许多中国学生为了交流方便,都会为自己起一个英文名字。每当这时,大家就特别迷茫,到底应该起一个怎样的英文名呢。其实,许多英文名字看似普通,背后却都有各种各样有趣的故事。赶紧来看一下,你的名字有没有出现在下面的文章中。另,本文中涉及的名字以及它背后的故事,都是以美国社会文化为背景,与其他英语国家地方文化可能有所不同,请区别学习哦。
发音：美式发音 语速：110词/分钟 使用方法：精听+听写
A person’s name is very important. Some names also have special meanings in popular American expressions. To better understand what I mean, sit back and listen. You might even want to get a cup of Joe, I mean, a cup of coffee.
One day, an average Joe was walking down the street. An average Joe is a common person—either male or female. This average Joe was lost. He did not know Jack about where he was going. By this, I mean he did not know anything about where to find things in the city.
So average Joe asked John Q. Public for directions to the nearest bank. John Q. Public is also a common person—male or female.
“Jeez Louise,” said John Q. Public. This is an expression of surprise. “Jeez Louise, don’t you know that all banks are closed today? It is Saturday.”
“For Pete’s sake,” said average Joe. This is also an expression used to show a feeling like surprise or disappointment.
“For Pete’s sake, I do not believe you,” said average Joe. He was being a doubting Thomas, someone who does not believe anything he is told.
At that moment, Joe Blow was walking down the street with a woman. Joe Blow is also an expression for a common man. Now this Joe Blow was NOT walking next to a plain Jane. A plain Jane is a woman who is neither ugly nor pretty. She is simply plain. No, the woman with Joe Blow was a real Sheila—a beautiful woman.
Average Joe asked the woman if all banks were closed on Saturday. “No way, Jose,” she answered. This is a way of saying “no.” “No way, Jose. Many banks are open on Saturdays.”
Average Joe did not know either of these two people from Adam. That is, he did not know them at all. But he followed their directions to the nearest bank.
When he arrived, he walked to the desk of the chief bank employee. Now this man was a true Jack of all trades. He knew how to do everything.
“I am here to withdraw some money so I can pay my taxes to Uncle Sam,” said average Joe. Uncle Sam represents the United States government. The banker produced some papers and told average Joe to sign his John Hancock at the bottom. A John Hancock is a person’s signed name—a signature. Historically, John Hancock was one of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence. Hancock had a beautiful signature and signed his name larger than all
the others.
As average Joe left the bank he began to sing. But sadly, average Joe was not a good singer. He was a Johnny One Note. He could only sing one note.
● 假如不事先告诉你,你知道“a cup of Joe”就是“a cup of coffee”的意思吗?这个短语的典故出自纽约一家名叫Martinson’s Coffee的咖啡店。据说Martinson’s Coffee出品的咖啡口味醇厚,香味弥漫,甚至隔着几个街区都能闻到,咖啡店老板Joe Martinson也因此成为纽约名人,他的名字从此被人熟知,“a cup of Joe”也就被活用为“a cup of coffee”的意思。但注意,Joe只有用在这个特定词组中才有咖啡的意思。
● 此Joe非彼Joe。当Joe变成了“an average Joe”,他也不过是个普通人。Joe是英美社会最普通不过的英文名字,用来形容普通人十分贴切。不过值得注意的是,“an average Joe”既可以表示男孩,也可以表示女孩。下文的“Joe Blow”同样指普通人的意思。
● 与Joe一样,Jack也是常见的英文名字。与它有关的两个常用短语是“not know Jack (about sth.)”和“Jack of all trades”。“not know Jack (about sth.)”表示对某事一无所知。那么,“I don’t know Jack.”即是“我什么都不知道”的意思。而“Jack of all trades”通常作“Jack-of-all-trades”,表示事事通,多面手,却没有一行精通,即我们平常所说的杂而不精的人。
● 在美国,“John Q. Public”是指那些没有强烈的政治倾向或犯罪倾向的普通人。它可以指代男生,也可指代女生。不过,指代女生时有一个更常用的表达方式——Jane Q. Public。另外,John Q. Citizen/Jane Q. Citizen、John Q. Taxpayer/Jane Q. Taxpayer也同样用来指普通人。
● “Jeez Louise.”表示惊讶,相当于“Oh, my gosh. (天啊!)”。
● “For Pete’s sake”与“For God’s sake”、“For Christ’s sake”同义,都表示“看在老天的份上”。这个词组中的Pete就是《圣经》里大名鼎鼎的Saint Pete。据说在中世纪,人们不能随便呼喊God或者Christ,只能喊耶稣的门徒之一Pete的名字。这就是“For Pete’s sake”的由来。
● “a doubting Thomas”指那些生性多疑的人。这又是另一个来自《圣经》的故事,说是耶稣复活后出现在众人面前,十二门徒之一的Thomas没有亲眼见到,他因此声称,除非他看到耶稣手上的钉痕,或者让他用手探入耶稣的肋旁,否则他绝不相信耶稣已经复活。
● 如果说关于男生的姓名中有平凡如Joe的存在,女生姓名中对应的则是Jane。“a plain Jane”指的便是那些姿色平庸、没有任何动人特征的女子。
● “Sheila”,作为女子名字,可译为“希拉”。在口语中,它表示年轻貌美的女子。
● “not know someone from Adam”又是另一个来自《圣经》的短语。大家都知道亚当为上帝所创,并非女子所生,因此亚当身上没有肚脐,是最容易辨认的人。因此,“not know someone from Adam”便是“完全不认识某人”的意思了。
● 我们经常在英美报刊杂志上看到“Uncle Sam”——美国(尤指美国政府)。其实,Uncle Sam(山姆大叔)用来指代美国,还有一段典故。相传在1812年英美战争期间,纽约州特洛伊市有个叫Samuel Wilson的牛肉商人,专门为美军供应桶装牛肉。美军在他供应的桶装牛肉上盖上“U.S.”的记号,以表示“美国”。不过这个“U.S.”的缩写刚好跟Samuel Wilson的昵称“Uncle Sam”的首字母缩写一样,久而久之,人们就把“Uncle Sam”当成美国的绰号了。
● John Hancock是第一个在《美国独立宣言》上签下自己名字的人。他的签名又清晰又漂亮,因此美国人现在也常常把John Hancock当作“亲笔签名”的意思。比如说:I need your John Hancock here.(我需要您在这儿签名。)
● “Johnny One Note”是1937年上演的音乐剧《Babes in Arms》(《娃娃从军记》)中的一首歌曲。歌曲描述一个叫Johnny的人只能唱一个音符的故事。随着音乐剧和同名电影的热播,“Johnny One Note”也渐渐用来指那些五音不全的人。