Jessica 在北京学汉语,她的中国朋友要是遇到了不知道用美语怎么说的词,就会来请教她。今天是Jimmy要问的:普通人。

Jessica: Jimmy! I heard you got the scholarship from Cambridge University! 你真厉害啊!

Jimmy: 嘿嘿,没什么大不了的。

Jessica: But that scholarship is very hard to get. After you graduate from Cambridge, 你就是“精英”啦!

Jimmy: 哪里! 我也就一普通人,ordinary person! 

Jessica: Hmmm…. I wouldn’t call a Cambridge graduate an average Joe. 

Jimmy: An average Joe? 我知道 average, a-v-e-r-a-g-e, average 是普通,平均的意思,an average Joe 就是指普通人,平头百姓么?

Jessica: That’s right. I think it’s because the name “Joe” is very common in English, just like 张三李四 in Chinese. 

Jimmy: 对,我就和张三李四一样,你把我往人堆里一放,就找不着啦! 

Jessica: Haha! that’s a very vivid expression. We have a similar phrase in English. You can say you’re “just another face in the crowd”. 

Jimmy: Just another face in the crowd? 人群中的又一张脸?这个说法好,人海茫茫,你不过就是其中一个而已。对了,说了半天普通人,要是形容那些不同寻常的人,该怎么说呢?

Jessica: You can use “stand out from the crowd” to describe someone who is unusual. 

Jimmy: stand out from the crowd, 比别人都站得高,他就明显,这就是不寻常!

Jessica: That’s right. Now let’s see what you’ve learned today! 

Jimmy: “普通人”在美语里叫 “an average Joe”;还可以说 just another face in the crowd; 不同寻常则叫 stand out from the crowd!