美国西雅图 国人眼中的浪漫之都

Seattleis rarely the first US city that comes to Chinese minds. In fact, few people could probably tell Washington state from Washington DC.

一提起美国的城市，很少有中国人会首先想到西雅图。其实，很多中国人可能根本分不清华盛顿州和华盛顿特区的区别。

Two romantic comedy films have irrevocably shaped the image of Xiyatu, as the city is known in Mandarin1, among the Chinese public, and as a result it would not be a stretch to say Seattle is seen as the American capital of romance, somewhat akin2 to how the world perceives Paris.

In Sleepless3 in Seattle, Nora Ephron's 1993 runaway4 hit, Tom Hanks' character, Sam, moves with his young son from Chicago to Seattle for a fresh start after the death of his wife. The movie portrays5 the largest city in the Pacific Northwest not as a canyon6 of high-rises, but as a bohemian enclave of artists and designers, which possibly did not impress Chinese at the time.

This image may have been altered recently by the screen adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey, which is largely set in the Seattle area and includes frequent aerial shots and the less-than-tasteful flaunting7 of wealth and kinky sex.

The narrative8 setup in Sleepless is almost Chinese to the core: Sam and Annie, played by Meg Ryan, fall in love before actually meeting each other in the flesh. Imagine all those Chinese couples in arranged marriages who were denied the right to face-to-face encounters before their wedding night. This story could have been their silver lining9 and inspiration.

1 Mandarin

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。

Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

2 akin

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。

Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

3 sleepless

adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的

参考例句：

The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。

One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上，我听说了一个传闻，把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。

4 runaway

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。

He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

5 portrays

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》

The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 canyon

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。

The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

7 flaunting

adj.招摇的，扬扬得意的，夸耀的v.炫耀，夸耀( flaunt的现在分词 )；有什么能耐就施展出来

参考例句：

He did not believe in flaunting his wealth. 他不赞成摆阔。

She is fond of flaunting her superiority before her friends and schoolmates. 她好在朋友和同学面前逞强。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 narrative

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。

Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

9 lining

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。

Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。