#1150 - [UpperIntermediate] 逛街
[Chinese]
汉生：乐乐，你说的那个蛋糕店在哪儿啊？怎么都是服装店啊？
乐乐：就在购物中心的二层。别着急，时间还早呢，先陪我去服装店逛逛。
汉生：我最怕陪女孩子逛街、逛商场了，逛起来没完没了的，特别恐怖！
乐乐：逛街嘛，当然要慢慢走、慢慢看、慢慢选。
汉生：要是真买点什么也就罢了，可常常是逛了半天，衣服、鞋子试了一堆，最后什么也不买。
乐乐：你们男人就是不懂得享受购物的乐趣。
汉生：错！我们懂得享受购物的乐趣，只是不懂得享受“只逛街不购物”的乐趣！
乐乐：这就是你们的可悲之处啊！花钱买东西谁不会？真正的乐趣在于购物的过程，也就是“逛”，而不在于买了什么。用最少的钱获得最大的乐趣，这才是最高的境界！
汉生：那简直就是浪费时间嘛！我都是先想好自己要买什么、哪里有卖的，然后就直接跑到那个地方买，买了赶紧走。像你们逛来逛去又不买，又累又无聊。
乐乐：这你就不懂了。女人逛街，就像男人看球。你们熬夜看球赛，自己也不上场，还跟着大呼小叫的，怎么不觉得无聊不觉得累？
汉生：这两者怎么能比呢？
乐乐：怎么不能比？都是一种爱好、一种休闲方式，也可以说是一种宣泄的方式。
汉生：咳，你说得还头头是道的。
乐乐：行了行了，别说这个了。快来帮我看看这件衣服怎么样，不错吧？
汉生：不错，挺适合你的。
乐乐：好，那就买这一件了。
汉生：你不是说只逛不买吗？
乐乐：该出手时就出手！女人的心思你永远都不懂！
汉生：你还记得咱们是来干什么的吗？该去订生日蛋糕了！
乐乐：差点儿把正事儿忘了！快走，一会回来继续逛。
[English]
Han Sheng: Le Le, where is the birthday cake shop you mentioned? It’s all shops for clothes.
Le Le: It’s on the second floor of the shopping mall. Don’t worry. It’s still early now. Why not do some shopping with me?
Han Sheng: I hate shopping with girls most. You guys keep on endless wandering. It’s a nightmare.
Le Le: As to shopping, of course, we walk slowly, watch and select things carefully.
Han Sheng: It’s ok if you buy something. But usually, you guys try on lots of clothes and shoes for a long time and then buy nothing.
Le Le: You guys never understand the fun of shopping.
Han Sheng: No. We understand the fun of shopping. But we don’t understand the fun of shopping nothing.
Le Le: That’s why I said you’re pitiable. It’s easy for everybody to spend money. The real fun is the process of shopping, which is just wandering around. Get most joy with least money. That’s ideal state.
Han Sheng: It’s a waste of time. I usually think about what I need and where is it. Then go to the place directly. When I finish shopping I would leave there as soon as possible. You guys wandering around and buy nothing, how tired and boring.
Le Le: It’s hard for you to understand. Women do window shopping is just like you guys staying up to watch football games. You don’t play football by yourself, but you still cheers with the game. Why don’t you think it’s tired and boring?
Han Sheng: How can you compare these two things?
Le Le: Why not? They’re all hobbies, entertainment style and a way to refresh ourselves.
Han Sheng: Well, you did a very powerful speech.
Le Le: Ok, ok, change a topic. Have a look at the dress How about it? Nice?
Han Sheng: Nice, it fits you very much.
Le Le: Ok. Then I will buy this one.
Han Sheng: You said you enjoy window shopping.
Le Le: Doing what needs to be done. You never understand women.
Han Sheng: Do you remember why we come here? It’s time to book a birthday cake.
Le Le: I almost forget about it. Let’s go. We will come back shopping after a while.
[Japanese]
汉生：乐乐、きみが言っていたケーキ屋さんはどこにあるんだい？衣料品店ばっかりだよ。
乐乐：ショッピングセンターの二階よ。焦らないで、時間はまだあるんだから。先に衣料品店を見るのに付き合ってよ。
汉生：一番苦手なのが女の子に付き合って、街やお店を見て回ることだよ。見始めるときりがない、ほんと恐ろしいよ。
乐乐：街を散策してるのよ、ゆっくり歩いて、ゆっくり見て、ゆっくり選ぶのは当たり前でしょ。
汉生：もし本当に何か買うんだったらいいけど、大体が、長い時間ぶらついて服や靴を一通り試着しても、最後には何も買わないんだ。
乐乐：男の人って、買い物の面白みがわからないのよ。
汉生：いや、買い物の楽しみぐらいわかってるさ。ただ“ウインドウショッピング（街をぶらついて何も買わない）”の面白みって言うのがわからないだけさ。
乐乐：それがあなたたちのかわいそうなところなのよ。お金を出して物を買うなんて誰でもできるわ。本当の楽しみは買い物をする過程にあるのよ。何を買ったかじゃなくて、見て回ることが楽しいのよ。なるべくお金を使わず最大の喜びを得る！これこそ最高の境地よ！
汉生：じゃあ、まったくの“時間の無駄遣い”じゃないか！僕はいつも、自分はなにを買わなきゃいけないか、どこで売っているかを先に考えてから、直接そこに行って、買ったらすぐ帰るんだ。
きみたちみたいにあちこちぶらついたあげく 買わない、なんて、疲れるしつまらないよ。
乐乐：本当にわかってないわね、女性が街をぶらつくのは男性が球技を見るのと同じよ。あなたたちは夜更かしして球技の試合を見て、自分は出場もしないのにワーワー騒いで、つまらないとも疲れるとも思わないんだから。
汉生：それは比較できないだろ？
乐乐：そんなことないわ、どちらも趣味のひとつ、余暇の過ごし方のひとつで、ストレス発散の方法でもあるわ。
汉生：やれやれ、きみの言うことは全部 筋が通っているよ。
乐乐：はいはい、もうやめましょ。ねぇ、見て、この服どう？いいでしょ？
汉生：うん、きみによく似合ってるよ。
乐乐：よし、じゃあこれを買っちゃおう。
汉生：見るだけで買わない、って言ってなかったっけ？
乐乐：買うときには買う！あなたに女心は永遠にわからないわ！
汉生：ぼくら、何しに来たか覚えてる？バースデーケーキを注文しに行かなきゃ！
乐乐：大事な事を忘れるところだった！早く行きましょ、つづきはあとで。
Ever since I decided to browse through Xinhua News’ top-10 Internet buzzwords and catchphrases of 2010 (you can read the English version here), I’ve been cursed with seeing the characters “给力” (pronounced like gay-lee) pop up almost daily in my life, except where it matters most. I’ve seen them used online. I’ve seen them used in the newspapers every day this past week. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen them on a few billboards and subway advertisements. And Touchmedia is most definitely making use of the phrase on the television screens it has placed inside Shanghai taxi cabs.“Geili” has been translated into English as “gelivable,” and it has several colloquial meanings, such as awesome or cool.
(Photo: “Shopping Time Again, the Markets have ‘Gelivable’ Discounts,” reads the headline in the Dec. 23 edition of the Shanghai Morning Post).
Some translate it as meaning “to be able to excite” or make someone feel cheerful. If you follow all the ballyhoo surrounding the word “gelivable,” it all started back in May when an netizen placed the character “不” (pronounced like boo, which means not) and “created” the word “ungelivable.” China.org has a history of the word’s popularity in English.
Gelivable, a Chinglish adjective: “Wow, China overtakes Japan as the world’s second largest economy. So gelivable.”
Never mind the fact that “gelivable” rhymes with believable, which I often want to say when thinking “gelivable,” and would make the aforementioned example sentence change to “unbelievable,” and thus change its whole meaning.
Or maybe that’s just a Freudian slip. Regardless.
(Photo: “Master ‘Gelivable’: Strategies to go Along with a Topic and not do Useless Work” reads the headline of an article inside the Dec. 21 edition of the Shanghai Morning Post).
I see online the spreading of the word. I see the news articles that have been written about it. I see reports that make use of the word in the text. I have yet to hear someone use it in everyday conversation. I spend my days talking to Chinese college students. I’ve got locals who I speak with in my neighborhood. I wouldn’t consider my sample pool tremendously big. Or hip. But nobody is using it. I ask people about it, and nobody has a straight answer. If it is such a catchphrase word, why aren’t people using it? Or do I have to wait until 2011 for that to happen?
Maybe it’s like trying to make “fetch” happen.
As a comparison, China Daily published a list of 2009’s top Internet buzz words and catchphrases, and I’ve actually heard many of those phrases (the “I will pay the debt of gratitude” line was actually used in one of my professor’s PowerPoint slides this past semester).
(Photo: “‘Ungelivable’ Left Foot” reads the headline of a sports feature on Yao Ming in the Dec. 20 edition of the Shanghai Morning Post).
While my immediate friend pool from the United States is moving further away from our days of college and the use of hip wordage and slang, I have yet to talk with someone from the United States who has even heard of the word “gelivable,” much less used it in a sentence.
I think it’s an artificial word. It just seems like there is a disconnect between what is being said about the word, and what is actually happening.
The only instance I could see it working might be in the following scenario: “He went to UCLA? So ‘gelivable’.”
But I am thinking more along the lines of “gay-livable,” and thus changing the meaning altogether. That’s neither here nor there. Unless they’re planning on making a sequel to “Super Troopers” and have considered using the word “gelivable” in a line of the script, I don’t think this word has a fighting chance of making it in the English language.
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