everybody staying at a certain place long enough needs to know where the toilet is. i tried to find one when i first visited the divinity school library, the oldest school in yale university: i tried to find the signs with words such as wc, ladies, bathroom, and washroom. i used all the knowledge i had about toilet, but i could not find one. my common sense told me that it was impossible not to find one in the library, so i kept trying. eventually i found a door on which was a single word: women.
任何人在一个地方停留一段时间,就需要知道厕所在哪里。当我第一次到耶鲁大学神学院图书馆时——神学院是耶鲁大学最老的学院,我就想找厕所。我首先找“wc”,“ladies”,“bathroom”和“washroom”等字样,我几乎用了我学过有关厕所的所有词汇,但还是没有找到。生活常识告诉我,在这么大的图书馆没有厕所是不可能的,我又继续寻找,最后找到标有“women”字样的门。
although it did not look at all like a toilet, i assumed it must be one. and because i couldn't wait any longer, i had to try it. as i opened the door, i was sure i made a mistake, so i came out immediately. for what i had entered was a room much larger than my living room in beijing, with a 1 lamp by an antique-like table on a beautiful green carpet. on one side of the room, there was a very 2 brown sofa, above which there was a wall mirrored up to the ceiling. there were two other sofas, by the side of the table. in one corner was a clothes 3 and in another corner was a big pot of green plants. it looked like a sitting room or 4 in a hotel. there was no sign of a toilet. but it was the only possible place a toilet could be. then i remembered that there was another door in the room, so i went back in and opened the door. and there it was! what relief! i found it at last! the toilet room was only half the size of the outer room. it had only two seats with two sinks. what luxury“! it was like a two-room flat.
尽管从外表上看一点也不像厕所,但是直觉告诉我,这就是厕所。我确实也憋不住了,不得不去试一下。当我推开门时,我认定我弄错了,立即退了出来。因为我看到的房间比我在北京的客厅还要大。房间里铺着漂亮的绿色地毯,古色古香的桌子旁有一个落地台灯。房间的一侧放着一个相当漂亮的棕色长沙发,沙发上方有一个覆盖了一面墙的大镜子顶着天花板。房间的另一侧在桌子旁是一对单人沙发。房间的一角放着衣架,另一角放着一个种有绿色植物的大花盆,看上去像个豪华宾馆的休息室,一点不像厕所,但是这又是惟一可能是厕所的地方。纳闷时我记起这个房间里还有一个门,我决然走进去,把门打开。如释重负!我终于找到了厕所。它只有外面休息室一半大小的面积,有两个便座和两个洗手池、这太奢侈了!像是个两居室住所。
after i relieved myself, another question occurred to me: since it was impossible for such a big library to have only one toilet, i had to ask someone about toilets. a “rest room” is also a toilet. the “rest” had only one seat and it was unisex. both women and men could use it by locking the door from the inside.
完恭后,我又想,这么大的一个图书馆不可能只有这么一个厕所,我不得不去请教别人。“休息室”,是厕所的另一代词。它只有一个便座,而且是不分性别的,谁进去只要把门反锁上就可专用。
to refer to a toilet as a “rest room” is miles apart from the chinese idea of a toilet. i never related the “rest room” with a “toilet”。 here at yale, when i use a toilet 5 “women”, i feel myself a queen and enjoy looking at myself in a large mirror to see if i am properly 6. and when using a “rest room”, i do have a feeling of rest, because it is clean and has a window with a beautiful view.
“休息室”与中文厕所的概念相距十万八千里。我从没把“休息室”与“厕所”联系在一起。而在耶鲁,当我使用标?quot;women“的厕所时,真有点像当上了皇后的感觉,在休息室大镜子前面自我欣赏一番,整理二下自己的衣着。当我使用”休息室“时,确实领会到休息的实在含意,因为休息室窗明几净,窗外景色迷人。
my experience with the toilet at yale has 7 me as to why american visitors often asked for the toilet when they arrived at our university: they may have needed to relieve themselves but they may have needed more to make sure that they were presentable before meeting our president. it is a kind of moment of 8 that they need. i can imagine how disappointed they must have been when they found no mirrors in our toilets! their toilets have more functions than ours.
在耶鲁大学使用厕所的经历,使我明白了为什么以前美国来宾到我们学校时,总会问“厕所在哪里?”,现在回想起来,她们有可能是要使用厕所,但更需要的是在去见校长前,梳理化妆一番。她们需要一点“隐私”的时间。我可以想象,当她们发现我们的厕所里没有镜子时,会多么沮丧。她们的厕所功能远比我们的多。
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