The Differences Between Two Language

林鋒

When I lived in Spain， some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left， they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation（住所）. I suggested that they should stay at “bed and breakfast” houses， because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice， but they came back with some funny stories.

“We didnt stay at bed and breakfast houses，” they said， “because we found that most families were away on holiday.”

I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English， and they thought “VACANCIES” meant “holidays”， because the Spanish word for “holidays” is “vacaciones”. So they did not go to house where the sign outside said “VACANCIES”， which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to house where the sign said “NO VACANCIES”， because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result， they stayed at hotels！

We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish， the word “DIVERSION” means fun. In English， it means that workmen are repairing the road， and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word “DIVERSION” on a road sign， they thought they were going to have fun. Instead， the road ended in a large hole.

English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris， when someone offered me some more coffee， I said “Thank you” in French. I meant that I would like some more. However， to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away！ Later I found out that “Thank you” in French means “No， thank you”.

鞏固提高：

1. My Spanish friends wanted advice about__________.

A. learning English

B. finding places to stay in England

C. driving their car on English roads

D. going to England by car

2. I suggested that they stay at “bed and breakfast” houses because __________.

A. they would be able to practice their English

B. it would be much cheaper than staying in hotels

C. it would be convenient for them to have dinner

D. there would be no problem about finding accommodation there

3. “NO VACANCIES” in English means __________.

A. no free rooms

B. free rooms

C. not away on holiday

D. holidays

4. If you see a road sign that says “Diversion”in England， you will__________.

A. fall into a hole

B. have a lot of fun and enjoy yourself

C. find that the road is blocked by crowds of people

D. have to take a different road

5. When someone offered me more coffee and I said “Thank you” in French， I__________.

A didnt really want any more coffee

B. wanted them to take the coffee pot away

C. really wanted some more coffee

D. wanted to express my politeness

6. I was surprised when the coffee pot was taken away because I __________.

A. had finished drinking my coffee

B. was expecting another cup of coffee

C. meant that I didnt want any more

D. was never misunderstood

key：BAADCB