要想與鄰居和諧相處并不容易。住在他人的隔壁，很可能會(huì)因大大小小的事情而起爭(zhēng)執(zhí)，最常見(jiàn)的問(wèn)題有寵物叫聲、裝修噪音、垃圾堆放、停車糾紛等。本期 “隨身英語(yǔ)” 節(jié)目聊一聊可能造成鄰里糾紛的種種因素。

詞匯：neighbours 鄰居

Do you know the names of the people who live?next door? Chances are you live next to someone, but do you actually know them? Sadly, the only time we do seem to hear about people’s neighbours is when things go wrong – hearing people say things like they have the?neighbours from hell! So, what does go wrong?

你知道住在隔壁的人的名字嗎?有可能你住在某人的隔壁，但你真的認(rèn)識(shí)他們嗎?可悲的是，我們似乎只有在事情出了問(wèn)題的時(shí)候才會(huì)聽(tīng)到人們談?wù)撪従印?tīng)到人們說(shuō)他們的鄰居來(lái)自地獄!那么，哪里出了問(wèn)題?

When talking about famous?feuds?with people who live in?proximity, you only need to think of the Montagues and Capulets in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Thankfully, most real-life?quarrels?don’t go that far. These days, especially in cities, many people live in?condominiums, tightly packed into?apartment blocks. Our neighbours are all around us – so what issues can come from that?

當(dāng)談到與鄰居的著名不和時(shí)，你只需要想想莎士比亞的《羅密歐與朱麗葉》中的蒙太古家族和凱普萊特家族。值得慶幸的是，大多數(shù)現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中的爭(zhēng)吵都不會(huì)走到那一步。如今，尤其是在城市里，許多人住在公寓里，緊緊擠在公寓樓里。我們的鄰居都在我們周圍——那么這會(huì)產(chǎn)生什么問(wèn)題呢?

The first obvious cause of?dispute?is?noise pollution. Loud?bass?pumping through the walls, construction, or people?arguing?next door can disrupt the?harmony?of your?living space. Asking someone directly to turn the music down can cause you to feel anxious. However, getting someone like a?building manager?involved to speak to your neighbour and making complaints official can make things more awkward down the line as you didn’t speak to your neighbour directly.

爭(zhēng)論的第一個(gè)明顯原因是噪音污染。墻壁、建筑或隔壁爭(zhēng)吵的嘈雜低音會(huì)破壞你生活空間的和諧。直接讓別人把音樂(lè)關(guān)小會(huì)讓你感到焦慮。然而，讓像建筑管理員這樣的人來(lái)和你的鄰居交談，并正式投訴，可能會(huì)讓事情變得更加尷尬，因?yàn)槟銢](méi)有直接和你的鄰居交談。

And then what about smells? If your neighbour likes eating especially pungent food, something that offends your nostrils, and that smell drifts through your window, what can you do? Some other common issues include water leaking through the ceiling, pets making noise, and littering from the balcony above you.

那么氣味呢?如果你的鄰居喜歡吃特別刺鼻的食物，這種氣味會(huì)飄進(jìn)你的窗戶，你該怎么辦?其他一些常見(jiàn)的問(wèn)題包括天花板漏水、寵物發(fā)出噪音、陽(yáng)臺(tái)上亂扔垃圾。

And then, if you’re lucky enough to own a garden, that can present even more issues to fight with your neighbour about! This could include?hedges?and?fences?that are too high, balls and toys invading your garden or hitting your windows, and?boundary?disputes over where your neighbours’ land ends. All these can create?animosity?over time.

然后，如果你足夠幸運(yùn)擁有一個(gè)花園，這可能會(huì)帶來(lái)更多的問(wèn)題與你的鄰居爭(zhēng)吵!這可能包括樹(shù)籬和柵欄太高，球和玩具侵入你的花園或撞到你的窗戶，以及你鄰居土地盡頭的邊界糾紛。隨著時(shí)間的推移，所有這些都會(huì)產(chǎn)生敵意。

It’s not easy living next door to someone, especially if they’re noisy. But having a clear and honest line of?dialogue?might help. Also, try considering if the things you are doing could upset your neighbours. If it’s something that would upset you, maybe think again.

住在別人隔壁并不容易，尤其是當(dāng)他們很吵的時(shí)候。但有一個(gè)清晰和誠(chéng)實(shí)的對(duì)話路線可能會(huì)有所幫助。此外，試著考慮一下你正在做的事情是否會(huì)讓你的鄰居不高興。如果這件事會(huì)讓你不高興，也許再考慮一下。

詞匯表

next door 隔壁
neighbour from hell 非常糟糕的鄰居
feud 爭(zhēng)吵不休，長(zhǎng)期不和
proximity 鄰近
quarrel 爭(zhēng)吵
condominium 公寓住房
apartment block 公寓樓
dispute 糾紛
noise pollution 噪音污染
bass 低音
argue 爭(zhēng)吵
harmony 和諧，融洽
living space 生活空間
building manager 物業(yè)經(jīng)理
hedge 樹(shù)籬
fence 圍欄，籬笆
boundary 分界，此處指兩家之間的界線
animosity 敵意，憎惡
dialogue 對(duì)話

測(cè)驗(yàn)與練習(xí)

1.?閱讀課文并回答問(wèn)題。

1. Which famous piece of literature is given as example of a family feud?

2. What examples of noise pollution are given?

3. What might getting a building manager involved in a problem cause?

4. What is the problem with pungent food?

5. What issues can arise if you have a garden?

2.?選擇意思恰當(dāng)?shù)膯卧~或詞組來(lái)完成下列句子。

1. They are really disrupting the _______ of the neighbourhood.

feud? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?harmony? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? fence? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?boundary

2. This situation is getting worse and creating real _______ between us.

bass? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?fence? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?proximity? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?animosity

3. Can you hear the _______ coming from that stereo? It’s shaking the walls!

condominium? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?argue? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?bass? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?fence

4. Can you please cut your _______? It’s growing on my side of the boundary!

quarrel? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?hedge? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? dispute? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? animosity

5. We have a long-standing _______ with our neighbours. Things have been bad for years.

fence? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?bass? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?feud? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? condominium

答案

1.?閱讀課文并回答問(wèn)題。

1. Which famous piece of literature is given as example of a family feud?
The Montagues and Capulets in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

2. What examples of noise pollution are given?
Loud bass, construction, noise from pets or people arguing next door can disrupt the harmony of your living space.

3. What might getting a building manager involved in a problem cause?
Getting a building manager involved can make things more awkward down the line as you didn’t speak to your neighbour directly.

4. What is the problem with pungent food?
The smell may drift in through your window, but you can’t just ask someone to stop eating.

5. What issues can arise if you have a garden?
Hedges and fences that are too high, balls and toys invading your garden or hitting your windows and boundary disputes over where your neighbours’ land ends.

2.?選擇意思恰當(dāng)?shù)膯卧~或詞組來(lái)完成下列句子。

1. They are really disrupting the?harmony?of the neighbourhood.

2. This situation is getting worse and creating real?animosity?between us.

3. Can you hear the?bass?coming from that stereo? It’s shaking the walls!

4. Can you please cut your?hedge??It’s growing on my side of the boundary!

5. We have a long-standing?feud?with our neighbours. Things have been bad for years.

文章來(lái)源BBC侵權(quán)刪。