?\“你为什么要抱怨呢？”他们中有人问我。“如果人们认为我们谦虚礼让，就让他们那样想好了。难道美国人不喜欢这种赞誉性的话吗？”
25 And I do believe that anyone would take the description as a compliment — at first. But after a while, it annoys, as if the only things that people heard one say were what had been filtered through the sieve of social niceties: I'm so pleased to meet you. I've heard many wonderful things about you.
我当然相信每个人在一开始都会把这种描述的话当成称赞。但过了一段时间，这种话就会让
人恼怒，就好像所听到的只是些经过细微的社交区别过滤后的言辞，诸如“很高兴认识你，我听到许多人都夸奖你”之类的话。
26 These remarks are not representative of new ideas, honest emotions, or considered thought. Like a piece of bread, they are only the crust of the interaction, or what is said from the polite distance of social contexts: greetings, farewells, convenient excuses, and the like. This generalization, therefore, is not a true composite of Chinese culture but only a stereotype of our exterior behavior.
这些话不能表达什么新观点，也不能传达什么真实的情感或深思熟虑的想法。它们就像一片面包，只是人们交往中最表层的东西，或社交场合下出于礼貌而说的一些话：问候、道别、顺口的托词，诸如此类。由此看来，那些对中国人的概括性评价并非是对中国文化成分的真实描述，而仅仅是对我们外在行为的一种成见而已。
27 \
“那么中文究竟怎么表达‘是’和‘不是’呢？”我的朋友也许会小心翼翼地问。
28 At this junction, I do agree in part with The New York Times Magazine article. There is no one word for \or \but not out of necessity to be discreet. If anything, I would say the Chinese equivalent of answering \
在这一点上，我的确在某种程度上同意《纽约时报杂志》的那篇文章。在中文里，没有哪一个字专门用于表达“是”或“不是”，但这并非是因为需要保持谨慎。若的确有什么不同的话，那我会说中文里对应的“是”或“不是”的表达通常是针对所问的具体内容而定的。
29 Ask a Chinese person if he or she has eaten, and he or she might say chrle (eaten already) or meiyou (have not).
如果你问一个中国人是否吃饭了，他（或她）会说“吃了”（已经吃过）或“没有”（没有吃过）。
30 Ask, \being asserted or denied: stopped already, still have not, never beat, have no wife.
你若问：“你停止打老婆了吗？”他会直接就所断定或所否认的假设进行回答：已经停止了，还没有，从来不打，没有老婆。
31 What could be clearer? 还有什么能比这更明了的呢？
TextB
Culture makes the business world go round
文化推动商业世界的运转
1 Edward Hall, a leader in the field of intercultural studies, famously said: \barrier to business success is the one erected by culture.\impact on international business ventures as financial planning and visionary leadership? The
surprising answer is: Yes!
爱德华·霍尔是跨文化研究领域的著名学者。他曾说过一句名言：“商业成功的最大障碍是由文化竖立的障碍。”对国际企业来说，文化差异难道真的和财务规划及前瞻性领导有着同样大的影响吗？答案是出人意料的：的确如此！
2 A good example is the role of relationships in business dealings. While relationships play only a minor role in US business culture, they play a major role in Asian, African, and Middle Eastern countries. In these cultures, in varying degrees, relationship building is like a torch that lights and guides the way for business to occur.
一个很好的例子，人际关系在生意往来中所起的作用。尽管人际关系在美国商业文化中作用不大，但在亚洲、非洲及中东国家却十分重要。在这些文化中，人际关系的经营在不同程度上就好像是照亮和引导生意征程的火炬。
3 Let's take the example of Kevin Johnston, a senior vice-president of a US company specializing in hospitality management. Kevin was put in charge of finalizing a merger with a company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Virtually all of the complicated negotiations had been completed. What remained was a 3-day trip to the UAE for face-to-face meetings between the partners to sign the paperwork and close the deal.
让我们以美国一家酒店管理公司高级副总裁凯文·约翰斯顿的故事为例说明。凯文被指派负责敲定与阿拉伯联合酋长国（阿联酋）一家公司的合并事宜。几乎所有复杂的谈判均已完成，剩下的就是花三天时间前往阿联酋与对方面谈，以签署协议文件并完成整个交易。
4 Kevin was determined that nothing would detain him from succeeding. He sent out a memorandum across his company, enthusiastically describing the planned merger with the UAE partners. Having compiled all the necessary documents and graphs, with every figure and decimal in place, and having prepared a thorough exposition certifying the quality of his company, he packed his briefcase and headed for the UAE.
凯文坚信，任何事情都不会阻碍他此行成功完成任务。他给公司上下发了一份备忘录，热情洋溢地描述了与阿联酋方面的这一合并计划。在他整理好了所有必备的文件和乃至数据及小数点都精确到位的各种图表，并准备了一份证明公司资质的详尽说明后，他就装好了公文包，奔赴阿联酋。
5 Kevin arrived in the UAE excited to seal the deal. He was treated with extraordinary hospitality: an elaborate hotel, blue ribbon foods, elegant convertibles with drivers to tour the city, a parade of entertainment, and beautiful gifts to commemorate the visit. He tried repeatedly to bring out his files, open the conversation and get down to business. But, surprisingly, for the three days he spent in the UAE, none of his Emirate colleagues seemed ready to hear his financial briefing. Each time Kevin tried to speak about the deal, his prospective partners seemed to \the conversation, diverting it to other topics. They would inquire about his health, his family or his views on education and other important issues.
凯文到了阿联酋，对于此行来完成这项交易感到兴奋无比。他受到了超规格的殷勤接待：奢华的宾馆、一流的佳肴、配有专职司机的优雅的敞篷车带他游览全城、接连不断的娱乐活动、精美的纪念品。他多次试图取出带来的文件资料，想打开话题谈生意，但奇怪的是，在他停留的三天里，阿联酋的同仁们却好像没有一个人愿意听他准备的财务情况简介。每当凯文试