What do Americans find strange about the UK?
对美国人来说，英国的哪些方面很奇怪？

 

来自@Stephanie Garcia的回答：

 

I grew up in California but have spent about four years living in various parts of the UK – South, Midlands, and North.
我是在加利福尼亚长大的，但是在英国生活了4年，南部、中部、北部都住过。

The first thing I noticed was that my West-Midlands host family did not sound like the queen.
我注意到的第一件事就是：我房东这一家人（中西部人）讲话的口音和女王完全不一样。

I’ve since learnt that accents change every five miles or something insane .
之后我才知道，英国的口音每隔5公里甚至更短就会变。

As far as America goes, I can tell the West Coast from The East or the South, but I couldn’t tell you a state, much less a county.
而在美国，我能分辨出西岸、东部和南部的口音，但我判断不了他们具体来自哪个州，更不用说哪个郡了。

And Americans often find it difficult to know if the person they’re talking to is even American, or if they’ve come down from Canada!
而且美国人在交谈的时候，甚至都不敢肯定对方是不是美国人，他们有可能是从加拿大南下的！

 

The next thing I found a bit bizarre was the quiet, stare ahead norm of public transportation – if you talk to somebody on the Tube, you’re probably a serial killer (or a lost tourist, which to a Londoner seems to be just as bad).
我觉得奇怪的第二件事是英国的公共交通，上面的常态是：所有人都保持安静、往上看。——如果你在地铁里跟人讲话，那你很有可能是个连环杀手（或者是个迷路的游客，而这对伦敦人来说和连环杀手一样糟）。

I’ve had to deal with the Tube from Heathrow to Victoria with heavy bags more times than I care to count, and Victoria Station is not exactly tourist friendly.
我已经好多次不得不提着沉重的大袋子从西斯罗机场坐地铁去维多利亚火车站了，而维多利亚火车站对游客一点都不友好。

Each time I’ve had someone walk up and ask to help with my bags. Not once have they been English.
每次如果有人走过来问我需不需要帮忙，那这个人都不是英国人。

In America, at least from what I’ve experienced, people will start a chat if they see you’re travelling by yourself, and I always immediately have someone taller offer to put my stuff in an overhead bin.
而在美国，至少是据我的经验而言，大家如果看见你是独自旅行的话，都会跟你说上两句；过不了多久就会有个长得高的人过来，帮我把东西放到头顶上的储物箱里。

Although this may be 50% good manners and 50% fear that I’ll drop it on someone’s head!
当然，这可能一半是出于礼貌，另一半是因为怕我的东西砸到别人的头！

 

Opening hours – especially Sunday trading laws have also taken so much getting used to.
营业时间——尤其是周日交易法，同样需要花些时间才能适应。

In America, 24/7 fast food, grocery stores, petrol stations, etc. are the norm, and if I want Chinese food on Christmas Eve at 9PM, I have five options.
在美国，7天24小时营业的快餐店、杂货店、加油站等等都是很正常的东西，而如果我想在平安夜的晚上9点吃中国菜，我有5家可以选。

In my first year, I forgot it was Easter Sunday, and was so proud of myself for remembering to go into town for food at 2PM – imagine my surprise when all of city centre was deserted, and there wasn’t a single car at Tesco.
而我（在英国）的第一年，有一次我忘了当时是复活节的星期天，下午2点我突然记起来得去城里吃顿饭了，还觉得挺自豪的——结果我发现整个市中心都被遗弃了，乐购门口一辆车都没有，你们想象一下我当时惊讶的心情吧。

I couldn’t have read the time wrong, right?
我肯定不是看错时间了，对不对？

Approaching the building, I saw a large banner announcing opening times, and resigned myself to a life of plain pasta and dry cereal until 9AM Monday, when I’d be able to pay for groceries again.
走近那栋建筑之后，我才看见那条写着营业时间的大告示牌，于是只能灰溜溜地回去靠不加菜的意大利面和干谷物片过活，直到周一早上的9点我才能买杂货。

Speaking of groceries, it took so many people telling me I was crazy to convince me to eat eggs here – they’re not refrigerated, and they’ll often have bits of feather or chicken poo on the outside.
说到杂货，我是在被好多人劝过之后才敢吃这里的鸡蛋的，他们都认为我疯了——这里的鸡蛋是不冷藏的，而且上面通常还有点鸡的羽毛或者鸡屎。

I am now aware that they’re safe, but coming from a childhood of identical perfectly clean, white, large AAA eggs, I was convinced I’d die a terrible salmonella death.
我现在知道这些蛋是安全的了，但是我小时候见过的蛋可都是那种又干净、又白、又大、形状还一样的3A级蛋，所以我以为吃了这里这种蛋之后会惨死与沙门氏菌。

 

（翻译：能猫）