普通名字的趣味故事

許多中國學生為了交流方便，都會為自己起一個英文名字。每當這時，大家就特別迷茫，到底應該起一個怎樣的英文名呢。其實，許多英文名字看似普通，背后卻都有各種各樣有趣的故事。趕緊來看一下，你的名字有沒有出現在下面的文章中。另，本文中涉及的名字以及它背后的故事，都是以美國社會文化為背景，與其他英語國家地方文化可能有所不同，請區別學習哦。

A person’s name is very important. Some names also have special meanings in popular American expressions. To better understand what I mean， sit back and listen. You might even want to get a cup of Joe， I mean， a cup of coffee.

One day， an average Joe was walking down the street. An average Joe is a common person—either male or female. This average Joe was lost. He did not know Jack about where he was going. By this， I mean he did not know anything about where to find things in the city.

So average Joe asked John Q. Public for directions to the nearest bank. John Q. Public is also a common person—male or female.

“Jeez Louise，” said John Q. Public. This is an expression of surprise. “Jeez Louise， don’t you know that all banks are closed today? It is Saturday.”

“For Pete’s sake，” said average Joe. This is also an expression used to show a feeling like surprise or disappointment.

“For Pete’s sake， I do not believe you，” said average Joe. He was being a doubting Thomas， someone who does not believe anything he is told.

At that moment， Joe Blow was walking down the street with a woman. Joe Blow is also an expression for a common man. Now this Joe Blow was NOT walking next to a plain Jane. A plain Jane is a woman who is neither ugly nor pretty. She is simply plain. No， the woman with Joe Blow was a real Sheila—a beautiful woman.

Average Joe asked the woman if all banks were closed on Saturday. “No way， Jose，” she answered. This is a way of saying “no.” “No way， Jose. Many banks are open on Saturdays.”

Average Joe did not know either of these two people from Adam. That is， he did not know them at all. But he followed their directions to the nearest bank.

When he arrived， he walked to the desk of the chief bank employee. Now this man was a true Jack of all trades. He knew how to do everything.

“I am here to withdraw some money so I can pay my taxes to Uncle Sam，” said average Joe. Uncle Sam represents the United States government. The banker produced some papers and told average Joe to sign his John Hancock at the bottom. A John Hancock is a person’s signed name—a signature. Historically， John Hancock was one of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence. Hancock had a beautiful signature and signed his name larger than all

the others.

As average Joe left the bank he began to sing. But sadly， average Joe was not a good singer. He was a Johnny One Note. He could only sing one note.

● 假如不事先告訴你，你知道“a cup of Joe”就是“a cup of coffee”的意思嗎?這個短語的典故出自紐約一家名叫Martinson’s Coffee的咖啡店。據說Martinson’s Coffee出品的咖啡口味醇厚，香味彌漫，甚至隔著幾個街區都能聞到，咖啡店老板Joe Martinson也因此成為紐約名人，他的名字從此被人熟知，“a cup of Joe”也就被活用為“a cup of coffee”的意思。但注意，Joe只有用在這個特定詞組中才有咖啡的意思。

● 此Joe非彼Joe。當Joe變成了“an average Joe”，他也不過是個普通人。Joe是英美社會最普通不過的英文名字，用來形容普通人十分貼切。不過值得注意的是，“an average Joe”既可以表示男孩，也可以表示女孩。下文的“Joe Blow”同樣指普通人的意思。

● 與Joe一樣，Jack也是常見的英文名字。與它有關的兩個常用短語是“not know Jack (about sth.)”和“Jack of all trades”。“not know Jack (about sth.)”表示對某事一無所知。那么，“I don’t know Jack.”即是“我什么都不知道”的意思。而“Jack of all trades”通常作“Jack-of-all-trades”，表示事事通，多面手，卻沒有一行精通，即我們平常所說的雜而不精的人。

● 在美國，“John Q. Public”是指那些沒有強烈的政治傾向或犯罪傾向的普通人。它可以指代男生，也可指代女生。不過，指代女生時有一個更常用的表達方式——Jane Q. Public。另外，John Q. Citizen/Jane Q. Citizen、John Q. Taxpayer/Jane Q. Taxpayer也同樣用來指普通人。

● “Jeez Louise.”表示驚訝，相當于“Oh， my gosh. (天啊!)”。

● “For Pete’s sake”與“For God’s sake”、“For Christ’s sake”同義，都表示“看在老天的份上”。這個詞組中的Pete就是《圣經》里大名鼎鼎的Saint Pete。據說在中世紀，人們不能隨便呼喊God或者Christ，只能喊耶穌的門徒之一Pete的名字。這就是“For Pete’s sake”的由來。

● “a doubting Thomas”指那些生性多疑的人。這又是另一個來自《圣經》的故事，說是耶穌復活后出現在眾人面前，十二門徒之一的Thomas沒有親眼見到，他因此聲稱，除非他看到耶穌手上的釘痕，或者讓他用手探入耶穌的肋旁，否則他絕不相信耶穌已經復活。

● 如果說關于男生的姓名中有平凡如Joe的存在，女生姓名中對應的則是Jane。“a plain Jane”指的便是那些姿色平庸、沒有任何動人特征的女子。

● “Sheila”，作為女子名字，可譯為“希拉”。在口語中，它表示年輕貌美的女子。

● “not know someone from Adam”又是另一個來自《圣經》的短語。大家都知道亞當為上帝所創，并非女子所生，因此亞當身上沒有肚臍，是最容易辨認的人。因此，“not know someone from Adam”便是“完全不認識某人”的意思了。

● 我們經常在英美報刊雜志上看到“Uncle Sam”——美國(尤指美國政府)。其實，Uncle Sam(山姆大叔)用來指代美國，還有一段典故。相傳在1812年英美戰爭期間，紐約州特洛伊市有個叫Samuel Wilson的牛肉商人，專門為美軍供應桶裝牛肉。美軍在他供應的桶裝牛肉上蓋上“U.S.”的記號，以表示“美國”。不過這個“U.S.”的縮寫剛好跟Samuel Wilson的昵稱“Uncle Sam”的首字母縮寫一樣，久而久之，人們就把“Uncle Sam”當成美國的綽號了。

● John Hancock是第一個在《美國獨立宣言》上簽下自己名字的人。他的簽名又清晰又漂亮，因此美國人現在也常常把John Hancock當作“親筆簽名”的意思。比如說:I need your John Hancock here.(我需要您在這兒簽名。)

● “Johnny One Note”是1937年上演的音樂劇《Babes in Arms》(《娃娃從軍記》)中的一首歌曲。歌曲描述一個叫Johnny的人只能唱一個音符的故事。隨著音樂劇和同名電影的熱播，“Johnny One Note”也漸漸用來指那些五音不全的人。