美国人是怎么形成的呢（美国人到底是什么鬼）

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看美剧的时候，会不会觉得美国人的习惯、思维都挺奇特？美国人到底什么样？为什么有那么多奇怪的习惯？今天给你介绍下“Americanize 美国化”是什么。

1.A Skill for Small Talk

闲聊的技巧

Don’t be shocked when you enter a store and the clerk, a complete stranger, asks, “How are you?" In America, being polite isn’t about showing deference so much as making an effort to be pleasant and personable.

当你走进入一家商店，陌生的店员向你说“你好吗”的时候，请不要感到震惊。在美国，礼貌与尊重无关，只是尽力做到和蔼可亲。

Being overly familiar is not “shallow" or “an act" — it’s the societal norm. For example, “See you later!" means “goodbye." Don’t take it literally, and don’t take it personally if you don’t see the person again.

表现得过分亲密并不“肤浅”或者“只是一种行为”——这只是一种社会规范。比如说，“待会儿见！”意味着“再见”。不要只看字面的意思，如果你之后再也没有见到这个人，也不要感到奇怪，或（觉得）被冒犯了。

2.Claiming Your Own Audio Space

创造自己的“声音空间”

The signature American speaking volume might be a shock at first — you will literally be forced to eavesdrop on strangers’ conversations on public transit, at restaurants, standing in the checkout line — but it’s easy to get used to, especially if you put any shyness aside and join the cacophony.

一开始，美国人说话的音量可能会吓到你——不管是在公众交通上、餐厅里或排队结帐时，你可能都得“被偷听”听陌生人的聊天。不过这很容易适应的，只要抛弃你的害羞，加入到大声说话的行列中就行！

3.A Talent for Bargain Hunting

购物的天赋

We Americans aren’t satisfied with a purchase unless we’re sure we got our money’s worth.

美国人购物的原则只有一个，那就是物有所值。

So if you find yourself in an American mall, don’t just shop — look for deals. Never mind that you were looking for a sturdy winter coat — Bermuda shorts are 50% off this week, so you better get two pairs!

如果你身处美国的购物中心，不要（看见什么）买什么，而是要找打折货买。把你本来想买的冬季外套丢到脑后吧，Bermuda短裤这周半价，所以你要买2件！

The rational part of your brain will tell you that the burger on your plate is simply too big, but the bargain-hunting neurons shout it down: “Hey, if you don’t eat the whole thing, you won’t get your money’s worth."

你的大脑的理性部分告诉你，你盘子里的汉堡太大啦，但是为买买买而生的神经元大吼道：“嘿，如果不全部吃完，花的钱可就浪费了！”

Thank goodness for the doggie bag! Take your leftovers to go and eat them for lunch tomorrow. Two meals for the price of one? Now that is a gooddeal!

谢天谢地，我们还可以打包！把你吃不完的带走，明天午饭也有着落了。吃两顿饭只花一顿饭钱？这才是物有所值！

4.The Art of Tipping

给小费的艺术

The rules for how much to tip the waitstaff at a restaurant, café or bar (or whether to tip at all) are different in every country, but America’s tipping norms can be the most confusing.

在每个国家，给不给服务生小费或是给多少小费，都是不同的。但是美国给小费的标准却是最让人困惑的。

Here’s a quickprimer：

以下就是小费指南：

1）tipping in a café

咖啡馆小费

Leave some pocket change in the tip jar. If the service was especially friendly and prompt, leave a dollar.

在小费罐上放一些钱包里的零钱。如果服务又好又快，就给一美元吧。

2）tipping in a restaurant

餐馆小费

When you receive the bill (delivered either on a tray or in a small folder), leave cash or a credit card for the waiter to take. The waiter will return with your change.

当你收到餐馆账单后（账单通常会通过托盘或小文件夹送过来），将现金或者信用卡放在桌上等服务员来取。服务员会给你找零。

At this point, you calculate the tip and leave it in the dish/folder or write it in at the bottom of the credit card receipt.

这种结帐形式下，你可以计算出你的小费，然后把小费放在盘子/文件夹里，或写在信用卡收据的底部。

15% is considered the minimum for a suitable tip. Above 20% is generous. If you are feeling philanthropic, the sky’s the limit.

合理的小费是总费用的15%左右。超过了20%说明你是个大方的人。如果你是个大善人的话，小费是不设最高额的。

3）tipping in a bar 酒吧小费

The general rule is to tip a dollar per drink (especially if you’ve ordered a fancy cocktail which required all four of the classical elements and a sorcerer’s incantation). Leave the dollar on the bar after you’ve paid for your drink.

酒吧小费通常是一杯一美元（特别是当你点了一杯花哨的鸡尾酒时），把小费放在吧台上就好。

5.A Knack for Pop Culture

流行文化无处不在

Pop culture is one of America’s biggest exports and has a huge influence around the world. It’s hard not to be exposed to it abroad, but stateside most Americans eat, sleep and breathe pop culture.

流行文化是美国最大的输出品，在全世界范围内都有着巨大的影响力。在国外很难不去接触它，而美国本土的人吃饭、睡觉、包括呼吸都跟流行文化息息相关。

If anything ties us together culturally, it’s probably the TV shows and movies we watch, the celebrity gossip we read in trashy mags, the top-40 hits we crank up on the radio, the sports teams we follow regionally or the ocean of internet memes in which we soak our brains daily.

如果说在文化上有什么把美国人联系起来，那大概是电视节目与电影，垃圾杂志上的名人八卦，广播排名前40的新歌，喜欢的地区球队，以及每天我们大脑所吸的网络迷因。

6.Mastering Regional Slang

方言大师

Depending on which part of the country you’re in, familiar things might have strange new names.

在美国不同的地方，你熟知的东西或许有新的名字。

Words for carbonated beverages vary by region.

对碳酸饮料的叫法每个地区都不一样。

In most of the West and North, you’d order a pop with your meal, in the Southwest it’s soda and in many parts of the South you should call it coke, even if the beverage in question is actually Pepsi.

在美国西部和北部的大部分地区，你点菜的时候叫了瓶汽水，在美国西南部被称为苏打水，在美国南部的很多地方你应当说可乐。但我们所说的饮料实际上就是百事可乐。

And if you want a particularly American kind of sandwich to go with your drink, what you call it might depend on where you are:

而如果你想来一份美式三明治搭配你的饮料，应该怎样叫它也取决于你身处哪里：

hoagie (Philadelphia)

超大号三明治（费城）

hero (New York)

英雄三明治（纽约）

grinder (New England)

格林德三明治（新英格兰）

7.The Art of Living on the Go

身体与灵魂总有一个在路上

The pace of life is much slower in Mobile, Alabama than in New York City, but no matter how fast or slow, most Americans are on the move.

亚拉巴马州的莫比尔生活节奏比纽约慢许多。但是生活节奏不论快慢，大部分美国人一直在路上。

Coffee and food can always be ordered to go. Anything from your dinner to your preion (and sometimes even booze! :o) can be picked up from your car window. Coffee to go, hot yoga, drive through restaurants… the sky’s the limit.

咖啡和食物经常是打包带回去吃。晚饭与处方药（有时候甚至是酒）都只需停下车开窗拿走。外带的咖啡，热瑜伽，免下车餐厅......只有你想不到的，没有打包带不走的。

8.The Art of the Perfect Road Trip

一次完美的公路旅行

The United States is big: 4,500km between NY and LA, 1,500km from New Orleans to Chicago, 5,300km from Seattle to Miami. Sure, you can fly, but the best way to see America is to drive across the country.

美国的国土面积很大，从纽约到洛彬机有4500公里，从新奥尔良到芝加哥有1500公里，从西雅图到迈阿密有5300公里。你当然可以选择坐飞机，但是欣赏美国（美景）最好的方式就是开车游遍全美。

Mark a route on the map that hits all the most iconic spots, pile into a station wagon with your friends and, of course, bring snacks!

一路上在地图上标记最热门的旅游景点，和你的朋友们挤在一辆旅行车里，当然啦，记得带零食！

9.The Art (and Science) of Invention

发明的艺术（与科学）

America has long been the place where crazy ideas thrive. For every old-timer lamenting the loss of the “good old days," there are a hundred future-looking iconoclasts searching for the next big thing.

美国是一个疯狂想法层出不穷的国家。当每个旧时代的卫道者怀念逝去的美好时，也有数百个展望未来的反叛者在追求下一个改变世界的东西。

All of the following things were invented in the United States:

以下的这些东西全部是在美国发明的：

the wrench, the suspension bridge, the refrigerator, morse code, baseball, the doughnut, the safety pin, potato chips, the vacuum cleaner, the postcard, the motorcycle, jeans, the QWERTY keyboard, the light bulb…

扳手，悬索桥，电冰箱，摩尔斯电码，棒球，甜甜圈，安全别针，薯条，真空吸尘器，明信片，摩托车，牛仔裤，柯蒂键盘，灯泡...

And the electric fan, photographic film, the smoke detector, the Tesla coil, the bottle cap, basketball, volleyball, the remote control, the teddy bear, the airplane, blues, jazz, the traffic light, the fortune cookie, the computer mouse, email, GPS, the mobile phone, voicemail, the internet…

电风扇，胶片，烟雾探测器，特斯拉线圈，瓶盖，篮球，排球，遥控器，泰迪熊，飞机，蓝调，爵士，交通信号灯，幸运饼干，鼠标，邮件，全球定位系统，手机，语音留言，互联网...

10.The Art of Individuality

保持自我的艺术

While the country still has a long way to go, the US celebrates diversity more than any other place on Earth. There has never been a singular "national identity" to conform to, but a mishmash of many overlapping cultural norms.

美国仍有很长的路要走，但美国人比地球上其它任何地方的人都更提倡多元化。美国从来就没有一种单一的国家认同，只有文化的交叉与融合。

Going against the grain is in Americans’ blood, which explains the one rule of American-ness that has no rules: be yourself. Americans cherish their individuality and flaunt it unapologetically.

反叛精神深入美国人骨血，美国化的特点之一就是没有特点：做你自己。美国人珍惜他们的个性，并引以为傲。

So when you’re in the States you should too! Luckily for you, foreign accents make us swoon. That alone will make you the most interesting person at any party.

所以当你身处美国的时候，你也应当做你自己！而且幸运的是，美国人对其他国家的口音很是痴迷。所以单凭这一点，你就可以成为任何派对上让大家感兴趣的人。

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