谈谈英语文化知识的学习

badnumber

学英语不能光学语言知识，也要学文化知识，这已经是共识。但文化知识包括哪些，要学哪些，似乎没有定论。一般大学外文系都会开一门课叫《英美概况》，王佐良教授曾牵头编了本《欧洲文化入门》，另外某些学校也介绍一下《圣经》等。这些大概是英专学的主要的文化知识，当然是有用的，但还很不够。
7 f) o* i* c$ E1 l$ v* c' f& P: Q# l如果有机会了解一下英美儿童的学习，就会发现很多他们耳熟能详的东西，对于我们英专来说却是闻所未闻，因为我们没有这个文化环境。比如多数人可能只知道stomachache,headache, 却没听说过conjunctivitis，只知道go to washroom，却未必知道pee和poo，知道yummy，却未必知道yucky，知道yacht，却未必知道kayak，知道crocodile，却未必知道iguana，知道dog，却未必知道akita......
, |8 U2 l& _( [: M* p还有谜语。猜谜语的能力，也能在一定程度上检验英语水平。即使是非常简单的单词，用在谜语里却不容易猜出来。虽然这些单词似乎已经达到了“五会”，其实离“熟捻”还是有距离的。
1 L( b' [1 w  I还有儿歌。儿歌都很简单，不难理解，但是，如果文学作品中提到一些儿歌，却未必知道它指的是什么，而native speaker因为从小就唱的，所以一望而知。
还有儿童故事，和儿歌一样，也是我们不熟悉的。而且不要以为儿童故事用词很简单，其实很多用法我们未必掌握。前不久看了个配图故事How the Grinch Stole Christmas!，如果光看词汇量，可能连英专一级都不到，但是很多用法，我想英专八级也未必掌握。
: T/ m+ V$ U/ I0 x( X英语学习难，其中之一就是文化知识太丰富，太难掌握。真正精通英语的人，不仅仅要“四会”能力强，还要掌握丰富的文化知识。

badnumber

附How the Grinch Stole Christmas!全文，有配图当然更有趣，可惜文件太大，只好贴上文字only:

Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot
/ w0 X. J& F* R0 I) GBut the Grinch who lived just North of Whoville did not!

The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.

; ?7 s. @) {. m' Y$ QIt could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
! O3 [5 \6 D; Y  v- d5 E4 g/ GIt could be his head wasn't screwed on just right.
6 x) b; n5 V2 l7 b8 a
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.

But, whatever the reason, his heart or his shoes,
2 b+ l$ d' x. F) D. C5 @He stood there on Christmas Eve hating the Whos,

Staring down from his cave with a sour, Grinchy frown
( e0 _* A: w8 z- N5 O" s! iAt the warm lighted windows below in their town,

% M+ U0 [7 G' a0 l( O" bFor he knew every Who down in Whoville beneath
Was busy now hanging a hollywho wreath.
8 R! K3 Q! e+ _$ y! K# ^
6 X/ s- g0 v) i% ?5 s7 `* C( ?"And they're hanging their stockings," he snarled with a sneer.
. l2 W# t. V8 l"Tomorrow is Christmas! It's practically here!"

Then he growled, with his Grinch fingers nervously drumming,
"I must find some way to keep Christmas from coming!
' G) C" S' D$ k( @$ s
For, tomorrow, I know all the Who girls and boys
& O! r. p3 m5 \+ E/ Q( CWill wake bright and early. They'll rush for their toys!

And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!
+ V7 r" a# A$ H2 B, s% x; JThere's one thing I hate! All the NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!
- _8 A9 }9 L) F$ N1 k, @
And they'll shriek squeaks and squeals, racing 'round on their wheels.
+ p$ [2 o" b# M& P4 oThey'll dance with jingtinglers tied onto their heels.
They'll blow their floofloovers. They'll bang their tartookas.
They'll blow their whohoopers. They'll bang their gardookas.
  H" _  U0 O# P1 L' @They'll spin their trumtookas. They'll slam their slooslunkas.
5 `+ D0 ~8 K9 A# |) S4 PThey'll beat their blumbloopas. They'll wham their whowonkas.
And they'll play noisy games like zoozittacarzay,
3 k5 l9 Q1 x1 ?9 XA roller-skate type of lacrosse and croquet!
) @% O, s% m3 {And then they'll make ear-splitting noises galooks
; Q, T: t( j' P4 wOn their great big electro whocarnio flooks!
% k* [) w7 {! E# y( ^0 N8 \
8 E+ h- `# l: f; e: i2 C: sThen the Whos, young and old, will sit down to a feast.
And they'll feast! And they'll feast! And they'll FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST!
" I) \8 B9 q5 f# ?  m
They'll feast on Who pudding, and rare Who roast beast,
Raw roast beast is a feast I can't stand in the least!

& B. G$ q0 p8 z) O" d! l& `8 WAnd then they'll do something I hate most of all!
4 }$ r6 F9 o" _/ YEvery Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small,

They'll stand close together, with Christmas bells ringing.
They'll stand hand-in-hand, and those Whos will start singing!"
8 I$ h/ `' B" I4 j: k# g+ P
: ?2 Y9 J+ n4 F- U( s. C* ~Fahoo forays, dahoo dorays
Welcome Christmas! Come this way
Fahoo forays, dahoo dorays
Welcome Christmas, Christmas Day

Welcome, welcome, fahoo ramus
Welcome, welcome, dahoo damus
5 S  ]5 C4 \& j, Y0 d1 [  N9 J' NChristmas Day is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to clasp
+ x8 J4 G3 b% L# k. g6 q4 {
Fahoo forays, dahoo dorays...


* e/ o. @, y% U( K- e% c( }. t"And they'll sing! And they'll sing! And they'd SING! SING! SING! SING!"
And the more the Grinch thought of this Who Christmas Sing,
The more the Grinch thought, "I must stop this whole thing!
  u# N3 T9 ]4 M5 v; n6 o  B
. i' [1 [" j% X. M2 h' R+ L. JWhy for fifty-three years I've put up with it now!
) U' w% U6 r) c4 x9 `$ o( K( X* OI must stop Christmas from coming! But how?"

6 j) a& p" u- _& w% ?Then he got an idea! An awful idea!
The Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea!

  p4 _( G! R* _4 R"I know just what to do!" The Grinch laughed in his throat.
4 Z3 X5 s# f4 P( k( \"I'll make a quick Santy Claus hat and a coat."

; r1 _0 s# j- yAnd he chuckled, and clucked, "What a great grinchy trick!
; J" e+ Z5 K- u' }) w+ n* xWith this coat and this hat, I'll look just like Saint Nick!"
7 f& d$ n: E% u" H4 C/ D! I0 S' K
You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. You really are a heel.
You're as cuddly as a cactus. You're as charming as an eel.
9 L! S* D6 O) u9 Y  S( g3 H; DMr. Grinch! You're a bad banana with a greasy black peel!
7 y- I9 N2 G0 t0 }2 }
( a% [& D$ |+ \$ z' [You're a monster, Mr. Grinch. Your heart's an empty hole.
Your brain is full of spiders. You've got garlic in your soul.
Mr. Grinch! I wouldn't touch you with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole!
) K* i) s6 S- o! L& ~' O* ^( L2 c

"All I need is a reindeer." The Grinch looked around.
) C- G7 i! S; sBut since reindeer are scarce, there was none to be found.
- c4 n' x5 u, ^7 ~' {" W
Did that stop the Grinch? Hah! The Grinch simply said,
: d/ O" m  M2 I1 F4 e5 B) f( W"If I can't find a reindeer, I'll make one instead!"
; |; [! r) C( K; K$ r+ n, p$ g
- g% p7 r0 _2 J0 ~& mSo he took his dog Max, and he took some black thread.
And he tied a big horn on top of his head.
$ ]% d7 F* Z) b
Then he loaded some bags and some old empty sacks
% C" |5 T  e3 l& |+ T* m; uOn a ramshackle sleigh and he whistled for Max.
$ B  R3 L9 I6 f! Q% k$ ]5 X
Then the Grinch said "Giddyap!" and the sleigh started down
# s9 U1 e1 S6 v3 E" K0 T+ p( dToward the homes where the Whos lay a-snooze in their town.

All their windows were dark. No one knew he was there.
& E/ t) Q9 G' B! PAll the Whos were all dreaming sweet dreams without care
When he came to the first little house of the square.

"This is stop number one," the old Grinchy Claus hissed,
As he climbed to the roof, empty bags in his fist.
: E2 }* R0 \1 R
Then he slid down the chimney, a rather tight pinch.
9 ^7 S) Z) o" `! lBut if Santa could do it, then so could the Grinch.
! Q% h; J8 R( \( m/ o
+ v* @: m; Q4 ^He got stuck only once, for a minute or two.
Then he stuck his head out of the fireplace flue

& [6 @; E0 Y. [, ~Where the little Who stockings hung all in a row.
) B; d+ s: s( G; N* M' v* ~# b"These stockings," he grinched, "are the first things to go!"
( j. z9 m8 X; ?" v
Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant,
Around the whole room, and he took every present!
  S' p$ y8 P) l3 [- L. o; _  Q4 D
" q3 @! K8 c: [, \  G% J2 XPop guns, pampoogas, pantookas, and drums!
Checkerboards, bizilbigs, popcorn, and plums!
0 e7 M7 h1 p! }3 y& B  ~! U
2 o3 W# b" W# z4 o" T, [6 ~8 r# qAnd he stuffed them in bags. Then the Grinch, very nimbly,
Stuffed all the bags, one by one, up the chimney.

4 O+ u  `+ c. W6 z( VYou're a vile one, Mr. Grinch. You have termites in your smile.
# U* q! Q7 ]5 M3 VYou have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile.
Mr. Grinch! Given the choice between the two of you I'd take the seasick crocodile!
- }, I5 G( W0 ^! h1 ^
  c$ m% z  d. z1 F# uYou're a rotter, Mr. Grinch. You're the king of sinful sots.
Your heart's a dead tomato splotched with moldy purple spots.
Mr. Grinch! You're a three decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich with arsenic sauce!
, p6 V+ A, ^% m' N
) H& Y$ C  K7 N) P2 F
+ j: \. t# }; M; GThen he slunk to the icebox. He took the Whos' feast!
' w( @( \- m6 ]$ G- ?He took the Who pudding! He took the roast beast!

He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash.
7 }4 x) ?$ V$ X; e6 T2 `) ?7 \Why, that Grinch even took the last can of Who hash!
# B4 T' d& q8 b, I( g1 B- L
Then he stuffed all the food up the chimney with glee.
"Now," grinned the Grinch, "I will stuff up the tree!"
& {3 }4 t  x8 ^# e" m( \
As the Grinch took the tree, as he started to shove,
He heard a small sound like the coo of a dove.

He turned around fast, and he saw a small Who!
& K: E# A& T6 J6 j+ L$ ~; ]# ?4 uLittle Cindy-Lou Who, who was no more than two.

3 e+ `* A# {' m; U8 m9 RShe stared at the Grinch and said, "Santy Claus, why,
Why are you taking our Christmas tree? Why?"
) V: g2 [/ x* j, Z4 J
# q6 g$ Q) D$ O. x! v* L, ABut, you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick,
He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick!
1 z, U) `6 ~! J# H: ^
"Why, my sweet little tot," the fake Santy Claus lied,
"There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side.

- s. n/ e" d7 \+ E7 N8 YSo I'm taking it home to my workshop, my dear.
I'll fix it up there, then I'll bring it back here."
7 w; s+ c. Z7 Z4 Q+ W* T1 `4 Y
And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head,
, ]2 g5 k; s! J# R2 y  ^And he got her a drink, and he sent her to bed.

# t2 H, f) y, k0 e- O& DAnd when Cindy-Lou Who was in bed with her cup,
He crupt to the chimney and stuffed the tree up!

Then he went up the chimney himself, the old liar.
5 `. R9 I/ E/ X; i* `( uAnd the last thing he took was the log for their fire.
On their walls he left nothing but hooks and some wire.
& e: W" D; s) J; R
And the one speck of food that he left in the house
Was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse.
- d) V2 C, S7 _5 P) R
1 K* f& m2 a8 `7 n7 @- ?Then he did the same thing to the other Whos' houses,
Leaving crumbs much too small for the other Whos' mouses!
! s% ?2 w0 p9 c9 b- b  E
You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch, with a nauseous super "naus"!
3 S8 ^* z. C# x1 ZYou're a crooked dirty jockey and you drive a crooked hoss.
7 g2 ~; T( o9 ]: m# \9 x* nMr. Grinch! Your soul is an appalling dump heap overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment of rubbish imaginable mangled up in tangled up knots!

You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch. You're a nasty-wasty skunk.
Your heart is full of unwashed socks. Your soul is full of gunk.
. _' Z- \+ f" w  d  ~Mr. Grinch! The three words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote, "Stink, stank, stunk"!


9 G2 F+ V$ i3 oIt was quarter of dawn. All the Whos still a-bed,
All the Whos still a-snooze, when he packed up his sled,

Packed it up with their presents, their ribbons, their wrappings,
Their snoof and their fuzzles, their tringlers and trappings!
7 X& _( c5 Y, ^1 _. p& M
- ]* {- v7 c) w- Y9 C3 {% \& @' TTen thousand feet up, up the side of Mount Crumpet,
He rode with his load to the tiptop to dump it!

"Pooh-pooh to the Whos!" he was grinchily humming.
; c2 i. }! h! ~% z9 Q3 V" X7 p"They're finding out now that no Christmas is coming!
9 l! _, p& O8 S! L8 R6 {+ Q3 T, V
  I: r9 ~. H/ v% S3 r  QThey're just waking up! I know just what they'll do!
1 h) E8 c9 ]- b! s/ oTheir mouths will hang open a minute or two
Then the Whos down in Whoville will all cry boo-hoo!

- c* ~9 q9 m+ q+ {2 x& Y) ]- d2 TThat's a noise," grinned the Grinch, "that I simply must hear!"
He paused, and the Grinch put a hand to his ear.

' X1 W2 j4 v! V' i: ~" KAnd he did hear a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low, then it started to grow.
6 N/ K+ V, q. g' X
Fahoo forays, dahoo dorays
Welcome Christmas! Come this way
. I/ N; R8 _) l' |, [! SFahoo forays, dahoo dorays
3 X( g  M0 j' ^, v! W) @% ^Welcome Christmas, Christmas Day
: h3 z3 P2 b. a- Y4 e! G( W
Welcome, welcome, fahoo ramus
6 B6 {7 a8 a) {" kWelcome, welcome, dahoo damus
" ^  J7 _' H$ s0 h4 TChristmas Day is in our grasp
+ L9 B0 w# \$ X. O% `8 x1 YSo long as we have hands to clasp
) C0 Q) S. E7 Z- M% I' y" {1 U
" I% S( g4 }( k+ @1 a  h, M; z
But this sound wasn't sad!
" U( `- W7 i! ]# |  e: W/ i$ XWhy, this sound sounded glad!
5 l$ ?; t) i5 |/ f" z
# b/ |' y' W: W! x, }& J7 L* YEvery Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small,
Was singing without any presents at all!

He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming! It came!
/ ^7 W, X  j4 x+ _0 aSomehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling. "How could it be so?

. l, u1 R; g8 r/ eIt came without ribbons! It came without tags!
It came without packages, boxes, or bags!"

1 A4 A  v+ {# R7 o. p% W; yHe puzzled and puzzed till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.
$ I: m" t6 O# N7 r# s
Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.
Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!
% Q" B# Z4 I) ~; u, f
And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say
That the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day!
) ~, ]; ?* p9 ~
! w+ Z: A! G7 a; r& o! }7 R, NAnd then the true meaning of Christmas came through,
- @; v) x5 \* ~And the Grinch found the strength of ten Grinches, plus two!
: _  V' t4 `) D
And now that his heart didn't feel quite so tight,
He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light

/ v" Q5 F& F/ W7 z# U/ zWith a smile to his soul, he descended Mount Crumpet
3 ^* T  r3 U. u* _- fCheerily blowing "Who! Who!" on his trumpet.

He road into Whoville. He brought back their toys.
He brought back their floof to the Who girls and boys.
& F/ D: G1 Q' v+ X% |9 u, C/ [2 n
  _2 m% S6 m3 \! a* T$ F# a- \He brought back their snoof and their tringlers and fuzzles,
  L. a& O" e! i( d$ KBrought back their pantookas, their dafflers and wuzzles.

He brought everything back, all the food for the feast!
/ q- }' M' n$ r0 |And he, he himself, the Grinch carved the roast beast!