十大奇怪的美國文化傳統(上)

Traditions vary widely around the world, and the ways of one society often seem downright wacky to others. American culture and traditions, thanks to the hard work of Hollywood and other arms of the nation's media multiplex, have become well-known in most corners of the map. But that doesn't always mean people in other countries find some of these customs less bizarre than Americans consider theirs.

世界各地的傳統都不盡相同，一個地區的風俗對於其他地方來說可能甚爲古怪。由於好萊塢和其他媒體的大力宣傳，美國文化和傳統已經傳播到地球上的各個角落。但就像美國人覺得其他地方的傳統奇怪一樣，其他國家的人也照樣會覺得美國的一些傳統頗爲奇怪。

On the next 10 pages, we'll cover 10 traditions Americans take for granted, but that people in other countries often consider strange at best.

接下來我們將介紹 10 種美國人習以爲常、但其他國家的人們會覺得奇怪的傳統。

wing Tailgate Parties

10.舉辦車尾野餐會

When Americans attend sporting events -- and football games in particular -- it's often not enough to simply show up and take their seats. They need to arrive hours in advance to properly prepare for the experience of seeing the game live and in person. Emblazoned in team colors, tailgaters will crowd the stadium's parking lot, grilling food, sipping cold adult beverages, playing lawn games and tossing around footballs.

美國人蔘加體育比賽（尤其是足球賽）的時候，僅僅出席、落座是遠遠不夠的。他們要提前數小時到場，爲現場觀賽做準備。參加“車尾野餐會”的人們會穿戴與球隊顏色相同的衣飾，擠滿體育場的停車場。大家會一起燒烤食物，喝成人冷飲，玩草坪遊戲，討論足球等等。

Many tailgaters take their setup very seriously, and will even haul along stereos, TVs and satellite dishes to enhance the event. When it comes to how early fans arrive to start tailgating, the sky's the limit. Some are out there at the crack of dawn to begin the festivities -- or even the night before to claim a spot! When it comes to the pigskin, the traditions don't stop in the parking lot, however. Check another strange American obsession related to football on the next page.

許多人都很重視野餐會的場地佈置，甚至會拖着音響、電視和衛星天線給活動增色添彩。至於這個聚會什麼時候開始，沒有最早，只有更早！有些球迷在黎明時分就已經到場開始慶祝了——甚至在比賽前夜就開始佔位了！除了停車場聚餐之外，美國還有許多與美式足球有關的傳統，比如接下來我們要講的這個。

hing Super Bowl Commercials

9.觀看超級碗廣告

Television commercials are typically a trial to be borne, but when it comes to Super Bowl commercials, that's not even close to the case. The vast majority of Super Bowl spectators are Americans, and they eagerly await breaks in the big game to see which commercials wow them the most. In the days that follow, those ads are debated and hashed over, rated and discussed, with gusto and ad nauseam, maybe even more than the sometimes lackluster game.

看電視廣告通常是很難熬的，但看超級碗的廣告就完全相反了。美國人是超級碗比賽最大的觀衆羣體，他們十分期待大賽間隙投放的廣告，想看看哪個廣告最讓人眼前一亮。接下來的幾天裏，人們興致勃勃地爭論哪支廣告最好，並對其進行排名，反反覆覆，樂此不疲，對廣告的興趣甚至超過了那些有時乏善可陳的比賽。

Which commercials cost the most to make? Which ones were surprisingly cheap? How much were the commercial slots sold for? The potential questions are endless. As for answers, in 2011, one of the most popular commercials was a Doritos ad that cost only about $500 to make. Altogether, around 60 commercials aired throughout the game, with prices up to $3 million for 30-second slots. At $100,000 a second, advertisers are happy to fuel this particular American tradition of advertisement scrutiny.

哪個廣告成本最高？哪個成本又低得驚人？這些廣告時段價值幾何？問題無窮無盡。若要回答這些問題，下面這些數字可能會派上用場。多力多滋廣告是2011年最流行的廣告之一，拍攝成本只有五百美元。而比賽過程中大約播出了60支商業廣告，每30秒價格高達300萬美元。儘管廣告費高達10萬美元/秒，但廣告商仍然樂意一擲千金，將這個特殊的美國傳統“發揚光大”。

brating the American Dream

8.慶祝美國夢

Although the definition of the American Dream isn't set in stone and has been recalibrated over the years, there's little denying that Americans in general still teach their kids that this dream is one they, too, can enjoy. Whether or not that's a reality is another matter, but that's a question for different day.

儘管美國夢的定義並不是一成不變的，近年來也不斷調整，但很少有人否認，大多數美國人都會教育孩子說，美國夢是他們每個人的美國夢。這是否屬實另當別論，但這不是我們今天要討論的話題。

At an emotional level, the American Dream evokes feelings of freedom to avenues of opportunity and equal access to paths of prosperity for anyone willing to work hard to achieve it. At a more practical level, many argue that achieving the American Dream has become equated with consumerism and ownership instead of the more purist notions at its core. Regardless of where the truth lies, it's still a national tradition to pass down the idea that the American Dream is achievable in each generation.

從情感角度來說，美國夢喚起了那些爲實現美國夢而努力工作的人追求自由的熱情，同時也讓這些人相信他們在通往繁榮的道路上享受平等的權利。但從更實際的角度看，許多人認爲，實現美國夢已經逐漸等同於消費主義以及居者有其屋，其核心已不再是單純的一種信條理念。無論真相如何，將“每一代人都可以實現美國夢”的觀念傳承下去仍舊是美國的一大傳統。

ing "Trials of the Century"

7.開展“世紀大審判”

Americans love sensationalism, and their media is happy to give it to them, couched in familiar and impossibly exaggerated language. That's why, for example, every couple of years a new "Trial of the Century" takes place in America. All past "Trial of the Century" court cases are collectively forgotten, as the new one proves to be so much more distasteful, repugnant, abominable (insert appropriate adjective!) than the last.

美國人酷愛聳人聽聞，美國媒體也樂於配合，常用那些誇張至極的語言使公衆譁然。因此，每過幾年便會有一個新的“世紀大審判”在美國誕生。每一次的訴訟案件都比上一次的更惡劣、更讓人痛心疾首，以至於之前的“世紀大審判”統統被人們拋之腦後。

Often these trials involve celebrities themselves -- this is true from Fatty Arbuckle to O.J. Simpson to former President Bill Clinton -- but oftentimes the trials make celebrities (however willing or unwilling) out of ordinary citizens. Casey Anthony's court case is a good example of a recent "Trial of the Century" that launched a regular person into the intense glare of the media spotlight. Her fame brought her mostly public shaming, but the American public also went out of their way to roast her on social media sites. Chances are, though, that a few years from now, the stage will just be set for the next "Trial of the Century" to commence.

“世紀大審判”經常發生在名人身上，比如羅斯科·阿巴克爾、O.J.辛普森以及美國前總統比爾·克林頓，但大多數時候，“世紀大審判”會把一個普通人變成名人(不論他們願意與否)。 最近的一次“世紀大審判”中，一個普通人——凱西·安東尼就被媒體推到了風口浪尖，成爲了公衆關注的焦點。但她的“名聲”所招致的大都是社會的譴責，同時美國公衆也不遺餘力地在社交網站上對她進行攻擊。儘管如此，這樣的情形並不會持續太久，幾年過後便會有新的“世紀大審判”出現並取而代之。

in Chunkin

6.扔南瓜比賽

Each year, as corn stalks tower toward the sky and leaves turn yellow, orange and red, folks in the United States often flock to farms in order to attend fall festivals. Most of the goings on at these festivals are pretty tame if a little odd-sounding from an outside perspective. Families often participate in activities like going on hayrides, picking out pumpkins, walking through corn mazes, sampling cider, petting barnyard animals, that sort of thing.

每年，在玉米秸稈直衝天際，樹葉變成黃色、橙色或紅色的時候，美國人民就會成羣結隊地前往農場慶祝秋季節。這些慶典上的大部分節目其實都很平常，不過在局外人看來可能有一點點古怪。通常，一家人會一起乘坐乾草車，挑選南瓜，穿越玉米地迷宮，品嚐蘋果酒，與農場動物玩耍，諸如此類。

But what really singles out some of these fall celebrations is the desire harbored by the visitors to witness pumpkins -- harmless lumpy gourds -- blasted into the air and launched great distances across acres of sprawling farmland. There are several ways this can be accomplished to satisfy a crowd, whether it's through the use of air cannons, catapults, trebuchets or machines using torsion and centrifugal force. Pretty much the only one who doesn't end up having a good time is the pumpkin.

這些節目之所以會出現在我們的清單上，是因爲其中的扔南瓜比賽，遊客們都興致勃勃地想要看誰能把南瓜投擲得最遠。爲了滿足這羣觀衆，空氣炮、彈射器、投石機、還有利用扭力和離心力的機器，通通可以派上用場。最後，大家都玩得十分盡興，除了南瓜。

審校：瑤瑤Yvonne 來源：前十網