周黎明 (Raymond Zhou's bilingual blog) 用中文写娱评，用英文写时评

经常收到读者来信，询问学习英文的问题。谢谢大家这么看得起我，但我需要说明，我的英文写作并不适合英文学习者当作范文。不是谦虚，也不是狂妄，是因为，我在博客张贴以及报社网站首页张贴的，多半是我的专栏文章，而专栏一般需要强烈的个人色彩，因此我在写作时会采用很多一般教科书不碰的手法，比如双关，在应该意译时故意采用直译、文化嫁接，等等。

有一次我用反讽手法写章子怡找老外男友，居然有英美读者误解我的本意。郁闷ing.

简言之，如果你模仿我而被英语老师判为错误，我不会为你辩解的。

上周末的时评专栏，谈的是中国游客骑着华尔街奔牛雕塑拍照的事情。文章中故意用了一些跟“牛”有关的英语成语，有些又经过了我的“改装”。特解释如下：（其他文章就不一一解释了，请原谅。）

You'd have to bull your way into it.
这里的“bull"是动词，整个句子的意思是：你必须像牛那样用蛮力挤进去。

To take the bull of manners by the horns
原成语是“to take the bull by the horns”，意思是抓住牛角，即勇敢地对付某个难题。经我改造后，意思是：大无畏地对付礼仪这个难题。

a future bull run
a bull run是牛群奔跑，在金融上就是“牛市红火”这里的run是名词。

Better use delicacy while tackling a bull than be a bull in a china shop.
这句话是从一个习惯用语演变出来的，原来是a bull in a china shop，一头闯进瓷器店的牛，特指一个很笨拙、很危险的人。整个句子的意思：在对付一头牛时（指是否能在华尔街奔牛雕塑上拍照），宁可巧妙行事，也不要莽撞。

我整篇文章，其实就在玩一个文字游戏，因为china小写是瓷器，大写就是中国。俗语是a bull in a china shop，而这回的情形是men of china in a bull shop.

整篇文章就不翻了。

Don't be a bull in a China shop

Chinese tourists being photographed riding Wall Street's famous Charging Bull has sparked a controversy in China. A Beijing Television reporter spotted the scene and lamented in her blog about the lack of civilized behavior among some of our countrymen.

Once again, netizens played sleuths, but this time for evidence against the reporter. They reposted photos of Western tourists on top of the same bull, adding that this particular piece of sculpture is open for "riding".

Wikipedia notes that the Wall Street Bull was actually not commissioned by the New York government, but a result of "guerilla art". It was created and installed by someone named Arturo Di Modica, who still owns it. The entry does not mention whether it is okay for an ordinary tourist, obviously without the prior approval of either the sculptor or the city, on whose land it sits, to ride the bull.

Therefore, I cannot come to a conclusion whether a tourist, Chinese or otherwise, is behaving inappropriately if he or she does it.

But I'm not surprised the reporter thought that way. It is often reported that some Chinese tourists have bad manners while traveling overseas.

I've witnessed it several times. I don't think they're deliberately "destroying the image of China". Instead, I deem it a continuation of long-wrought bad habits. If you go to a popular tourist attraction in China and wait for your turn for an ideal photo spot, you may never get it. You'd have to bull your way into it.

I don't think a single Chinese can represent the whole country. There are many who take efforts to observe local customs. But, if too many carry on their indecorum wherever they go, it's bound to happen that some outsiders may view us - all of us - in a negative light.

That's why we need education campaigns to change those behaviors. And we should start from home. Let's refrain from the traditional thinking that a personal faux pas would mar the national image. Let's create the notion that a good citizen should not act improperly, whether in Waihuan Street or Wall Street.

Netizens are wrong to infer that it is appropriate to do something simply because others, possibly locals, are doing it. Would you rob someone if you see a robber doing it without getting caught?

That said, some sculptures on public land are indeed for "interaction". I was walking in a park in Yixing, Jiangsu Province, the other day and spotted a couple of boys frolicking on top of a sculpture. As soon as I pointed my camera at them, they turned stiff and an old gentleman who wore a park badge started shouting at them. I asked him whether he would leave them alone if I, a reporter, had not shown an interest in them. He nodded. What the kids were doing was "naughty" to him, but a symbol of innocence to me.

To take the bull of manners by the horns, I offer the following advice: If you want to ride that famous bull to ensure you'll be part of a future bull run, look for signs first. If they have words like "No climbing", don't do it. Take photos in front of it instead. Since most sculptures on public land do not allow body contact, so to speak, you can assume the default rule is "No". If you find words to the contrary, from either posted notices or nearby security guards, go ahead, why not have fun with it?

Better use delicacy while tackling a bull than be a bull in a china shop.