French tourists seen as world's worst
文/Lily彭
法國人是世界上最糟糕的觀光客，他們不但外語講得糟，兼之小氣、傲慢。這樣的評論根據是來自對全世界4500家旅館老闆的調查。調查顯示，法國觀光客排在最後一名，他們不講當地語言，而且被認為不禮貌。
French tourists are the worst in the world, coming across as bad at foreign languages, tight-fisted and arrogant, according to a survey of 4,500 hotel owners across the world.
They finish in last place in the survey carried out for internet travel agency Expedia by polling company TNS Infratest, which said French holidaymakers don't speak local languages and are seen as impolite.
主要是因為法國人在國外幾乎不說英語，而且他們也不太會當地語言。法國人很少出國，因為法國的人文和地理景觀資源豐富，百分之九十的法國人都選擇在國內旅行。所以當法國人到國外度假的時候，會倍感壓力，他們對周遭不大適應，這可能是造成他們行為苛刻，態度傲慢的印象。
"It's mainly the fact that they speak little or no English when they're abroad, and they don't speak much of the local language," Expedia Marketing Director Timothee de Roux told radio station France Info.
"The French don't go abroad very much. We're lucky enough to have a country which is magnificent in terms of its landscape and culture," he said, adding that 90 per cent of French people did their traveling at home. "
So when they're on holiday they can be a bit stressed, they're not used to things, and this can lead them to be demanding in a way which could be seen as a certain arrogance."
法國觀光客還被批評在國外旅遊時總體花費比其他國家的觀光客少。法國人在國內時不習慣給高額小費，因為在法國服務費會被自動算在飯館的帳單上，所以和其他國家的觀光客相比，法國觀光客看起來更吝嗇。
French tourists are also accused of generally spending less than other nationalities when abroad.
De Roux said the French, not accustomed to leaving large tips at home where a service charge is automatically levied on restaurant bills, can seem "tight-fisted" compared with other nationalities.
在最佳觀光客調查中，日本人排在第一位，英國人和德國人被評為最好的歐洲觀光客。儘管法國觀光客表現不佳，但是他們在度假期間穿著品位排行中名列第三，僅次於義大利和英國觀光客，這也算是一種安慰吧。
The Japanese ranked top of the Best Tourist survey, with the British and the Germans judged the best of the Europeans.
But French tourists received some consolation for their poor performance, finishing third after the Italians and British for dress sense while on holiday.
重點1：Come across: 給人的印象
French tourists are the worst in the world, coming across as bad at foreign languages, tight-fisted and arrogant. (法國觀光客是世界上最糟的，給人的印象是不會說外語，吝嗇而且傲慢。)
come across並不是一個陌生的片語，我們最常見的用法是”偶然碰見”。
例如：On my way home, I came across an new bookstore。我在回家途中，偶爾發現了一家新的書店。但在本文中的come across意思是「相遇」的延伸，因為遇到了，所以能「被理解」或是「給人產生某種印象」。 這種用法比較陌生，再來看一個例句：Your speech came across very well; everyone gets your points now.（你的演講效果很好，每個人現在都能理解你的觀點。）
We all enjoy receiving compliments. But sometimes compliments don't come across the way they're meant---especially between people from different cultures.（我們都喜歡被人稱讚。但有時讚美之辭不會被理解，特別是對文化背景不同的人。）
重點2: Tight-fisted
Tight-fisted字面上的意思是拳頭握得很緊，捨不得花錢。但有些時候不見得指小氣，tight-fisted是因為人們“手頭緊”，例如：As a result, the US consumers will remain tight fisted if the price stays on the same level.（因此，假如價格沒有變化的話，美國消費者的手頭還會很緊。）
英文說人「小氣」有不少說法，像stingy、parsimonious、miserly、mean 等，前三個字是指金錢上的小氣。Miserly出自 miser（守財奴），是形容詞，不是副詞。Mean除了氣度狹小的小氣，也可以指金錢上的吝嗇。例如：
He is very mean and never forgives.（他很小氣，從不原諒別人）
He was too mean to give any money to the beggar.（他很吝於給乞丐一點錢 ）。
相對地，「大方」可以用 generous或magnanimous。
文章來源：http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/
文章來源：http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/
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