美語情景對話 第575期:Samoa Life 薩摩亞的生活

Joel: I'm sorry Patricia, I'm completely ignorant about any history in Samoa. You said there's an American and then the Western side? And who was that originally — was that a colony of another country?

喬爾：抱歉，帕特里夏，我完全不瞭解薩摩亞的歷史。你說過有美屬薩摩亞和西薩摩亞吧？哪個曾經是其他國家的殖民地？

Patricia: The American Samoan territory is an American territory itself, even until now it's still under the States (the United States) but Western Samoa, which in 1997 has recently changed the name, to Samoa alone, they were under the British colony, German colony as well. And then in 1919 they became a New Zealand mandate.

帕特里夏：美屬薩摩亞是美國的領土，現在依然是美國的領土，但是西薩摩亞曾是英國和德國的殖民地，西薩摩亞已經於1997年更名爲薩摩亞。1919年時西薩摩亞曾被交給新西蘭管理。

Joel: What does that mean?

喬爾：那是什麼意思？

Patricia: It means that they were under — like you are aware that New Zealand is under the British rule? But they have their own independent state itself. It's like that whereby Samoa is a British country — colony but it's being mandated, or taken care of, by New Zealand which that anything — we don't have a, for example, we don't have an army. We use the New Zealand army to take care of us. Any political decisions that we need to make it has to be done by the New Zealand...

帕特里夏：意思是……你知道新西蘭處於英國的統治下，對吧？但是新西蘭是獨立國家。所以薩摩亞是英國的殖民地，但是被交給新西蘭管理，或者說託管，意思是我們薩摩亞沒有軍隊。新西蘭軍隊來保護我們。而且薩摩亞的任何政治決定都要由新西蘭批准……

Joel: And so the same is true of the American side?

喬爾：那美屬薩摩亞的情況也是這樣嗎？

Patricia: I don't think so. I believe they are very different. They are more under — OK, to a certain degree but the American Samoan individuals are more Americanized.

帕特里夏：我想不是。我認爲情況非常不同。從某種程度上來說，美屬薩摩亞人基本已經美國化了。

Joel: I see.

喬爾：我明白了。

Patricia: Like, from our side, the Samoan side, we're more on traditionally-based rules. Even though we listen and even though we need a decision made by the British and the New Zealand mandates but we're more on a local — we have a "matai" system which means that we have leaders from each village which counsels us. These are the only individuals who are allowed to decide. But after our decision we give it to the New Zealand and British mandate. For the American Samoan people, the whole system is governed by America.

帕特里夏：舉例來說，我們薩摩亞有基於傳統的規則。雖然我們要遵守英國和新西蘭的規定，由它們來做決定，但是我們有地方領導，我們有matai制度，每個村莊都有提供建議的領導人。這些人有權做決定。不過在他們做出決定以後還要交給新西蘭和英國。但是美屬薩摩亞全部都由美國統治。

Joel: So have you lived in England or the United States before?

喬爾：那你以前在英國或美國生活過嗎？

Patricia: No. Not at all. I haven't been there yet.

帕特里夏：沒有，完全沒有。我還沒去過。

Joel: And what about just the popular culture? Like, do you watch American TV shows?

喬爾：那流行文化呢？你們會看美國的電視節目嗎？

Patricia: Yes.

帕特里夏：會。

Joel: Or British? Or New Zealand?

喬爾：那英國和新西蘭的呢？

Patricia: With Samoan families we have some people on our island like for example I have a friend who is in the university now. Her father is from the other island, the American Samoa, her family is more based on the American system side where they watch American movies and so on. And then you have people who are more on a New Zealand basic, like, view. And Australian lifestyle.

帕特里夏：島上有一些薩摩亞家庭……舉個例子，我有個朋友現在正在上大學。她的父親來自美屬薩摩亞，她的家庭基本是按美國體系生活，他們會看美國電影之類的。當然也有人按照新西蘭體系生活，也有按照澳大利亞習慣生活的。

Joel: You know in the United States, we never see New Zealand TV or Australian TV or British TV and I always think that people from other countries, they see American movies and American television but Americans don't see any of that from countries outside the US so we have kind of a bit of a closed culture but you watch also British and New Zealand, so you know all of it.

喬爾：你知道，我們在美國從來不看新西蘭電視臺、澳大利亞電視臺或是英國電視臺，我知道其他國家的人會看美國電影和美國電視節目，但是美國人不會看其他國家的電視，所以我們的文化可能有些封閉，你會看英國和新西蘭的電視，所以你知道各種信息。

Patricia: That's basically the interesting thing about living on an island. You don't get to decide which country you are supposed to be, who you are supposed to be on the same side with. Basically what you do is, when you are born into a certain family, they have certain rules, they have a certain sort of way of living, which means that if you are from a family that has British lines or American lines, basically you will have both the lifestyles of a British and American normal Somoan family.

帕特里夏：這是生活在薩摩亞羣島上最有意思的事情。你不用決定應該選擇哪個國家，不用決定應該站在哪邊。你要做的事情是，你出生在某個家庭後，那個家庭會有特定的規則、特定的生活方式，這意味着如果你的家庭按照英國或美國方式生活，基本上典型薩摩亞家庭的生活方式是英式和美式的結合。

Joel: So you are much more multicultural.

喬爾：你們的文化更多元化。

Patricia: Probably.

帕特里夏：可能吧。

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重點講解：
1. take care of 照顧；照看；看護；
例句：You have to learn to take care of your possessions.
你得學會保管好自己的財物。
2. to a certain degree 在一定程度上；
例句：It is to a certain degree his responsibility to see that the job is done.
在一定程度上，做好這項工作是他的職責。
3. be based on 以…爲基礎；
例句：The treatment is based on statistical theory.
這種處理的根據是統計學理論。
4. and so on 及諸如此類；等等；
例句：People can take bus, subway, taxi, bike and so on.
人們可以搭巴士，坐地鐵，乘出租車或騎自行車等。
5. be supposed to do sth. 應當，應該，須；
例句：You're supposed to pay the bill by Friday.
你最晚在星期五結清這筆帳。