散文：Mr.About-theSame

Mr. About-the Same差不多先生传胡适

Hu Shi你知道中国最有名的人是谁?

Do you know who is the most well-known person in China?提起此人，人人皆晓，处处闻名。他姓差，名不多(1)，是各省各县各村人氏。你一定见过他，一定听说过别人谈起他。差不多先生的名字天天挂在大家的口头，因为他是中国全国人的代表。

The name of this person is a household word all over the country. His name is Cha and his given name, Buduo, which altogether mean "About the Same". He is a native of

every province, every country and every village in this country. You must have seen orheard about this person. His name is always on the lips of everybody because he is representative of the whole Chinese nation.差不多先生的相貌和你和我都差不多。他有一双眼睛，但看的不很清楚;他有两只耳朵，但听的不很分明;有鼻子和嘴，但他对于气味和口味都不很讲究。他的脑子也不小，但他的记性却不很精明，他的思想也不很细密(2).

Mr. Cha Buduo has the same physiognomy as you and I. He has a pair of eyes, but doesn't see clearly. He has a pair of ears, but doesn't hear well. He has a nose and a mouth,

but lacks a keen sense of smell and taste. His brain is none too small, but he is weak memory and sloppy in thinking.他常常说:“凡事只要差不多，就好了。何必太精明呢?”

He often says: "whatever we do, it's OK to be just about right. What's the use of being precise and accurate:"他小的时候，他妈叫他去买红糖，他买了白糖回来。他妈骂他，他摇摇头说:“红糖白糖不是差不多吗?”

One day, when he was a child, his mother sent him out to buy her some brown sugar,but he returned with some white sugar instead. As his mother scolded him about it, he

shook his head and said, "Brown sugar or white sugar, aren't they about the same?"他在学堂的时候，先生问他:“直隶省(3)的西边是哪一省?”他说是陕西。先生说:“错了。是山西，不是陕西。”他说:“陕西同山西，不是差不多吗?”

One day in school, the teacher asked him, "Which province borders Hebei on the west?" He answered, "Shaanxi," The teacher corrected him, "You are wrong. It's Shanxi, Not Shaanxi." He retorted, "Shaanxi or Shanxi, aren't they about the same?"后来他在一个钱铺(4)里做伙计，他也会写，也会算，只是总不会精细。十字常常写成千字，千字常常写成十字。掌柜的生气了，常常骂他。他只是笑嘻嘻地赔小心道:“千字比十字只多一小撇，不是差不多吗?”

Later Mr. Cha Buduo served as an assistant at a money shop. He could write and calculate all right, but his mathematics were/was often faulty. He would mistake the Chinese character (meaning 10)for千(meaning 1000)or vice versa. The shop owne was infuriated and often took him to task. But he would grin, "The character千differs from in merely having they about the same?" only explain apologetically with a one additional short stroke. Aren't