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中國留學生不該說中文？杜克大學就教授郵件道歉
Duke University Apologizes Over Professor’s Email Asking Chinese Students to Speak English
一位教授在電子郵件中說，兩名教員抱怨學生在校園公共場所說中文“非常大聲”。杜克大學表示道歉，並表示將調查這封郵件。
Duke University has apologized after a professor cautioned international students against speaking Chinese on campus and urged them to speak English instead.
因一位教授警告中國留學生不要在校園裡說中文，並竭力主張他們說英文，杜克大學已致歉。
caution
表示“警告；告誡”，英文解釋為“If someone cautions you, they warn you about problems or danger.”舉個：
He cautioned against misrepresenting the situation.
他告誡說不要歪曲事實。
The professor, Megan Neely, issued the caution in an email on Friday. Professor Neely has since asked to step down from her role as director of graduate studies in the medical school’s biostatistics master’s program, the dean of Duke’s medical school, Dr. Mary E. Klotman, said in a letter to students on Saturday.
該教授梅根·尼利(Megan Neely)在週五的一封郵件中發出這個警告。杜克大學醫學院院長瑪麗·克勞特曼(Mary E. Klotman)在週六致學生的信中表示，尼利教授已要求辭去醫學院生物統計學碩士課程主管一職。
step down
表示“退位”，英文解釋為“If someone steps down or steps aside, they resign from an important job or position, often in order to let someone else take their place.”舉個：Judge Tom said that if his wife was called as a witness, he would step down as trial judge.
湯姆法官說如果自己妻子被傳為證人的話，他將辭去審判法官的職位。
Professor Neely did not respond to email requests for comment on Sunday. A university spokesman confirmed that she remained on the faculty as an assistant professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics.
尼利教授未回覆記者週日發出的郵件置評請求。大學發言人證實，她目前仍保留生物統計學和生物信息學助理教授職位。
Professor Neely said in the email that two faculty members had come to her office complaining about students speaking Chinese “very loudly” in the student lounge and study areas. The faculty members wanted to identify the students and write down their names, she said, in case the students sought to work with them in the future.
尼利教授在郵件中稱，有兩名教員來她辦公室，投訴有學生在學生休息室和學習區域內“很大聲”地講中文。她說，教員希望能確定相關學生身份，並記下他們的名字，以防這些學生將來尋求機會與他們合作。
“They were disappointed that these students were not taking the opportunity to improve their English and were being so impolite as to have a conversation that not everyone on the floor could understand,” Professor Neely wrote in the email. “To international students, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep these unintended consequences in mind when you choose to speak Chinese in the building.”
“他們很失望，這些學生不利用機會提升自己的英語，卻極不禮貌地使用並非人人都能理解的語言交談，”尼利在郵件中寫道。“國際學生們，當你選擇在大樓裡說中文，請一定一定一定記住這些意想不到的後果。”
She added that she had the utmost respect for international students. “That being said,” she wrote, “I encourage you to commit to using English 100% of the time” in a professional setting.
她補充道，她對國際學生懷有最高的敬意。“話雖如此，”她寫道，“我鼓勵你在學術專業環境下，100%的時間裡使用英語。”
commit
表示“使承擔義務，作出保證”，英文解釋為“to say that someone will definitely do something or must do something”舉個：
commit sb to doing sth
He has clearly committed his government to continuing down the path of economic reform.
他明確地作出保證，他的政府會繼續在經濟改革的道路上走下去。
The university confirmed the authenticity of the email, which was widely shared on social media.
杜克大學證實了郵件的真實性，該郵件已在社交媒體上被廣泛分享。
In February 2018, Professor Neely sent a similar email, which a university spokesman also verified. In that email, she acknowledged that living and studying in a foreign country was a “tremendous undertaking,” but relayed that faculty members were concerned about students speaking foreign languages in the department’s break rooms.
大學發言人還證實，2018年2月，尼利教授發過一封類似郵件。在那封郵件中，她承認在異國生活和學習是一項“極其艱鉅”的任務，但表示教職員工對學生在該系休息室內講外語表示擔憂。
翻譯小技巧
"In February 2018, Professor Neely sent a similar email, which a university spokesman also verified."句末為非限制性定語從句，所以which更有可能是指前面整件事情。在翻譯的時候，譯者考慮到了中文的行文習慣，把“which a university spokesman also verified.”調至句首譯，然後翻譯verify的具體事情。在平常翻譯時也要能靈活地調整語序。
undertaking
表示“（尤指艱鉅的）任務；工作”，英文解釋為“An undertaking is a task or job, especially a large or difficult one.”舉個：
Organizing the show has been a massive undertaking.
組織這場演出是一項巨大的任務。
relay
表示“轉告，傳達，傳遞”，英文解釋為“If you relay something that has been said to you, you repeat it to another person.”舉個：
She relayed the message, then frowned.
她轉告了那個消息，然後皺了皺眉。
relay作名詞還有“接力賽”的意思，如：a relay race 接力賽。
區分：
delay表示“推遲”，英文解釋為“If you delay doing something, you do not do it immediately or at the planned or expected time, but you leave it until later.”
“Speaking in your native language in the department may give faculty the impression that you are not trying to improve your English skills and that you are not taking this opportunity seriously,” she wrote. “As a result, they may be more hesitant to hire or work with international students because communication is such an important part of what we do.”
“在系裡說你的本國語言，可能會令教職員工感覺你沒有在努力提升英語能力、沒有認真對待這一機會，”她寫道。“因此，他們在僱用或與國際學生共事時，可能會更加猶豫，因為溝通是我們工作中如此重要的一部分。”
翻譯小技巧
上文第5段中也用到了“take this opportunity”這一短語，之前的翻譯是“利用這一機會”，而此處的翻譯是“對待這一機會”，所以在翻譯的時候要根據不同的語境選擇詞義。
hire or work with international students的翻譯是“僱用或與國際學生共事”，work with的翻譯是“共事”，比“與...一起工作”更加地道。平常應該多積累。
In her letter, Dr. Klotman, the dean, apologized to students and said she had asked the university’s Office for Institutional Equity to conduct a “thorough review.”
院長克洛特曼在致學生的信中道歉，並表示她已要求大學的機構公平辦公室進行“徹底調查”。
“I understand that many of you felt hurt and angered by this message,” Dr. Klotman said. “To be clear: There is absolutely no restriction or limitation on the language you use to converse and communicate with each other. Your career opportunities and recommendations will not in any way be influenced by the language you use outside the classroom.”
“我理解你們中的許多人對這則消息感到受傷和憤怒，”克洛特曼說。“需要明確的是：你們在交談和交流時使用的語言絕對不受到任何限制或侷限。你們的就業機會和推薦不會受到在課堂之外使用的語言的任何影響。”
頭韻
converse and communicate 此處用到了一種修辭叫做“頭韻”，英文表達為“alliteration”，即連續數個單詞的頭音或頭字母相同。舉個：
pride and prejudice《傲慢與偏見》
Nobody can go from rags to riches without efforts.
沒有人能夠不通過努力就發家致富的。
The government needs to create a social environment of fairness and forgiveness.
政府需要營造一個公平和寬容的社會環境。
我們在做漢譯英的時候，也可以試著多采用各種修辭手法。
Professor Neely’s emails drew criticism and reflected broader tensions about the way Asian and Asian-American students are viewed in academia. In 2011, a U.C.L.A. student ranted on YouTube about the “hordes of Asian people” at the university and complained about their cellphone use at the library. International Chinese students also face unique challenges, including suspicions that they may be spying for their home country.
尼利教授的電子郵件招致了批評，也反映出學術界對亞裔和亞裔美國學生的普遍緊張情緒。2011年，加州大學洛杉磯分校的一名學生在YouTube上大罵該校“成群的亞洲人”，還抱怨他們在圖書館使用手機。中國留學生還面臨著獨特的挑戰，包括他們可能為祖國從事間諜活動的嫌疑。
wrant
表示“大聲激昂地說；怒氣衝衝地抱怨”，英文解釋為“to talk or complain in a loud excited and rather confused way because you feel strongly about something”舉個：
Why don’t you stop ranting and raving for a minute and listen?
你別大喊大叫的，稍停一會兒，仔細聽好嗎？
horde
horde /hɔːd/ 表示“（通常指熙攘紛擾的）一大群人”，英文解釋為“If you describe a crowd of people as a horde, you mean that the crowd is very large and excited and, often, rather frightening or unpleasant.”舉個：
This attracts hordes of tourists to Hangzhou.
這吸引了一群群的旅客來到杭州。
Ken Lee, chief executive of OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, said he was disappointed by what he described as an “ignorance and hateful bias against students.”
亞太裔美國人倡導組織(OCA-Asia Pacific American Advocates)的首席執行官肯·李(Ken Lee)說，“對學生的無知和仇恨偏見”令他感到失望。
“Forcing students to repress their heritage language further perpetuates a wrongful culture of fear toward Asian and Asian-American students,” Mr. Lee said in a statement on Sunday.
“強迫學生不說他們的傳統語言，進一步加深了對亞裔和亞裔美國學生的一種錯誤的恐懼文化，”李在週日的一份聲明中說。
repress
1) 表示“忍住，剋制”，英文解釋為“to stop yourself from doing something you want to do”舉個：
Tom repressed the urge to shout at him.
湯姆制住想對他吼的衝動。
2) 表示“壓抑，剋制，抑制（痛苦的情感、回憶等）”，英文解釋為“if someone represses upsetting feelings, memories etc, they do not allow themselves to express or think about them”舉個：
He had long ago repressed the painful memories of his childhood.
他長久壓抑著兒時的痛苦記憶。
3) 表示“鎮壓，壓制”，英文解釋為“to control a group of people by force”舉個：
The police were widely criticized for their role in repressing the protest movement.
警方因為他們在鎮壓抗議活動時所扮演的角色而廣受批評。
perpetuate
表示“使持續，使長久（尤指不好的事物）”，英文解釋為“to make a situation, attitude etc, especially a bad one, continue to exist for a long time”，如：an education system that perpetuates the divisions in our society 使我們的社會持續分化的一種教育制度。
About 36 of the 54 students in Duke’s master of biostatistics program are Chinese, according to the university. About 10 of the 50 faculty members in that program are Chinese, the university said.
杜克大學表示，該校生物統計學碩士項目的54名學生中，約有36名是中國人；該項目的50名教師中，約有10名是中國人。
More than one million foreign students study in the United States each year, with roughly one-third coming from China. But universities have seen a decline in international student enrollment.
每年有100多萬外國學生在美國學習，其中大約三分之一來自中國。但是，大學的國際學生入學人數有所下降。
無靈主語
此處採用“大學”這一無靈主語。英語母語作者為了避免“我”、“我們”這樣帶有明顯主觀色彩的詞語作主語，或是為了起到擬人化、形象化的效果，常使用無靈主語，即無生命的名詞或名詞短語作為句子主語。又如，我們要說“浙江過去幾年發生了翻天覆地的變化”就可以說The past few years saw a drastic change in Zhejiang.
International enrollment began to flatten in 2016, partly because of changing conditions abroad, but also, college administrators said, because President Trump’s rhetoric and more restrictive views on immigration have made the United States even less attractive to international students.
2016年，國際招生開始趨緩，部分原因是海外形勢的變化，但學院管理人員表示，還有一個原因是，特朗普總統在移民問題上的言辭和更加傾向於限制的觀點，使得美國對國際學生的吸引力降低。
flatten
1) 表示“（使）變平”，英文解釋為“to make something flat or flatter, or to become flat or flatter”舉個：
The land flattened out as we neared the coast.
我們接近海岸時，地勢變平坦了。
2) 表示“把…夷為平地；炸平”，英文解釋為“to destroy a building or town by knocking it down, bombing it etc”舉個：
Hundreds of homes were flattened by the tornado.
數百戶住宅被龍捲風夷為平地。
In a letter dated Saturday, a group of international students at Duke petitioned the university to investigate what happened leading up to Professor Neely’s email, including the actions of the other faculty members.
在一封週六發出的信中，杜克大學的一群國際學生請求該校調查，是什麼導致了尼利發送那封電子郵件，包括其他教員的行為。
The group said in a statement on Sunday that the emails showed “an appalling lack of knowledge and understanding about the Chinese culture and community.”
該組織在週日的一份聲明中表示，這些電子郵件顯示出“對中國文化和社區極其缺乏知識和了解”。
appalling
1) 表示“駭人聽聞的”，英文解釋為“Something that is appalling is so bad or unpleasant that it shocks you.”舉個：
They have been living under the most appalling conditions for two months.
他們在最駭人聽聞的條件下生活了兩個月。
2) 表示“極度的；嚴重的”，英文解釋為“You can use appalling to emphasize that something is very extreme or severe.”舉個：
I developed an appalling headache.
我得了嚴重頭疼。
“We wrote the petition to combat the normalization of xenophobia and discrimination against Chinese students at Duke,” the students said.
“我們寫這封請願書是為了反對杜克大學將針對中國學生的仇外心理和歧視正常化，”學生們說。
xenophobia
表示“排外情緒；恐外症”，英文解釋為“Xenophobia is strong and unreasonable dislike or fear of people from other countries.”如：a just and tolerant society which rejects xenophobia and racism 一個不容排外情緒和種族歧視的公正寬容的社會。
Yung-Hwa Anna Chow, who advises students in Washington State University’s college of arts and sciences, said international students must already have English proficiency to study in the United States. While students may need to speak English in classrooms and research labs, they should be able to choose which language to speak in social settings, she said.
在華盛頓州立大學(Washington State University)藝術與科學學院為學生提供諮詢的英華·安娜·周（Yung-Hwa Anna Chow，音）說，來美國學習的國際學生肯定已經熟練地掌握了英語。她說，雖然學生可能需要在教室和實驗室說英語，但他們應該能夠選擇在社交場合說哪種語言。
“To attack these students and say they have to speak English because it’s good for them and that they need to practice more, it speaks to these professors’ privilege and entitlement,” she said.
“攻擊這些學生，說他們必須說英語，因為這對他們有好處，他們需要多加練習，這體現了這些教授的特權和自以為是，”她說。
entitlement
表示“（擁有或獲得某物的）權利；應得的數額”，英文解釋為“the official right to have or do something, or the amount that you have a right to receive”舉個：
Do you need advice on your entitlement to state benefits?
關於你可享受的國家津貼，你是否需要一些建議？
短語： benefit/holiday/pensio entitlement
The paid holiday entitlement is 10 days.
可享有的帶薪假期為10天。
Ms. Chow, who was raised in Taiwan and began learning English at 12 when she moved to the United States, said speaking a native language allows people to connect with one another, establish a feeling of home and combat homesickness.
周在臺灣長大，12歲搬到美國後開始學習英語。她說，說母語可以讓人們彼此聯繫，建立一種家的感覺，並克服思鄉之情。
“That’s a really important piece for these students,” she said. “If you were traveling to China and you didn’t speak Chinese, would you want to be speaking Chinese all the time or would you feel more comfortable speaking English with your friends?”
“這對這些學生來說真的很重要，”她說。“如果你去中國旅行，你不會說中文，你想一直說中文嗎，還是和朋友說英文讓你感覺更舒服？”
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2015年2月8日
2019年1月31日
第1454天
每天持續行動學外語
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