全通翻譯/翻譯社

一、But--先"讚美"再講"不過"

1. 西方人對你給他建議，多半不會馬上拒絕。就算不想採納，通常也會客氣地說：It's a good idea BUT not a full solution. 你的主意很好，但不見得能完全解決問題。 
2. 西方人婉拒別人邀請，也這麼用。
   Thank you for asking, BUT I already has plans tonight. 謝謝邀請，但我今晚有事。
   

問過很多學生一個問題，你覺得自己英文問題到底出在哪裡？
答案當然很多，其中一個挺有意思的答案是：我覺得自己每一句話開頭都是”I”。
這不是單獨一個人的問題，是中文和英文邏輯結構的差異。中文以人為本，主觀色彩濃郁，主詞大部份人。英美文化以科學為主，強調客觀，於是有很多句子以物為主詞，叫「無靈主詞」。習慣說中文的人，講英文的時候，其實要經過一道結構轉換，才能把語言弄順。

英文的 "Pause and think" Method －把英文說到骨子裡的方法

英文真的是慢慢學最快，但這個「慢」一定要慢得有方法，才能夠以慢打快。如果慢得沒有章法，只會把人耐心和信心耗盡。而「慢」的關鍵就在兩個動詞：

Pause(暫停) 和 Think(思考)

成人學英文最大的特色有三個，一說就錯，一用就忘，一講就懂。關鍵在這一講就懂。今天要談的「語用錯誤」造成的誤解。台灣英語教育，一直到近幾年才開始重視「語用」。講得白一點，語用就是語言的用法，在哪一些情境裡應該說哪些話，要怎麼說。

大部份外籍人士對於老中的發音不準或詞彙不當，接受度很高，也會盡力去瞭解，但不符合禮儀錯誤語用，卻會讓他們受不了。也就是詞用錯了或文法錯了，可以容忍和原諒；詞沒有用錯、文法(Grammar Rules)沒有錯，但語用規則(Speech Rules)錯了，對方可能會覺得你不禮貌，缺乏教養。

Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu had his Twitter account briefly suspended for "aggressively following" other users, just hours after it was launched.

諾貝爾和平獎得主圖圖的推特帳號才剛啟用數小時，這個帳號就因為「大量關注」其他用戶而遭到停權。

The ex-archbishop’s @TutuLegacy account racked up hundreds of followers in its first hours of use, before being black listed.

Scientists have revealed that just by looking at the flickering screen could banish your hunger pangs, and so a broken TV or a TV that needs tuning could be helpful.

科學家揭露，只要觀看閃爍不停的電視畫面就可以消除口腹之慾，因此一台故障或需要調整的電視可能有助減肥。

Food cravings seem to disappear instantly if someone spends just a few seconds at the black and white flickering screen. The volunteers who carried a hand held computer device displayed the flickering images and reported that their hunger pangs did subside by almost 23 per cent immediately after they watched them.

For bicyclist Rudi Saldia, you could say a cat is his co-pilot.

對單車騎士魯迪．沙爾迪亞而言，你可以說貓是他的副駕駛。

Saldia often buzzes around Philadelphia with his year-old feline Mary Jane perched on his shoulder. Their urban adventures have turned heads on the street and garnered big hits on YouTube.

A big new study says as the world gets warmer, people are more prone to get hot under the collar. Scientists found that aggressive acts like violent crimes and wars become more likely with each added degree.

一份大型的新研究說，隨著世界愈來愈熱，人們也愈來愈容易生氣。科學家發現，氣溫每升高1度，暴力犯罪與戰爭等咄咄逼人的舉動的可能性也隨之增加。

The research analyzed 60 studies of such things as the historic collapses of empires, recent wars and violent crime rates in the United States. They found a common thread： Extreme weather _ hot or dry _ means more violence.