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“How Are You, Enough?” 津巴布韦的怪名字

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“Hatred,” “Enough,” and “Question“ are all familiar English words, but for some people they are also names. In the African nation of Zimbabwe, you are more ___1___ to meet a Praise, Confess or Justice than a John, David or Paul. English names arrived in this part of the world with colonial rule and became fashionable with the spread of Western culture, ___2___ names in local languages. However, the ___3___ parents name their babies there still follows local tradition. The name must ___4___ to something that happened around the time of the child’s birth.

「憎恨」、「够了」和「问题」都是很常见的英文字，但对某些人来说，它们也是名字。在非洲国家津巴布韦，你较可能碰见「赞美」、「坦承」或「正义」，而非名叫约翰、戴维或保罗的人。英文名字随着殖民统治来到此地，并且因为西方文化的传播而流行起来，取代了以当地语言所取的名字。然而，父母为宝宝命名的方式仍依循当地传统。宝宝的名字一定与出生时发生的某件事有关。

For example, if it is raining or windy when the baby is born, it might be named Rain or Wind. Then there’s the ___5___ of Enough, a waiter in Harare. The last of 13 children, his mother decided that she had had enough kids, ___6___ his name. One truck driver in Zimbabwe is actually called Smile, and he lives up to his name – he is never ___7___ a broad smile on his face.

比方说，如果宝宝出生时正在下雨或刮风，那名字可能是「雨」或「风」。有一个在哈拉雷的服务生名叫「够了」，他恰好是家中第13个孩子，他的母亲决定孩子生到这就够了，于是帮他如此命名。津巴布韦还有个卡车司机名叫「微笑」，他也名符其实，脸上永远挂着大大的笑容。

These names may seem harmless, but for ___8___, they can become somewhat of a joke, or a source of confusion. A local newspaper columnist ___9___ compared giving strange English names to a form of child abuse. Time will tell if this trend is here to ___10__, or if the age of names like “Have A look” and “No Matter” will come to an end.

这些名字看似无伤大雅，但对某些人来说可能成为笑柄或困惑的来源。一位当地的报纸专栏作家甚至把奇怪的英文命名比作是虐童。时间会告诉我们这股潮流是否会延续下去，抑或「看一眼」、「不论」等名字的时代会结束。

−by Joe Henley

Vocabulary

单词发音

confess [kənˋfɛs] v. 供认，承认〔使自己尴尬的事情〕

colonial [kəˋlonjəl] adj. 殖民地的，殖民的

live up to 符合〔标准〕; 不负〔盛名〕to live or act in accordance with

columnist [ˋkɑləmɪst] n. 专栏作家；专栏编辑

abuse [əˋbjus] n. 虐待

More Information

单词发音

Zimbabwe [zɪmˋbɑbwe] n. 津巴布韦（南非洲的一共和国

somewhat of 几分, 一点

compare [kəmˋpɛr] v. 将...比作[（+to/with）]

here to stay【口】固定下来, 普遍认可, 成为风尚  If something is here to stay, it has stopped being unusual and has become generally used or accepted.

Answer