Confusing accents and odd public transport habits have been listed among the biggest culture shocks for people moving to the UK.
難懂的口音和奇怪的公共交通習(xí)慣雙雙躋身外國人到英國后感受到的最大文化沖擊之列。

Users of online message board Reddit were asked "What is biggest 'culture shock' you've ever received either after moving or while vacationing to a new place?" by user thechosenone16 - and responded with a number of humourous observations about life in Britain.
網(wǎng)絡(luò)論壇Reddit的用戶thechosenone16向論壇網(wǎng)友提出了一個問題：“到一個新的地方定居或度假后，你感受到的最大‘文化沖擊’是什么？”Reddit網(wǎng)友紛紛給出了有關(guān)在英國生活的風(fēng)趣評論。

"There are no closets in the UK," posted user SurfeitOfPenguins in one entry.
用戶SurfeitOfPenguins發(fā)表留言道：“英國沒有儲藏室”。

"Livable space of houses is maybe a one-foot radius around each radiator. Either the sky is completely overcast, or the sky is blue with one single cloud and that cloud is raining.
“房子的居住空間周圍大概半徑1英尺之內(nèi)必有暖氣片。天空要么全陰，要么就是蔚藍的天空上孤零零飄著一朵云，而那朵云也是雨云。”

"Accents are a big deal. A native Brit can pinpoint a person's place of birth, annual salary, and parentage going back three generations within moments of hearing another Brit speak."
“口音是個大問題。別人只要一開口說話，土生土長的英國人瞬間就能確定說話者的出生地、年薪，還能追溯到往上三代的出身。”

Redditor Dondo666 also pointed out the difference between the British accents as depicted onscreen, and how they are in real life.
Reddit用戶Dondo666同樣指出了銀幕上與現(xiàn)實生活中的英國口音的差異。

"English is my 3rd language but I'd say I'm fluent," he said.
他表示：“英語是我的第3語言，但我覺得自己說得算得上流利”。

"I have no problem understanding what Americans say 99% of the time. But Brits are a whole other thing entirely. Most of the time I could make out 1/5 words. After a while I stopped asking people to repeat themselves and just smiled and nodded.
“99%的情況下，我聽懂美國人說話沒問題。但聽懂英國人說話就完全是另一回事了。大多數(shù)情況下，5個單詞我也就能聽懂1個。不久之后，我就不再請求別人重講一遍，而只是微笑著點頭。”

"Brits in British movies I understand. In real life, not so much."
“英國電影里的英國人說話我能聽懂。生活中？真是聽不太懂。”

ListenDry, an Indian user from UAE, reported on Britons' obsession with manners, having visited London in 2012.
來自阿聯(lián)酋的印度裔用戶ListenDry曾在2012年來過倫敦。他吐槽了英國人的禮貌強迫癥。

"Sorry, please, thank you and welcome were the words to gain respect," he said.
他表示：“對不起、請、謝謝和歡迎這些詞要常掛在嘴邊，這樣才能贏得尊重”。

An international student, the Redditor also summed up other British idiosyncrasies.
Reddit上的一位留學(xué)生也總結(jié)了一些其他英國特色。

"Taxes were high," he wrote.
他寫道：“稅很高”。

"Liquor was cheap (even though I don't drink). Heating was central and was timed which was thick. No closets to hide in despair and the rooms were tiny. Accents are vast, from all over the globe.
“酒水很便宜（盡管我不喝酒）。定時、中央供暖，但溫度很足。房間狹小，絕望時也沒有儲藏室可以躲。集合了來自世界各地、五花八門的口音。”

"Racism does exist but is not visible. It's just that people will ignore instead of verbally or physically assaulting or replying."
“英國確實存在種族歧視問題，但不明顯。人們只是選擇忽視，而不是進行語言、身體攻擊或回應(yīng)。”

For French Redditor pompompompompom, it was British toilets that made for a source of cultural confusion.
對于來自法國的Reddit用戶pompompompompom來說，讓他感受到文化混亂的是英國的廁所。

"Some older toilets have a sort of door handle flush which I can never get the hang of, if you're too slow it won't work, too fast won't work either, it's an art," he said.
他說：“有些老式廁所使用所謂的門把手沖水，我永遠學(xué)不會。太慢了不行，太快了也不行，簡直是門藝術(shù)”。

Coming from further afield, a Tawainese Redditor made observations about British dining habits on public transport.
一位來自更遙遠的臺灣的Reddit用戶就英國人在公共交通上吃喝的習(xí)慣發(fā)表了評論。

The user wrote: "[I was intrigued by] how Brits are allowed to eat and drink on the London underground but still keep the carriages relatively clean. (Taipei’s metro banned all eating and drinking.)"
這位用戶寫道：“英國人竟然可以在倫敦地鐵上吃喝，而車廂還保持得挺干凈的。我和我的小伙伴都驚呆了。（臺北地鐵禁止在車廂內(nèi)進食、飲水。）”

Vocabulary

observation：評論，言論，意見

radiator：暖氣片

parentage：出身

pinpoint：準確指出

Redditor：Reddit用戶

idiosyncrasy：習(xí)性，癖好，特性

further afield：在更遠處

英文來源：獨立報

譯者：趙德岷

審校&編輯：劉明