Names & Titles 美式的名字与称谓 （ 2 ）

People in America don't always call their friends and relatives by their given names. Instead, they often use nicknames. Sometimes nicknames are short forms of a longer name. For instance, a girl named Elizabeth may be called Lisa, Beth or Betsy. As children grow up, they may decide for themselves which nickname they wish to be called. If they consider their nickname childish, they may start using a more adult form. Some people just go by the initials of their first and middle names, like B.J. or R.C. And of course, people may call their children or their sweethearts other special nicknames. Often they have a "sweet" flavor, like Honey or Sugar.

美国人通常不是直呼亲戚或朋友的名字，而是喊他们的小名，有时候小名就是较长的名字的简称。例如说，名为伊丽莎白（Elizabeth）的女孩，可能被叫做丽莎（Lisa），贝丝（Beth），或是贝兹Betsy（Betsy）。当孩子们长大了之后，他们可以决定要别人叫他们哪个小名；如果他们觉得小名太幼稚了，就会开始用一些比较像大人的称呼方式。有些人干脆用第一和第二个名字的首字母作为称谓，像是B.J.或R.C.。当然，人们还会有一些特殊的昵称来称呼他们的孩子或是甜心。这些昵称通常有「甜甜」的味道，像是Honey或是Sugar。

In informal settings, people are normally on a first-name basis. Sometimes older folks even allow young people to call them by their first name. But in most formal situations, people use an appropriate title-such as Mr. (Mister), Ms. ("Miz"), Dr. (doctor) or Prof. (professor)-with a person's last name. After an introduction, the person may say, for example, "Please call me Tom." If not, use his or her surname.

在非正式的情况下，人们一般会以名字相称，有时候长辈甚至允许年轻人喊他们的名字。不过大部份的正式场合里，人们会采用适当的称谓。例如：先生、女士、博士、教授再加上姓来称呼人。经过介绍之后，对方可能会说：「请叫我Tom就好了。」否则，还是以他的姓称呼之。