20180821下

20180821下

【Privacy is something of a luxury in China,】 a land with a population of 1.4 billion. 【Personal space is not a concept that ordinary Chinese are familiar with.】

People who live in China's crowded cities 【are used to having their personal space invaded 】— in schools, malls, restaurants, bus stations, dormitories and even bathrooms. But that doesn’t mean they like it.

Now a growing number of them 【identify with】 a Finnish cartoon character who【 channels 】their urban anxieties,【 albeit 尽管】in a different cultural context.

【identify with sb】

to feel that you can understand and share the feelings of sb else

与某人产生共鸣；谅解；同情

I didn't enjoy the book because I couldn't identify with any of the main characters. 我不喜欢这本书，因为我无法与其中的任何主要角色产生共鸣。

The “Finnish Nightmares” comic series documents the 【social challenges faced by】 Matti, 【a mild-mannered stick figure who abhors small talk.】

【The series has been trending on Chinese social media】, and it even 【spawned a new word for】 【social awkwardness 】in Mandarin: jingfen, or “spiritually Finnish.”

According to【 a widely distributed definition on social media】, jingfen 【broadly refers to 】people who 【dislike socialising】 – like the Finns, apparently – and 【take their personal space “extremely seriously”.】

Matti, the cartoon's exceedingly humble 【protagonist主角,】 【constantly faces decisions that test his social awkwardness】 — whether to【 sing his own praises】 in a job interview, say, or【 take a free food sample 】if it means having to talk with a salesperson. 【He blushes easily.】

Matti is a “【stereotypical Finn】” who “【tries his best to do unto others as he wishes to be done unto him:】 to give space, be polite and【 not bother with unnecessary chitchat,】” according to a description on the official website of 【“Finnish Nightmares.”】

【Matti's fear of crowds and small talk】 and【 his tendency to be easily embarrassed】【 has struck a chord with 】many Chinese readers, 【who seem relieved that their longing for privacy has finally been voiced.】

【Introverts】 in China “are 【considered hard to deal with and thought of as weirdos,】” said Li Xin, a fan of “Finnish Nightmares” who lives in Shenzhen. “But the truth is 【we just don't enjoy unnecessary socializing that much. It's too tiring.”】

In some ways, Matti's gently 【caricatured 漫画的】Finnish environment is the 【anti重读thesis 】对立面of China's 【acquisitive, in-your-face public life 】过度的咄咄逼人的— and that may explain why “Finnish Nightmares” 【has touched a nerve among some Chinese readers. 】

said the series【 resonates in China】 “because【 essentially 】Chinese people do have a shy, introverted and bashful side, like the Finnish.”

“【It estranges us from each other,】 especially young people. They might become a little 【anthropophobic】,社交恐惧的 just like Matti.”

Chinese fans like the series because it 【presents an “authenticity”】 that is lacking【 in their day-to-day lives.】

“People have to meet their clients and their superiors for work【, they have to be hypocritical even though they don't want to be,】” he said of life in China. “When they read ‘Finnish Nightmares’ they see【 the frank and sincere life】 they want to live.”

1. be torn between 左右为难，难以抉择

Now I am torn between what I can do and what I want do. 如今，在我能做什么和我想做什么之间，我难以抉择。

2. be entangled with 纠结，陷入困境

You don’t need to be entangled with his words. He was just kidding. 你不需要纠结他的话，他只是开个玩笑。

3. be in a dilemma 左右为难，进退两难

If I had followed mom’s advice, I would not have been in such a dilemma. 要是我听了妈妈的建议，我就不会陷入这样的困境了。

4. be on the fence 举棋不定，犹豫不

5. dwell on sth. 老想着某事

✘【Don’t dwell on your past failures】, you should focus on the present. 不要老想着你过去的失败，你应该着眼当下。

6. prey on sb's mind 萦绕心头，耿耿怀

7.【 take sth. to heart 】耿耿于怀，为某事忧虑

Don’t take his angry words to heart. 别把他的气话放在心上。

✘I light the fuse

And I watch it burn

And somewhere deep inside, I know there's a lesson to be learned

It's not the crime but the way that we pay for

Feelings are mutual

political apathy 政治冷漠

public apathy 公众的冷漠

The apathy has forced the company to think about how to attract consumers. 顾客们置若罔闻的态度让公司不得不考虑如何招徕消费者。

But I think the opposite of homophobia and racism and xenophobia is not love, it's apathy.

但我认为反同性恋， 种族主义和仇外的对立面不是爱，而是冷漠。

画蛇添足

paint the lily

班门弄斧

teacher ur granmother to suck eggs

塞翁失马焉知非福

Misfortune may prove a blessing in disguise.

理发师对顾客说：“You need a haircut badly”，顾客则回答：“Cut it nicely please. You did it badly last time.

这就是一个由双关语引出的笑话，前一个“badly”意为”迫切地”，后一个“badly”则为”糟糕地”。

I’m as poor as Job”不必译成“我像约伯一样穷”，再解释一句“约伯是《圣经》中以忍耐贫穷著称的圣徒”，只要译成“我一贫如洗”即可。

诸多因素的作用下，韩国近年来出现了一个新词：“三破世代（Sampo）”。“三破”指放弃三样东西：恋爱、结婚和生子。

不过对于这种社会现象，老一辈韩国人有着完全不同的看法。他们认为现在的年轻人太过于追求个人主义，也很自私。

政府的鼓励政策实际上还停留在“小恩小惠”上，没有从根本上撼动“男权主导”的社会文化与职场文化。

有一天，男权主导的文化消失了，女性真的对社会公平有信心了、取得了自己应得的地位了，这个社会就不再向着危险的方向运转了。

有时候，虽然状况看上去很糟糕，她也从不放弃自救的希望，努力想法子逃生，这种临危不乱的作风，永不放弃的坚持和动如脱兔的逃生速度，确实是我们培养女孩时的一个方向。

延禧攻略。

越善良越需要聪明，越聪明越有能力善良。

所以我想，我们还是需要善良的。

只是，这善良务必要与聪明为伴。

真正的人生赢家绝不是傻白甜，也不是老好人，而是那些有脑子、有实力、懂自保、爱学习、高情商的姑娘。