All Roads Lead to Rome 條條道路通羅馬

Recycle幾年前舊文又一篇：

這幾天全世界眼光的焦點都在梵帝岡，東西南北，天下要人集羅馬，條條道路通羅馬。Where there is a will, there is a way，哪兒有遺囑，哪兒就有路，連台北到羅馬都忽然開了條意料之外的臨時道路。今天就來談和道路有關的英文吧！

路有小徑 (path)，有大道 (boulevard)，有私家路／私家徑（private road / private path），有公路（public road），有慢車道（slow vehicle lane），有高速路（expressway）。最常見的自然是「馬路」是road、南北向的avenue，以及東西向的street。小城鎮幾乎鎮鎮有條Main Street。諾貝爾獎得主美國作家辛克萊．路易士就有一本小說命名Main Street，描寫小鎮中產階級的地域觀念與狹窄眼光。最無趣的命名法就是一街二路三道四巷地數下去。郊區住宅喜歡比較有情趣風格的名字，於是可見櫻花巷（Cherry Lane）、樹頂徑（Treetop Way）、山丘道（Hills Drive）、楊柳弄（Willow Alley）。有時此路不通（dead-end / no exit）的巷弄，路底是個圓形，三面人家，路名通常是某某court，時髦一點就用法文說它是個cul-de-sac（袋底）。轉一上圈，同一條街兩個路口都在同一邊的U型路，則是個horseshoe，和馬蹄鐵一個模樣。

公路名目眾多，有必須付費的toll road，有任你行的freeway，風景優美路線是scenic route，有特別造景設計的高速公路是parkway。住家門前的停車道卻叫driveway。有人問：Why do we drive on the parkway but park on the driveway？不過交通堵塞時，大夥就真的park on the parkway了。

如今路上沒了馬，可是有車，人車之間，車車之間，誰有先行權（right of the way），大家就得都讓（yield to）他。行人（pedestrian）走人行道（sidewalk），過街走穿越道（pedestrian crossing / crosswalk）。車子走在分線車道（right lane, left lane, middle lane），見到進出口（entrance / exit）從匝道（ramp）上下高速公路，累了或有問題在路肩（shoulder）停下來（或超車～～）。遇鐵路、河流、其他公路，或從上（overpath）而越，或從下而過（underpath），遇山洞躦隧道（tunnel）。若是平面的交叉道路（crossroad），則在交叉口（intersection）依路權次序而行。馬路中間若有分隔帶（median）不准直接左轉，就得從最右邊走壺把道（jughandle）轉過去。碰上減速突障（speed bump），自然得放慢速度。

目的地到了，把車子靠著道旁接壤的水泥路邊（curb / curbside）停下來（pull over），前後平行停車（parallel parking）需要一點技術，但若左右「平行」可就變成雙停車（double parking），極可能被拖吊（tow away）。車子開得太快，後面忽然有警車閃燈，示意靠邊停車，也是pull over：The officer pulled you over。事情辦完，開車離邊上路：pull out (into the street)。等公車、等火車、等捷運，車子進站：pull in，到達目的地也是pull in。

有路、有車、有時間，大家在路上的時間越來越長，路也越走越遠。週休二日，一家老小在路上，擠在車內空間，最常聽到的幾句呻吟：Are we there yet?（到了沒有）How much longer?（還要多久）How much farther?（還有多遠）～～～　

Have money, will travel，大家繫緊安全帶 (everybody buck up)，旅途愉快！

Once Upon a Mind

There were two minds talking…

“Something must be on your mind. Do you mind telling me, since I can't read your mind?”
“Oh, it's just this you know what at the back of my mind, somehow forever bringing itself to mind.”
“Why don't you just close your mind to it. Don't cast your mind back to it. This way your can put your mind at rest.”
“I just thought, if only I had been open-minded back then, rather than setting my mind on that stupid thing…”
“One can't be forever in two minds. At the end of the day, you will have to make up your mind. But it does stick in your mind, doesn't it?”
“Oh well, never mind. I'll try to take my mind off it. Having talked to you is already like a weight off my mind.”
“Yes, please do put your mind to trying. Wait…what you just said put me in mind of something…Oh! It almost slipped out of my mind.”
“What was in your mind?”
“Whew! I'm glad it comes to mind. I have it in mind to asking you…Would you mind minding the business while I'm away next month?”
“…Sorry, I was absent-minded. What did you say?”
“I was saying, please mind the shop for me next month.”
“You must be out of your mind! I can't do it alone! I'm not a business-minded person! You are not in your right mind to have asked.”
“Mind your tongue, please. Any way, in my mind's eye, I see you have the right mind for it, just lacking experience.”
“But if you don't mind, I have to speak my mind. I don't mind telling you that I don't have a mind to rise up to the challenge. It scares me out of my mind thinking all these responsibilities”
“Did it ever cross your mind that I have been coaching you with this in mind all along?”
“You can see that I'm not of a suspicious mind, though very much a susceptible mind.”
“Just bear in mind, you have a good mind. As a matter of fact, you're one of the best minds---and since we are of the like mind, that makes two.”
“True, mind and body, I always go for the former.”
“Great minds do think alike. If you truly know your own mind, you will not regret it.”
“Alright, I see you have single-mindedly masterminded the whole thing. Tell you what: I don't mind giving it a try. Still, one can never be too mindful…I have to clear my mind of all the doubts. The whole thing to my mind is sort of surreal…”
“It's just a state of mind…It’ll will pass. And you will have a mind-expanding experience.”
“It's mind-blowing, mind-boggling…In a shock such as this, I need my presence of mind…”
“It's a done deal. Period---It just sometimes boggles my mind that you have such a one-mind-too-many mindset.”
“I might very well say 'mind your own business', literally.”
“Don't say such a mindless thing.”
“Mind you. You started it first.”
“Truce! Mind some more coffee?”
“I don't mind if I do."

請問今天星期幾？Next Thursday到底是哪個星期四？

英文裡最令人困惑的時間說法之一，就是next Thursday（或 any day of the week），到底是哪一個Thursday？本週四，下週四，或甚至下下週四？

Last spring，又是哪一年春天？

說起中文人和英文人的腦袋，可能真屬於不同的構造：先不提中英文一個表意，一個表音；一個向右看齊，一個向左看齊；讀中文是上下頻頻首肯，唸英文是左右屢屢搖頭。就拿信封上的姓名住址來做例子好了，中文層次分明，先大後小，逐步向下聚焦：先國家、省縣、市鎮，次街道、巷弄，最後才及門牌號碼，以及收信人大名，也是先姓才名，先有家族再有個人。

英文則不然，自我放到無限大，天下之大，先抓出一個John Doe （誰知道你在何方啊），而且是先名後姓，先有我才有家。然後再抓出一個重複率百分之一千萬的門牌號碼，這才逐步向上限縮：街、市、州、國，真真正正的反邏輯！！凡此種種，的的確確反映不同的思維：中文人是top-down由上而下，層次組織，規範分明，每思小，先擴及大，想到個人就想到家庭；英文人是bottom-up，個別至上，專注本體。

把握了這個中英有別的主從原則，再看next、last的時間問題即可迎迎刃而解了。

中文說「下週四」時，是把括號放在「下週」兩旁，下週的第四天：「下週」四。我們的認知系統把這個日子自動昇級，放大歸位到它所屬的「週」家族內，以「週」為單位裡的第四天。本週、下週，涇渭分明，所以下週四是哪一天決不會發生混淆。

而英文的下週四，括號是在「週四」兩旁，下一個「週四」。而且其實所謂Thursday這個字裡面，根本沒有「週」字，而是Thor’s Day，大神Thor亦即Jupiter的日子，有日無週。因此上下前後是以天或日為單位，next Thursday，就是下一個天神日，以今天為中心，接著要來最近的那個天神日。如果今天是月亮日 (Monday)，最近的天神日 (Thursday) 就是大後天，本週的天神日；如果今天已是土星日 (Saturday)，那最近的天神日 (Thursday) 就是下週的天神日了！！

很複雜很混亂嗎？其實一點也不，只要記住「放下」中文人以小推大的原則，拾起英文人萬事以我以個體為中心的標準，聽到Thursday時不要自動把週拉進來，不要上昇到以週為單位，只需牢牢守住以日為單位為本體，next Thursday、last Wednesday到底是哪一天就很清楚了！以此類推，next spring、last summer，也萬萬不要上推擴大到以年為單位（中文式思考：明年春天、去年夏天），就守住以季本身為本體（英文式思考：下個要來的春天，上個剛走的夏天），便可以前後左右次序分明了！

So, today is Wednesday. See you next Friday! Which Friday I’m speaking of?