美语情景对话 第575期:Samoa Life 萨摩亚的生活

Joel: I'm sorry Patricia, I'm completely ignorant about any history in Samoa. You said there's an American and then the Western side? And who was that originally — was that a colony of another country?

乔尔：抱歉，帕特里夏，我完全不了解萨摩亚的历史。你说过有美属萨摩亚和西萨摩亚吧？哪个曾经是其他国家的殖民地？

Patricia: The American Samoan territory is an American territory itself, even until now it's still under the States (the United States) but Western Samoa, which in 1997 has recently changed the name, to Samoa alone, they were under the British colony, German colony as well. And then in 1919 they became a New Zealand mandate.

帕特里夏：美属萨摩亚是美国的领土，现在依然是美国的领土，但是西萨摩亚曾是英国和德国的殖民地，西萨摩亚已经于1997年更名为萨摩亚。1919年时西萨摩亚曾被交给新西兰管理。

Joel: What does that mean?

乔尔：那是什么意思？

Patricia: It means that they were under — like you are aware that New Zealand is under the British rule? But they have their own independent state itself. It's like that whereby Samoa is a British country — colony but it's being mandated, or taken care of, by New Zealand which that anything — we don't have a, for example, we don't have an army. We use the New Zealand army to take care of us. Any political decisions that we need to make it has to be done by the New Zealand...

帕特里夏：意思是……你知道新西兰处于英国的统治下，对吧？但是新西兰是独立国家。所以萨摩亚是英国的殖民地，但是被交给新西兰管理，或者说托管，意思是我们萨摩亚没有军队。新西兰军队来保护我们。而且萨摩亚的任何政治决定都要由新西兰批准……

Joel: And so the same is true of the American side?

乔尔：那美属萨摩亚的情况也是这样吗？

Patricia: I don't think so. I believe they are very different. They are more under — OK, to a certain degree but the American Samoan individuals are more Americanized.

帕特里夏：我想不是。我认为情况非常不同。从某种程度上来说，美属萨摩亚人基本已经美国化了。

Joel: I see.

乔尔：我明白了。

Patricia: Like, from our side, the Samoan side, we're more on traditionally-based rules. Even though we listen and even though we need a decision made by the British and the New Zealand mandates but we're more on a local — we have a "matai" system which means that we have leaders from each village which counsels us. These are the only individuals who are allowed to decide. But after our decision we give it to the New Zealand and British mandate. For the American Samoan people, the whole system is governed by America.

帕特里夏：举例来说，我们萨摩亚有基于传统的规则。虽然我们要遵守英国和新西兰的规定，由它们来做决定，但是我们有地方领导，我们有matai制度，每个村庄都有提供建议的领导人。这些人有权做决定。不过在他们做出决定以后还要交给新西兰和英国。但是美属萨摩亚全部都由美国统治。

Joel: So have you lived in England or the United States before?

乔尔：那你以前在英国或美国生活过吗？

Patricia: No. Not at all. I haven't been there yet.

帕特里夏：没有，完全没有。我还没去过。

Joel: And what about just the popular culture? Like, do you watch American TV shows?

乔尔：那流行文化呢？你们会看美国的电视节目吗？

Patricia: Yes.

帕特里夏：会。

Joel: Or British? Or New Zealand?

乔尔：那英国和新西兰的呢？

Patricia: With Samoan families we have some people on our island like for example I have a friend who is in the university now. Her father is from the other island, the American Samoa, her family is more based on the American system side where they watch American movies and so on. And then you have people who are more on a New Zealand basic, like, view. And Australian lifestyle.

帕特里夏：岛上有一些萨摩亚家庭……举个例子，我有个朋友现在正在上大学。她的父亲来自美属萨摩亚，她的家庭基本是按美国体系生活，他们会看美国电影之类的。当然也有人按照新西兰体系生活，也有按照澳大利亚习惯生活的。

Joel: You know in the United States, we never see New Zealand TV or Australian TV or British TV and I always think that people from other countries, they see American movies and American television but Americans don't see any of that from countries outside the US so we have kind of a bit of a closed culture but you watch also British and New Zealand, so you know all of it.

乔尔：你知道，我们在美国从来不看新西兰电视台、澳大利亚电视台或是英国电视台，我知道其他国家的人会看美国电影和美国电视节目，但是美国人不会看其他国家的电视，所以我们的文化可能有些封闭，你会看英国和新西兰的电视，所以你知道各种信息。

Patricia: That's basically the interesting thing about living on an island. You don't get to decide which country you are supposed to be, who you are supposed to be on the same side with. Basically what you do is, when you are born into a certain family, they have certain rules, they have a certain sort of way of living, which means that if you are from a family that has British lines or American lines, basically you will have both the lifestyles of a British and American normal Somoan family.

帕特里夏：这是生活在萨摩亚群岛上最有意思的事情。你不用决定应该选择哪个国家，不用决定应该站在哪边。你要做的事情是，你出生在某个家庭后，那个家庭会有特定的规则、特定的生活方式，这意味着如果你的家庭按照英国或美国方式生活，基本上典型萨摩亚家庭的生活方式是英式和美式的结合。

Joel: So you are much more multicultural.

乔尔：你们的文化更多元化。

Patricia: Probably.

帕特里夏：可能吧。

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重点讲解：
1. take care of 照顾；照看；看护；
例句：You have to learn to take care of your possessions.
你得学会保管好自己的财物。
2. to a certain degree 在一定程度上；
例句：It is to a certain degree his responsibility to see that the job is done.
在一定程度上，做好这项工作是他的职责。
3. be based on 以…为基础；
例句：The treatment is based on statistical theory.
这种处理的根据是统计学理论。
4. and so on 及诸如此类；等等；
例句：People can take bus, subway, taxi, bike and so on.
人们可以搭巴士，坐地铁，乘出租车或骑自行车等。
5. be supposed to do sth. 应当，应该，须；
例句：You're supposed to pay the bill by Friday.
你最晚在星期五结清这笔帐。