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本课您将学到：feel sorry for（为感到难过），on the sly（偷偷摸摸） 在哈佛大学，有一条很大的标语：请不要随地吐痰，不要乱扔废物，它是用中文写的，而且只用了中文。难道吐痰是中国人的专利？当然不是，今天我们就来聊聊西方也有悠久的吐痰史 Spitting was mostly associated（联系） with smoking, both denounced（指责、谴责） by women as bad habits. Every time I saw a spittoon（痰盂）, I felt sorry for the poor housewife（家庭主妇） who had to clean it out every day. I also remember that schoolboys would start to spit at the same age as they took to smoking on the sly, just to show what grown-ups and tough guys（硬汉子） they were. In the European Middle Ages it was permitted（允许） to spit under the table, but never across it. While standing, one could spit on the ground and immediately rub out（擦掉） the sputum（唾液） with ones foot. Spitting on the floor in 19th-century factories, hospital waiting rooms and barber shops（理发店） was tolerated（可以容忍的）. Where do you want them to spit? In their pockets? was the attitude. So you see, the West has its own history of spitting, which it took time and effort to eradicate（连根拔除）. But if Westerners were able to break themselves of the habit, why not the Chinese? 「读书笔记」 | 
