2008年雅思口语高频话题：Names

    1. Does your name have any special meaning?

    Yes, I was named after my grandmother.  (named after) 以...命名，起名。
    My name is Suntao, Tao literally means billows or large waves.  我叫孙涛，涛字面意思是波涛，海浪。
    My parents named me Wangdong, something to do with the "solar term", the beginning of winter. 我父母给我起名王冬，和24节气有关，立冬。
    No it doesn't. To me it's just a couple of sounds put together. 没特别的意义，对于我来说，这就是几个音拼凑在一起。
    My name is NOS, was picked by my dad - Micheal Yu, it represents...  俺叫新东方，俺爹俞敏洪给我起的，它代表……
    I was named Eve. I don't like it. I can't stand it for religious reasons. I don't like being named after the woman who picked the apple in the Garden of Eden. The only thing I like about it is         that it's short and easy to pronounce and spell. 我叫Eve，我讨厌这个名字，我不能忍受的是宗教的原因。我不喜欢以一个在伊甸园里摘下苹果的女人而起名。唯一让我喜欢的一点就是，不长，而且容易发音，拼写。
 

    2. Do you like your name?

    Yes, I got my name from my great grandmother, She past away the very same time i was born. So I was Named Elizabeth after her. Kinda bitter sweet huh?  kinda=kind of
    It's ok, its Jennifer. Wish i had a more exciting name though.
    I love my name and I dont think I would change it because its a name my parents picked out for me and im proud to have it.
    I'm quite happy with my name now. I think it's pretty, fairly unique, and sort of formal (in a good way).
    For the longest time, I hated my name. I wanted to change it, but I never knew how to go about doing it. Now, I am 30 and I still hate my name, but I do not want to go through the trouble of actually doing it.
 

    3. What name do people at home (your family members) call you?

    Just my name, sometimes my Dad called me "son", my mom called me "babe".
    They call me xxx for short, or sometimes just "darling", it's such a sweet sentiment.
    Parents call me xxx, which is the best nickname i think.
 

    4. Why are some Chinese names very similar to each other?

    As such the personal given name carries not only the function of the designation, but also the hope or wish the name-giver has for the name-bearer. People often find the following cases in                 classical given names: 因为很多人的名字不仅仅是个代号，而是代表了给他们起名字的人的希望或者愿望，人们一般选择以下这些名字：
    Respect for ancestry. The specific way is to add before the name of forefathers characters like xi(希), zun(尊), xue(学), zong(宗), jing(敬), yang(仰), mu(慕), etc. And from the new name, e.g. Qian     Zongni(钱宗尼),Yu Muyuan (于慕渊), Fang Jingyu(方敬御).
    Wish for virtues and morals. The Chinese lays much value on the virtues and morals the young generation is hope to obtain. So characters like de(德，virtue), ren(仁，love, benevolence), yi(义，    justice, righteousness), xin(信, trust, faith), qian (谦, modeaty) frequently show up in the names before. For example, Cao Mengde(曹孟德), Liu Xuande(刘玄德),Zhu De(朱德).
    Hope for fortune and prosperity. People like fortune and noble life and so they often express their hope in names they give to children and the names thus convey the hope or wish of the name-    giver. One will easily find what hope or wish the name-giver has when the following names are given: Li Guangli(李广利), Liu Chuanfu(刘传富), Gai Kuanrao(盖宽饶), Wang Fugui(王福贵), Qian Guang(钱广),     Chen Yonggui(陈永贵), Wei Maofu(魏冒富), Zhang Deli (张德利).
    Avoidance of bad luck or diseases. As they like fortune and prosperity, people do not like diseases nor bad lick. The following names are of the kind: Huo Qubing(霍去病), Sima Xiaonan(司马消难),     Xin Qiji(辛弃疾), Feng Quji(冯去疾), and Sun fenji(孙逢吉).
    Wish for longevity. Longevity is what people wish for and this wish is held in a lot of names. For example, Mao Yanshou(毛延寿), Zhang Chengshou(张承寿), Xu Zhenshou(许增寿). Shou(寿) means     longevity. The following given names are also very popular: Yannian (延年), Danian(大年), Wanling(万龄), Songling(松龄), and Heling(鹤龄).
 

    5. How are babies given their names in China?

    The parents think about how they want their child to be recognized... and then go from there.
    Maybe they want something unique, traditional, family-oriented, etc.
    Some people waited until the baby was born and evaluated her personallity, and applied a name accordingly.
    People have always showed particular concern for the meaning, appearance and sound when they name children. It is expected that a name given by the father or grandfather carries their wish, hope,     pursuit, aspiration, generation, etc. This name must be rich in the name-giver’s wish or intention and it should also be pleasant in form and sound.
    I know some people choose to name their children after family members, either living or deceased. For westerner, If they are Christian, they may name their child after someone in the Bible--John,     Luke, Simon, Micah, Rebecca, etc. If they are Catholic, they may choose to name their child after a particular saint.我知道有些人以家里的成员起名，不论是否在世。对于西方人来说，如果他们是基督教徒，可能给孩    子以圣经中的人物命名，比如John，Luke，Simon，Micah等等。如果是天主教徒，可能会选择用某些圣者的名字来给孩子起名。
 

    6. Do people in China ever change their names?

    Yes, when people get married in the past, or if they don't like their names, or their parents divorced, or they don't like their family... there are many reasons someone would change their names.
Transgender always does. Like a transgender man has to change his name to have a feminine one after the operation.变性人经常改名字，比如一个变性的男人得在手术后换个女性化点的名字。

    本文选自新东方王冬老师的博客