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英语聊天话题：英国留学情景会话第1章 习惯与风俗
in the Departmental Reception for New Students
Dean: Erm, good evening everyone. May I extend a very warm welcome to the new students in the Department of Economics. 〔to the assistant dean〕 How many new students have been admitted to the department this year?
Assistant Dean: A hundred and twenty this year.
Dean: Well, thats a very good rise in numbers; and I see we have a large intake from China and Korea this year… so a special welcome to you too. Could I just ask you to get yourselves a drink and mingle as much as possible. Make most of the free food, this is probably the only occasion where you can get something from the Department for free, so enjoy….
Zhao: Hello there, you aren"t Chinese, are you?
Jung: No, I"m Korean actually… are you Chinese?
Zhao: Yes… whereabouts are you from?
Jung: Korea. I said.
Zhao: I know that… I mean where in Korea are you from?
Jung: Oh… sorry… Busan… it"s in the far Southeast. What about you?
Zhao: Erm… I"m from Haikou, in Hainan….
Jung: Oh… where"s that?
Zhao: It is a big island in the South China Sea, between Taiwan and Vietnam. Remember a few years ago
—that American reconnaissance plane that clashed with a Chinese fighter and was forced to land in China? Hainan was where it landed.
Jung: Oh… I do remember, Hainan….
Dr. Haynes: Hello… are you two Chinese?
Jung: No. He"s Chinese. I"m Korean.
Dr. Haynes: Oh… What do you think of Newcastle so far? Are you settling in all right?
Zhao: Well, it"s very nice… I"ve already found a flatshare… and I"m quite comfortable, thanks.
Dr. Haynes: That"s good. Why did you decide to come to this part of the country to study?
Jung: Well… everyone goes to London… don"t you think? It"s full of foreign students! We"ll never get to know the real England there, and we"ll end up speaking our own languages as well.
Dr. Haynes: Well you could be right there. What do you think of the local accent here? Has it been causing you any problems?
Zhao: Well, I think it"s just a matter of getting used to it, isn"t it? I am quite surprised how different the accents are in a small country like England, but I have learnt to like them. Just like in Chinese, the northern accents are humorous, and the southern accents are, well, gentle.
Jung: Do you have problems with our accents?
Dr. Haynes: Not really… well sometimes, actually, yes… haha. Look… let me introduce you to some local students here… this is Tony Barry… he"s from Sunderland, which is about twelve miles from here… and Melanie Johnson… she"s from Washington, which is about ten miles away.
Zhao: Washington?!
Melanie: Yes… haha… that always confuses foreigners. It"s the original Washington… George Washington"s ancestors came from there.
Jung: Oh!
Tony: So, are you both Japanese, then?
Zhao: No. I"m Chinese and he"s Korean.
Tony: Oh… sorry… I haven"t met many people from your part of the world before. Do you lads like football?
Jung: I do! I love Chelsea!
Zhao: Yes… and I like Manchester United.
Melanie: Why is it that foreigners always like those teams?
Zhao: They are famous and they always win.
Tony: Yes, but don"t you think that anyone can support a winner? I mean, here in England we think you should support your home team… that"s why when people say they support Manchester United we know they are not actually from Manchester! The real Mancunians support Manchester City!
Jung: Well, we are foreigners. We don"t have a home team in the premier league. But I think you are right. From now on, we should support Newcastle. Which team do you support, then?
Tony: Sunderland!
Zhao: I"ve never heard of them.
Tony: Well, everyone in Britain has! They have a long and proud history, even though they weren"t in the Premiership last season. That"s the point, if you are from Sunderland, you love Sunderland whether they are up or down… and not Newcastle… 〔looking at Dr. Haynes〕… they"re our local rivals.
Dr. Haynes: What was that you were saying, Tony?
在院系新生欢迎仪式上
系主任：嗯，大家晚上好。请允许我向经济系的新生们致以热烈的欢迎。〔对助理系主任说〕今年录取了多少新生？
助理系主任：今年有120个。
系主任：嗯，增长了不少；而且我看见我们今年从中国和韩国录取的学生很多，对你们表示特别的欢迎。你们都拿杯喝的吧，尽情地聊。多吃点儿，都是免费的。这可能是你们唯一一次可以从系里拿到免费东西的机会，尽情享用吧。
赵：你好，你不是中国人吧？
俊：不是，我是韩国人。你是中国人吗？
赵：对。那你具体从哪儿来？
俊：韩国，我说过了。
赵：我知道，我是说你从韩国的什么地方来？
俊：噢，不好意思。釜山，在最东南面。你呢？
赵：嗯，我是从海口来的，在海南。
俊：噢，那是哪儿？
赵：那是中国南海上的一个大岛，在台湾地区和越南之间。还记得几年前一架美国侦察机与中国战斗机相撞并在中国迫降吗？海南就是它降落的地方。
俊：噢，我确实记得，海南。
海因斯博士：你们好。你们俩都是中国人吗？
俊：不。他是中国人，我是韩国人。
海因斯博士：噢，你们现在觉得纽卡斯尔怎么样？都安顿好了吗？
赵：很好。我已经找到了一个合租公寓，非常舒适，谢谢。
海因斯博士：那很好。你们为什么来英国的这个地方学习呢？
俊：人人都想去伦敦，你不觉得吗？那儿全是外国学生！我们在那儿根本了解不到真正的英国，而且大家到头来都说自己国家的语言。
海因斯博士：你这么说也是有道理的。你们怎么看这里的口音？对你们有影响吗？
赵：我想只要我们习惯了就好了，不是吗？像英格兰这么小的地方竟有这么多不同的口音，我很惊讶，不过我已经逐渐喜欢上它们了。就像在汉语里，北方口音幽默，南方口音，怎么说呢，温柔。
俊：你听我们的口音有问题吗？
海因斯博士：其实没有。可能有时候，实际上，有，哈哈。这样吧，我给你们介绍几个当地学生。这是托尼·巴里，他是从桑德兰来的，离这儿大概有12英里。还有梅拉妮·约翰逊，她是从华盛顿来的，离这儿10英里左右。
赵：华盛顿？！
梅拉妮：是的，哈哈。许多外国人都搞不明白，那是最早的华盛顿，乔治· 华盛顿的祖先就是从那儿来的。
俊：噢。
托尼：那么，你们俩都是日本人？
赵：不。我是中国人，他是韩国人。
托尼：哦，抱歉，我没见过多少从你们那个地方来的人。你们两个喜欢足球吗？
俊：我喜欢！我特别喜欢切尔西！
赵：是啊，我喜欢曼联。
梅拉妮：为什么外国人总是喜欢这些队呢？
赵：他们有名而且他们总赢。
托尼：也对，但你难道不觉得一个赢家谁都可以去追捧吗？
在英国我们认为应当支持自己的家乡队。所以，当人们说他们支持曼联，我们就知道他们不是真来自曼彻斯特！真正的曼彻斯特人支持曼城队！
俊：我们是外国人。英超联赛里没有我们的家乡队。但是我认为你是对的。从现在开始，我们应该支持纽卡斯尔队。那你支持哪个球队呢？
托尼：桑德兰！
赵：我从来没听说过这个队。
托尼：英国人都知道！他们有悠久而令人骄傲的历史，虽然他们目前不在英超联赛里。关键是，只要你是桑德兰人，你就会爱桑德兰队，无论他们表现好与坏，而不是纽卡斯尔队。〔向海因斯博士的方向看去〕他们跟我们是同室操戈的敌人。
海因斯博士：托尼，你说什么呢？
分享好知识！