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从博士到脱口秀明星 黄西的美国梦

　　近年来，一位名叫黄西的美籍华人以其机智幽默的单人脱口秀而深受网友热捧。最近，为宣传个人自传，黄西回到国内，讲述他从生化博士到单口相声(stand-up comedy)明星的美国梦。

　　When a young man from a small village in China studies hard and becomes a doctor of biochemistry in the US it’s the American dream.

　　一位来自中国小山村的年轻人通过刻苦学习，后留美成为生物化学博士。这成就了一个美国梦。

　　But for a Chinese migrant with a heavy accent to become a stand-up comedian in the US it’s more like a fantasy.

　　但要是一位有着浓重地方口音的华裔移民在美国摇身一变成了单口相声演员，这听上去更像是一场白日梦。

　　Joe Wong, apparently, has done both. After achieving success as a stand-up comedian in the US for the past two years, the 41-year-old has returned to China to publicize his book The Tao of Humor: An Autobiography by Joe Wong.

　　显然，黄西两者都做到了。在前两年以单口相声演员的身份在美国大获成功之后，41岁的黄西回到中国宣传个人自传——《黄瓜的黄，西瓜的西》。

　　“The key, or the symbol to success is doing the thing you like, or finding an interest in your work,” Wong said.

　　黄西说，“成功的关键或标志是做你喜欢做的事，或是从工作中找到兴趣所在。”

　　Wong didn’t realize his love for stand-up comedy until 2002, when his friends took him to a comedy club in Boston.

　　黄西之前一直没有意识到自己对单口相声秀的这份热爱，直到2002年的某天，朋友们将他带到一家位于波士顿的喜剧俱乐部。

　　Before that, Wong was simply another Chinese immigrant with a doctoral degree from Rice University, Houston, Texas, and who talks with a strong accent.

　　在那之前，黄西只不过是一个有着浓重口音、取得德州休斯敦市莱斯大学博士学位的华裔移民。

　　After practicing for a few months, Wong made his debut performance at a comedy club in Boston in late 2002.

　　通过数月的练习，黄西于2002年年末，在波士顿一家喜剧俱乐部上演了处女秀。

　　“When I finished my first five minutes of performance, a member of the audience came to me and said ‘you seemed interesting, but I didn’t understand a word you said’, ” Wong said.

　　“当我完成自己首场5分钟表演时，一名观众走过来对我说‘你看起来很有趣，但你说的话我一个词都听不懂’。”黄西说。

　　Wong kept practicing and performing at the club, until he became well known in Boston.

　　黄西继续在这家俱乐部练习加表演，直到他名扬波士顿。

　　In April 2009, Wong was invited to perform on the Late Show with David Letterman, a popular late-night talk show in the US.

　　2009年4月时，黄西受邀前往美国著名的午夜脱口秀“大卫•莱特曼秀”上表演。

　　Wong said it was a turning point of his career and his life. He did very well and was invited to perform at the Radio and Television Correspondents’ annual dinner in 2010.

　　黄西说这是他职业和人生的转折点。他表演得很出色，并受邀在2010年美国电视记者年会上表演。

　　“It was the proudest moment of my life. It was a great honor for me to stand in the venue as an Asian, and speak for Chinese immigrants with a long history,” Wong said.

　　“这是我一生中最自豪的时刻。作为一位亚洲人，能够站在会场中央，并代表有着悠久历史的华裔移民发言，这真是一种莫大的荣耀。”黄西说。

　　According to Wong, his jokes aren’t random humor, but are carefully crafted with his science background. He said people enjoy absurd logic. For instance, the US government spends tax raised from cigarettes on finding ways to cure cancer. Wong jokes: “When I smoked, I was actually finding a way to cure cancer.”

　　黄西称，自己的笑话并非即兴的幽默，而是根据他的理工科知识精心加工而成。他说人们喜欢荒诞的逻辑。例如，美国政府利用征收烟草税来寻求治愈癌症的方法。黄西打趣道：“当我抽烟时，实际上我是在寻求治愈癌症的方法。”

　　He also makes jokes about himself being an immigrant. “Americans are good at self-mockery. They will not look down at you if you make fun of yourself. They will consider you humorous,” Wong said.

　　他也会拿自己的移民身份开涮。“美国人擅长自嘲。当你拿自己开涮的时候，他们不会看不起你。他们只会认为你很幽默。”王说。

　　“Also, I want to tell stories about immigrants to raise their profile.”

　　“同时，我想通过讲述移民们的故事来提升他们的形象。”

　　Wong has his critics. Some people think that he could contribute more to society as a biochemist, rather than a stand-up comedian, but Wong disagrees.

　　黄西也遭受到批评。有些人认为他应该以生物化学家的身份为社会多做些贡献，而不是当一名单口相声演员。但对此黄西并不认同。

　　“I have been to Harvard and met many Chinese professors there. I think science in the US has enough Chinese,” Wong said. “But in my area, you hardly found any Chinese.”

　　“我去过哈佛大学，在那儿见到了很多中国教授。我觉得美国的科学领域已经有足够多的中国人了。”黄西说，“而在我这个领域，你几乎看不到中国人的影子。”

　　Wong said he’d changed many Americans’ stereotypical view that Chinese lack a sense of humor and are always buried in work.

　　黄西说他已经改变了不少美国人认为中国人缺乏幽默感并总是埋头工作的思维定势。

　　“Hopefully more people will understand our stories. I also want to encourage immigrants like me to speak out and live better.”

　　“希望有更多的人能够理解我们这些移民的故事。我也想鼓励移民能像我这样畅所欲言，活得更精彩。”