外国人最想和你聊的文化话题：英国的天气文化

　Realize the Weather in Britain　认识英国的天气文化
     1　英国天气文化的起因及表现
     English culture is founded upon politeness and a respect for another's privacy. Emotionalism was frowned upon due to Protestant ideals ever since the founding of the Church of England. Asking personal questions was considered impolite and it would be embarrassing to both parties if an emotional response was given to a simple question of "How are you".
     Therefore, the easiest topic to discuss that would allow both parties to be friendly and social without any risk of emotional distress is to simply discuss the weather.
     Actually it comes from a time when women and men were not allowed to discuss much of anything. Talk of children, any body parts, etc was all taboo. Weather was considered a neutral topic, and one that"womenfolk" could understand. In the 1600's ＆1700's, and perhaps even before that women were looked upon as delicate beings and could not hear or talk of things that were political, warlike, etc. Since women were not allowed to mention body parts in public, the common headache was used. Women were also not allowed a very good education, as it was thought to be too much for them and that they couldn't handle it. Some even thought that teaching a woman a foreign language was going to make them mad. So, there were few things that could be discussed in polite society, weather being all encompassing. To this day it continues, but not as it was generally used before. Now, it is just a natural subject for two parties, and either an ice-breaker or filler for a lull in conversation.
     If we do, it probably goes back to the days when the weather was much more unsettled than it is now. If I talk about the weather these days it's to comment on how much I like the good weather which is much more common now than in the past. It's probably because, when making small talk with people they don't really know very well, the English will chose a neutral subject and the weather is better than any others. So, if you are the first time to the England, you'd better talk about the weather with them who are the native. It's advisable.
     2　如何谈论天气
     Everyone thinks that the environmental extremes are awful, so it's always a safe topic for small talk with strangers. You can't bring up politics or sports with a random guy standing next to you in line or the cashier at the grocery store with getting into some sort of petty squabble, but commiserating about the shared experience of what happens. Yet talking about the weather is so obvious that it's a cliche to say it's a cliche, and often we feel bad for even engaging in such an insipid discussion. Here are some ways you can make a conversation semitolerable.
     Know the forecast 知道天气预报
     Rule for any subject you want to discuss, but one that's particularly important when it comes to the weather. If you're going to talk about the weather, read a forecast so that you can tell others about the latest predictions. It's one thing to grouse about the situation, but it's another to share the news and let people know when there might be some relief.
     Don' tsay "Is it cold enough for you?" 不要问你今天很冷吗？
     This is one of those questions that is supposed to be clever, but is totally obnoxious. Everyone from the mailman to the annoying lady in HR who leaves a cardigan on the back of her chair year round asks this, so it's about as original as a Super Bowl winner going to Disney Land. Just don't ask it. Take a half a second and think of something original to say. Please, we beg of you. Let this "joke" die. And this goes for all the permutations of "hot enough", "wet enough", "snowy enough", Just don't.
     Relive the bad old days 忘记那些不好的天气
     Sometimes the only thing that makes life bearable is thinking about when the situation was worse. When discussing the weather, why not recall those days when the snow was higher, the heat more intense, or the rainy season a whole month longer. "God, this one was bad, but not as bad as the blizzard of 96. Remember that? What a doozy!" Suddenly your predicament doesn't seem so horrible, or intolerable, and you get to share your memories with someone else. Sometimes a bit of negative nostalgia is all you need to form a quick and sunny bond.
     Talk about what you did in the weather 说说你都做了什么
     Everyone knows how many inches of snow we got or how many days in a row it's been 94 degrees. What they don't know is how the weather affected you. "We got so much snow, that I decided to stay in and rearrange my closets. I'm so organized!" It's a way to turn the conversation personal and change the subject to something a bit more interesting-like organization or movies-without looking like a total jackass. After all, who really wants to talk about the weather anyway?
     英国人有一个很奇怪的现象，他们和别人讨论的第一句话经常都是天气变化，这是最好的切入点。而且英国人很谨慎，走在路上，可以看到很多人都带着伞，不遮雨也不遮阳，只是预备着，这也许就是那个民族的特点吧。
Part 2　Key words ＆ Sentences　关键词语全知道
     A recent survey shows that each British would spend 6 months on talking about the weather in whole life time on average.
     最近的一项统计显示，平均每个英国人一生中要花6个月的时间谈论天气问题。
     In the British's view, weather is the first choice when they start a communication.
     在英国人看来，天气可是他们与别人交流时张口必谈的话题。
     When the British meet with each other and want to start a talk, eight or nine out of ten will begin with the weather.
     英国人见面寒暄的开场白，十之八九是从天气开始谈起。
     Given that people of all ages would like to talk about weather, the British media therefore take weather forecast as the focus of their daily work.
     鉴于男女老少都爱拿天气说事，英国媒体也把天气预报作为每天工作中的重点。
     Britain is an island which surrounded by the sea. Due to the impact of the sea breeze, the weather in British changes very quickly. At the moment is sunny and the next moment may be bad weather. Extremely changeable weather affects people's daily life.
     英国是个四面环海的岛国，由于受到海风的影响，英国的天气变化很快。这会儿还是大晴天，下一刻可能就刮风下雨，天气异常多变影响到人们的日常生活。
     Up to now, global warming has made the British weather quite different from it a hundred years ago.
     现在，由于地球变暖导致英国的天气和一百年前大不一样了。
     Concerns about the weather are also reflected in British cultural life. For example, because rain is as common as cats and dogs on the street, so in English when they describe the heavy rain, the British simply say "It rains dogs and cats". It's so vivid.
     对天气的关注也反映在英国人的文化生活中，比如下雨如同街上的小猫小狗一样常见，因此在英语当中，形容下大雨时，英国人干脆说成是"猫猫狗狗"。这十分的形象生动。
     In the office, colleagues often murmured new colleagues. If you hear "he does not even take an umbrella", it means that people think the newer is not stable enough, and lack of consideration.
     在办公室里，同事间常会私下议论新同事，如果听到"他连雨伞都不带"，就说明大家认为这位新人不够稳重、做事欠考虑。
     During the age of Industrial Revolution, the dust pollution in the air once often led to "Black Rain" in London, Manchester and other big cities which made the gentlemen in white shirt have to care about the weather, because if they went out without an umbrella, they would be made fun of being a "zebra" or "leopard" by his colleagues around him.
     在工业革命时代，空气中的粉尘污染曾经让伦敦、曼彻斯特等大城市常常降下"黑雨"，这让爱穿白衬衣的绅士们不得不关心天气，因为一旦没有带伞出门，自己难免就会被身边同事取笑成"斑马"或是"花豹"。
     Although British people like to complain about bad weather, they generally put a brave face on it. If someone complains about too much rain, you might hear："Never mind-it's good for the garden."If someone complains that it's too hot, you could hear："At least my tomatoes will be happy." If the conversation has been about general bad weather, perhaps someone will say："Well, I've heard it's worse in the west. They've had terrible flooding."
     虽然英国人喜欢抱怨天气不好，但他们总能乐观面对。比如有人抱怨雨水过多，你可能会听到："没关系。这雨水对花园好"，如果有人抱怨说，天儿太热了，你能听到："至少我的西红柿会很快乐。"如果谈话是关于普遍的恶劣天气，也许有人会说："嗯，我听说西方的天气更糟糕，他们已经有可怕的洪水了。"