中国博士脱口秀调侃奥巴马

黄西是一名从中国大陆到美国的留学生，除了他专业的研究工作外，他还是最近美国新兴的一名脱口秀艺人。2009年，他因参加美国深夜节目收视率冠军的“大卫赖特曼秀”一炮而红。他独特的幽默方式在youtube上广受欢迎。本文是他在美国"电台电视记者协会"白宫年会上的表演片段，快来听听看他的幽默你能听懂多少？

00:00

Good evening everyone, my name is Joe Wong. But to most people, I am known as "Who?" which is actually my mother's maiden name and the answer to my credit card security question.

各位晚上好，我是Joe Wong（黄西）。但是对你们中的很多人来说，听到我的名字，你们会问“谁啊？”（注意看他说这句话时侯的表情），who（同音“胡”）恰恰是我妈妈出嫁前的姓，这也是我信用卡密码问题的答案。（和很多网站注册一样，美国的信用卡也会设置密码问题，比如“你妈妈姓什么”，“你家小狗叫什么”）

00:35

But joking aside I just want to reassure everybody that I AM invited here tonight.

但是玩笑归玩笑，我想要提醒大家我的确是受到邀请而来的（他重读了I am的am）（这里是讽刺Salah的夫妇闯入白宫晚宴的新闻，大家可以搜索Michaele and Tareq Salahi）

00:46

I grew up in China. Who didn't? And my childhood memories are totally ruined by my childhood. When I was in elementary school, as part of the curriculum, I had to work in a rice paddy right next to a quarry where they use explosives to break rocks. And that was when I learned light travels faster than sound, which is almost as slow as a flying rock. My dad was a grumpy guy, but occasionally he would cheer me up with jokes. But he doesn't do it right. When I was seven one day he said to me, "Hey, son, why is tofu better than centralized socialist economy?" So five minutes later I said "why?" He said because I said so!

我从小在中国长大。谁不是呢？（这是讽刺美国人的自大，以为世界只有一个美国）而我童年的所有记忆都被我的童年给毁了。（这句话可能是和后面的炸药玩笑有关）读小学的时侯，作为课程的一部分，我不得不去一个稻田里劳动，这稻田的旁边就是一个采石场，在那里他们用炸药来炸开石头。也就是在那个时侯，我知道了光的传播速度要比声音快，声音的速度就和石头飞的速度差不多慢。我爸爸是的脾气很暴躁，但是有些时侯他会用笑话来鼓励我。可是他的表达方式有问题。当我还是七岁的时侯，有一天他对我说，“嘿，儿子，为什么豆腐比社会主义计划经济要好？”我想了五分钟，然后问他“为什么呢？”，他说“因为我说好就是好！”（这段笑点在：豆腐，计划经济，极端的父权。豆腐和经济放在一起本来就没有可比性，就好像这种“我说了算”的父权也很不可理喻，让人又好气又好笑）

02:12

I came to the United States in, when I was twenty four to study at Rice University in Texas. That wasn't a joke, until now.

我24岁的时侯来到美国，在 Texas的Rice University求学。（下面的观众在笑。）我不是在讲笑话，不过现在是了。

02:30

And I was driving this used car that had a lot of bump stickers that were impossible to peel off. One of them said "If you don't speak English, go home". And I didn't know this for two years.

我当时开了辆二手车，保险杠上贴了好多贴纸（就类似于我们贴的“注意有熊出没”那种），那些贴纸贴的很牢，根本没可能撕下来。其中一张写着“如果你不会说英文，那就回家去”。而我连着两年都没看懂这句话。

02:57

And like many other immigrants, we all want our son to the become the president of this country and we are trying to make him bilingual, you know, Chinese at home, English in the public, which is really tough to do because many times I have to say to him in public, "hey, listen, if you don't speak English, go home." And he would say to me, "hey dad, why do I have to learn two languages?" I said， "son, once you become the president of the United State, you are gonna have to sign the legislative bills in English, and talk to debt collectors in Chinese."

和很多其他的移民一样，我们都希望自己的儿子能成为这个国家的总统，于是我们努力让他们说两种语言，在家说中文，在外说英文，真的操作起来其实挺困难，很多时侯我不得不对他说“嘿，听着，如果你不说英文，就给我回家去。”（这段对应了他上文说的汽车贴纸的笑话）我儿子总是会问我“爸爸，为什么我一定要说两种语言呢？”我告诉他：“儿子，一旦有一天你成为了美国总统，你就必须要用英文来签署立法议案，然后用中文跟债主们讨论债务问题。”（这段经地主大人提醒：讲到用中文讨论债务时，你看底下美国人反应并不剧烈，只有部分人狂笑，因为美国人压根儿不知道，中国是他们的大债主。）

03:54

When I graduated from Rice, I decided to stay in the United States because in China, I can't do the thing I do best here, being ethnic. And in order for me to become a US citizen, I had to take these American history lessons, where they ask us questions like "Who is Benjamin Franklin?" I was like "Ah, the reason our convenience store gets robbed?" "What is the second amendment?" I was like "Ah, the reason our convenience store gets robbed?" "What is Roe versus Wade?" I was like "Ah, two ways of coming to the United States?" Later on, I read so much about American history that I started to harbor white guilt.

从Rice毕业后，我决定留在美国，因为在中国，我做不到我在这里做的最好的事情--成为一名外来民族。而为了让我自己成为一名美国公民，我必须学习美国的历史，于是就有被问到诸如“谁是Benjamin Franklin?”我只能：“啊！这莫非就是我们便利店遭抢劫的原因？”（Benjamin Franklin的头像被印在百元美钞上。）“什么是第二修正案？”我只能：“啊！这莫非就是我们便利店遭抢劫的原因？”（第二修正案允许合法拥有枪支）“Roe vs. Wade是什么？”“啊！来到美国的两种途径？”（Roe vs.Wade是一个著名的堕胎官司，最高法院因此判定堕胎合法化。他在这里则是说那些偷渡到美国的人，要不就是通过row a boat（划船，和人名Roe同音）,要不就是靠游到河对岸（wade是跋涉的意思））后来了解了更多的美国历史，我开始为自己是白人而有了负罪感。（white guilt是指身为白人，因为种族偏见而有负罪感。但很明显他不是白人，他不应该会有这样的负罪感。）

05:24

And in America they say that all men are created equal. But after birth, it kind of depends on parents' income for early education and health care. I read in the Men's Health magazine that President Obama, every week, has two cardio days and four weight lifting days. You see I don't have to excise, because I have health insurance. I live in Massachusetts now, where we have Universal Health Care. Then we elected Scott Brown. Talk about mixed messages. I think there was a movie about him. It's called Kill Bill.

在美国，大家都说人生来是平等的。但是出生后，那就取决于父母收入所能给予你的早期教育和健康医疗。我在Men's Health杂志里看到奥巴马总统每周有两次心脏检查，四次举重锻炼。你们看，我根本不需要锻炼，因为我有健康保险。（这是是在嘲讽美国的健康医疗体系）我现在住在马塞诸塞州，在那里我们有Universal Health Care（某种医疗保险）。然后我们选了Scott Brown做了州长，他反对现有的医疗制度。我想到了一部电影很适合他，就是《杀死比尔》（Kill Bill）。（bill在英文里有议案的意思，这里讽刺州长否决议案）

06:25

I am honored to meet Vice president Joe Biden here tonight. I actually read your autobiography. And today I see you. I think the book is much better. They should have [?] Brad Pitt, or even Angelina Jolie.

我很荣幸今晚能见到副总统Joe Biden。事实上，我曾经读过你的自传。今天见到你了，我觉得书写的比本人要好的多（然后镜头就给了副总统，副总统笑的哈开心）（后面提到了Brad Pitt和 Angelina Jolie，但当中那个单词我没听出来）

06:59

So to be honest, I was really honored to be here tonight and I prepared for months for tonight show and I show the white house and the jokes about President Obama, that was when he decided not to come. And he started to talk about immigration reforms. Take that, Steven Colbert.

坦率的说，我真的很荣幸今天能来到这里，为了今晚的节目我也已经准备了好几个月了。我还把关于奥巴马总统的笑话呈给白宫看，于是奥巴马总统就在那一刻决定不出席今天的晚会。接着他就开始谈论移民改革了。Steven Colbert, 你看人家够狠吧。（Steve是专攻政治人物访谈的主持人，布什就对他很害怕，而奥巴马索性就不参加他的节目）

07:28

And President Obama has always been accused of being too soft. But he was conducting two wars, and they still gave him the Nobel Peace prize. And he accepted it. You can't be more badass than that. Well actually, I am thinking the only way you can be more badass than that is if you take the Nobel Peace Prize money and give it to the military.

奥巴马总统被指责太过于软弱。尽管他正在发动两场战争，他还是获得了诺贝尔和平奖。而他也接受了。怎么可能有比这更混蛋的事情。好吧，事实上，我在想，唯一有可能比这个更混蛋的事情，就是你接受了诺贝尔和平奖的奖金，然后把它们派发给军队。

08:10

We have many distinguished journalists here, whom I consider as my peers because I used to write for campus newspaper. I think journalism is the last refuge for puns. Only on the newspaper can you say things like "I was born in the year of the horse, that is why I am a naysayer." My point exactly.

我们这里坐着很多出类拔萃的新闻记者，我把你们看作是我的同行，因为我曾经也为校刊写过文章。我觉得新闻业是双关语最后的避难所。只有在报纸上你才能说类似于“我出生在马年，这就是为什么我爱唱反调。”（美国人形容马叫的象声词是neigh，发音和nay一样，naysayer就是no sayer，总是说不，总是唱反调的人）这就是我要表达的意思。

08:49

And tonight is my first time on C-span, which is a channel I obviously always watch when I couldn't stand the sensationalism and demagoguery of PBS and QVC. If I still couldn't fall asleep after watching C-span, there is C-span 2 and C-span 3. Thank you very much.

今晚是我第一次来到C-span频道，通常当我无法忍受PBS和QVC的鼓吹与煽动时我就会选择看你们的频道（PBS的节目以主观著称，QVC则是购物频道，说这段的时侯镜头给了下面人一个特写，莫非是这两个频道的老板？）。如果我看了C-span还是睡不着，那还有C-span 2和C-span 3（C-span频道总是会转播一些无聊的国会辩论）。非常感谢！

09:32

So I became a US citizen in 2008, which I am really happy about. Thank you very much. America is number one. That is true because we won the World Series every year. [WS played between US baseball teams so US always wins. Great joke]

我在2008年成为了美国公民，为此我很高兴。（下面观众鼓掌）非常感谢。美国永远是老大。这句话是真的，因为我们每年会赢World Series（WS是美国垒球队比赛，参赛的都是美国球队，所以无论如何都是美国人赢。）

09:58

After becoming a US citizen, I immediately registered vote for Obama/Biden. （pause, turn to Biden） You are welcome.You had me at "Yes we can". That was their slogan. So after getting Obama/Biden elected, I felt this power trip. And I started to think maybe I should run for president myself. Well I have to take a step back and explain a little bit. You know, cause I had always been a morose and pessimistic guy. I felt that life is kind of like peeing into the snow in a dark winter night. You've probably made a difference but it is really hard to tell. But now we have a president who is half black and half white. It just gives me a lot of hope. Because I am half not black, half not white. Two negatives make a positive. You maybe say even "hey, what will be your campaign slogan?" You see, I spent 10 years in the past decade. Oh, you too? OK. So I understand that American people are suffering. So my campaign slogan will be "Who cares!"

成为美国公民后，我立刻登记了选票，把票投给而了奥巴马和拜登。（他回头看着拜登，对拜登说）不用谢。你们的口号"是的，我们可以"征服了我。这是他们的口号。在奥巴马和拜登当选后，我感受到自己对权力的渴望。于是我开始想，或许我也可以竞选总统。好吧，我必须退回去解释一下。我其实一直是一个忧郁且悲观的人。我觉得生活就像是在漆黑的冬夜里往雪地上撒尿。你认为这么做有差别，但其实根本看不出来。但是现在我们有了一位半黑人血统半白人血统的总统。这给了我很大的希望。因为我一半不是黑人，一半不是白人。负负得正。你或许会问：“嘿，那你的竞选口号会是什么？”你看，我花了10年在过去10年里（decade和10 years都是10年的意思）。什么，你也是？好吧。所以我很理解美国人正经历的痛苦。所以，我的竞选口号将会是“胡在乎你！”（注意他发hu的时侯，故意读的像who一样，也就是who cares，“谁会在乎你”的意思）

12:00

If elected, I will make same sex marriage not only legal but required. That will get me the youth vote. You see I am married now. I used to be really scared about marriage. I was like "wow, 50 percent of all marriages end up lasting forever."

如果我当选，我不但会把同性恋结婚合法化还会把它作为要求。这会帮助我赢得年轻人的选票。你们也知道我已经结婚了。我过去对婚姻是非常恐惧的。我会想：“哇噻，50％的婚姻结局是大家要一辈子在一起。”

12:37

And I will eliminated unemployment in this country by reducing the productivity of American work force. So two people will have to do the work of one, just like the president and the vice president, or the Olsen twins.

我也会通过降低美国的生产率来消灭这个国家的失业率。所以必须让两个人做一个人能做的事，就好像总统与副总统，又或者是Olsen姐妹（她们是双胞胎，一起演真人秀，一起设计服装）。

13:00

And despite heart disease and cancer, most Americans die of natural causes. So if elected, I will find a cure for natural causes. You seem to like that one, but it won't be covered by health insurance though, because of pre-existing conditions.

扣除心脏病和癌症，大多数美国人是自然死亡的。所以如果我当选，我就要找出一种治愈自然死亡的疗法。你们看上去很期待这个，但是你们的医疗保险可不能报销，因为这是在保险前就有的毛病。

13:34

And I have quick solution to global warming. If elected, I will switch form Fahrenheit to Celsius. It was 100 degrees before. Now it's forty. You are very welcome.

我还有解决全球变暖的特效措施。如果我当选了，我就把华氏改成摄氏。这样以前的100度就会变成40度。

13:57

And I am great with foreign policy. Because I am from China. And I can see Russia from my backyard. I believe that unilateralism is too expensive and open dialogue is too slow. So if elected, I will go with text messaging. I will text our allies just to say hi, and text our enemies whenever they are driving. OMG, you are making a nuclear weapon? But you are doing it wrong, LOL.

我也很擅长外交政策。因为我来自中国。我从我家后院就看得到俄罗斯（这里讽刺Sarah Palin曾经说"我从我家门廊就看得到俄罗斯"）。我认为单边主义代价太高，公开对话效率太低。如果我当选，我会选择发送短信。我会发短信给我的联盟说 hi, 我会在敌人开车的时侯发消息给他们。OMG, 听说你们在造核武器？但是你们的做法不对，LOL（OMG和LOL都是短信流行用语, OMG是Oh My God, LOL是Laugh Out Loud）。