【别以为我爱唠叨】 别以为你会爱孩子

　　别以为我爱唠叨 　　Don’t Think I Just Like to Nag 　　 　　编者按：随着北京2008年奥运会的临近，民众越来越关心“中国”品牌的树立，学习英语的热情也被点燃。越来越多的外宣干部和业内同行向我们表达了期待看到双语栏目的愿望。因此，我们自2006年第1期起开办了《双语视窗》栏目以满足广大读者的需求。
　　看看周围的媒体，在《北京青年报》、《参考消息》、《国门时报》上有许多精粹的小短文，像一只只啄木鸟，善意地提醒了中国人习以为常的行为背后“尚未和国际接轨”的细节，读后让人回味不已。在获得借鉴意义的同时，也带来更深入的思考。我们效仿中英文对照的版面形式，旨在通过外国友人的视角来看中国，从中折射出东西方观念、习俗的异同。通过一篇篇这样的文章，让读者在领略异域文化的同时，也能达到学习英语的目的。
　　
　　有一次，在有一个中国人在场的情况下，我说我绝不会把房子租给中国人，话一出口连我自己都很吃惊。好在我说的声音很小，他没有听见。不过别急，我所说的话并没有成为现实。但问题并不在此。更为有意思的是，究竟是什么导致了像我这样的人，一个热爱中国且与一个中国人结了婚在中国住了１１年的人有了这一个糟糕的想法？尽管这只是一闪而过。
　　原因在于：一般说来，中国人的家务料理以及对楼房的维护离世界水平还相差很远。当老外在中国发现原以为是50年以前建的楼房实际上只有四五年时，总是很惊讶。为什么这些相当新的楼房看上去那么陈旧？关键在于公用部分――楼梯间、电梯间、入门处的破旧状况。那些把脚印留在粉刷得白白的墙上，把嚼过的口香糖和烟蒂扔到楼梯上，把痰吐到甚至把鼻涕甩到地板上的人是谁呢？显然，属于公共的地段，就没有人来负责任。若是公用地段的一块玻璃坏了，一连几个月也没人修。在那些由国家单位管理的楼房中出现的糟踏与掉以轻心我已习以为常了。
　　当然，现如今很多人都有了自己的房子，但对于公共财产的态度还没有相应的变化。如果说能看到区别的话，那是在房子的里面，因为那是房主花了自己的钱买来的私人财产。而即便是在房子里面，也仍然存在着问题：当房主人从国有单位把房子买了下来，也往往把很多坏习惯带了过来。尤其是，他们时常不注意整体维护以及那些需要轻微修补的地方，而这些地方很容易变成大问题。一个邋遢的管家并不会因为成为了房子的主人就必然成为井井有条讲求卫生的行家。
　　有一次我告诉丈夫，如果我们买了房子，我会自己把楼梯间、楼梯拐弯处都粉刷一新；我还会一周两次清扫楼梯，清洁窗户和电梯的门；同时我还会组织一个邻里委员会，轮流看管公共地段，在楼房周围将不会有任何垃圾，一点都不会有！我们还将从每家每户集点儿资种花草和灌木。而我的丈夫听后，对我所说的话并不感到鼓舞：“你要做的这些根本没用，邻居们也不会说你好话。”这会是真的吗？
　　有一次我的一个亲戚告诉我，如果你想评价一个家庭的卫生状况，就去看卫生间。而在很多中国人的家里，唉，卫生间和厨房似乎算不上房子的一部分，我觉得这种态度令人遗憾，这些地方应该像客厅一样干净。当我的一个法国朋友决定更换用了25年的墙纸时，只是因为她看腻了，而墙纸依然干净鲜亮。当我的一个表妹不想留一个有了年头的冰箱时，卖之前不需做任何额外的清理，因为她平时总是定期地对冰箱内外进行清理。看看你周围：是有很多中国掌勺人在每一次做过饭之后都用肥皂和水清洗灶口吗？他们是彻底清洗，还是让四面留着干嘎巴儿？炉灶后面的墙是干净的还是有着黏黏的油渍？我知道有些人只洗盘子和锅的里面，而其他地方只是在冷水里冲一下。
　　在有些家庭里，人们明智地避免穿着鞋踩到地毯上，但是地毯四周的木地板或是瓷砖地有着很多“圆角落”：在打扫地板的时候，他们懒得用扫把去扫家具的下面；当他们刷洗地板时――这是很少见的――他们也不愿费力用布去擦那些墩布够不着的地方。在门把手和电灯开关四周则满是脏手印。
　　也许听起来我像个爱唠叨的人，但实际上，人类周围缺少美丽，其精神就会受到影响。在北京还有不少人不知道房前堆着空箱子、瓶子和旧报纸与摆一盆天竺葵的区别。 就我个人而言，我觉得只有在人们学会了视保持房子与周围的清洁为理所当然之事时，北京成为真正怡人的城市才大有希望。
　　原文：
　　Once I appalled even myself by saying in the presence of a Chinese person that I would never rent my apartment to a Chinese. Fortunately I said it under my breath, and he didn’t
　　hear. Now, I hasten to add that the statement doesn’t happen to be true, but that’s not the point. More interesting is what would lead a person like me, someone who loves China, is married to a Chinese and has been here for 11 years, to have such an awful thought, however fleetingly, in the f irst place.
　　The reason is this: By and large, Chinese housekeeping and building maintenance are far from the world’s best. It always amazes foreigners in China to discover that a building which they assumed was put up over 50 years ago is in fact only four or five years old. Why do Chinese buildings look so old when they are still relatively new? The key is in the run-down state of the public parts, i.e. the stairwells, the elevators, the entrance. Who are the barbarians who put footprints on whitewashed walls, who throw chewing gum and cigarette butts on the stairs, who spit and even blow their nose on the floor? Apparently what belongs to the community in China is no one’s responsibility. Let a pane break in a public window and it will go unrepaired for months. Abuse and neglect in buildings controlled by state-owned units appear to me to be the norm.
　　Of course, nowadays many people own their homes, but attitudes toward public property have not changed as a result. If a difference can be detected, it’s inside the apartments, because this is private property that the owners have paid for with their own cash. Yet even here there are problems: When owners have bought their flats from state units, they tend to carry over a lot of bad habits. In particular, they too often fail to pay attention to maintenance and minor repairs, repairs that can easily become major problems. And untidy housekeepers don’t necessarily become adepts of sgroups and cleanliness just because they now have the title to their digs.
　　Once I told my husband that if we purchased a flat, I would paint the walls of the stairwell and the landing myself; I would also sweep the stairs twice a week and clean the windows and elevator doors. At the same time I would organize a committee of neighbours to take turns caring for the public spaces. And there would be no garbage around the building, none! We would collect a small sum from each resident to plant flowers and bushes. My husband was not encouraging: You’ll do a lot of work for nothing, and the neighbours will think the less of you for it all!” Can that be true?
　　A relative of mine once told me that if you want to judge the overall cleanliness of a home, check the bathroom. In many Chinese households, alas, the bathroom and kitchen seem not even to count as parts of the apartment. This attitude is regrettable, I think; they should be as clean as the living room! When a French friend of mine decided to change her wallpaper after 25 years, it was because she was bored with it-the paper was still clean and bright. When a cousin got rid of her aging refrigerator, it didn’t need any extra cleaning before being sold, because it had regularly been thoroughly cleaned inside and out. Look around you: Do many Chinese cooks wash the kitchen range with soap and water after each use? And do they wash it all, or are the sides covered with dried gunk? Is the wall behind clean or sticky with grease? I know some people who only wash the upper sides of dishes or the inside of cooking pots with soap, while everything else just gets a quick rinse in cold water!
　　In some homes, people wisely refrain from walking on the carpets with their shoes on, but the wood or tile floors around the carpets have round corners. When they sweep the floor, they don’t bother to use the broom under the furniture; when they wash the floor a rare event , they don’t take pains to use a cloth to clean the corners that the mop doesn’t reach. Around the door handles and light switches there are unsightly zones of dirty finger marks.
　　Perhaps I sound like a nag, but the fact is that human beings are mentally affected by a lack of beauty around them. There are still too many people in Beijing who can’t distinguish between a pile of empty boxes, bottles and old newspapers in front of their houses and a pot of geraniums. Personally, I don’t think there’s much hope that Beijing will become a truly pleasant city until people learn to keep their homes and immediate environs clean as a matter of course.省略）
　　责编：周瑾

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