中国的事物，怎么样才能用英语表达清楚，让西方人能够理解，一向被认为是一件很难的事情，以至于在我国的许多领域，英语应用出现了大量低级错误，比如说公共场所各类标识的英语译文错误，现在已引起广泛关注并最终促成了多个公共场所英文译写规范的地方标准的出台以及公共服务领域外文译写规范国家标准的研制工作启动。同样的问题，也大量出现我国的城市外语服务载体之中，如英文类报刊、英文类电视节目以及英文类官方网站等等。

笔者之所以写就如此一番开场白，是因为在这方面关注颇多，并且经常感慨多多。不久前，笔者看到某城市的日报上刊登的一则英语新闻，内容是说该市的出租车起步价将要上调，没想到该文的译者（因为该英语新闻报道就是根据同内容的中文新闻报道转译的）把“起步价”逐字翻译成了pace-starting price，让人很是咋舌，因为这一说法很不地道和专业。

由此，笔者也产生了好奇心，试图通过网络搜索探究“起步价”这一在我们听来耳熟能详的说法，在英语里究竟用的什么地道表达。结果发现，base price，flag fall 和flag-down fare等词语属于在相关国家和地区最贴近的说法。请看美国媒体的以下报道：

Washington (CNN) -- Passengers hailing cabs in Chicago starting Sunday may want to read the fine print on the taxi placards before they get in. In addition to the base fare, cab drivers for the first time can charge sick passengers a $50 vomit cleanup fee.

上述内容是美国CNN2012年6月12日的一则新闻报道，说的是芝加哥的出租车将对租用出租车时在车上因为晕车而呕吐的乘客征收50美元一次的呕吐清洁费。其中的In addition to the base fare就是“除了起步价之外”的意思，也就是说，除了起步价，乘客若在车上呕吐，将支付额外的清洁费。以下是芝加哥的出租车上张贴的各类收费标准说明以及对乘客告知的各类权利和义务。

同样，美国纽约的餐饮、时尚和夜生活指南杂志New York Magazine也有一则关于出租车起步价调价的报道：

But on May 3, our relationship with cabs will change. The base fare is going up to $2.50 from $2. Every tick of the meter (one-fifth of a mile) will cost 40 cents, up a dime. A trip to JFK from Manhattan will run $45, an increase of $10.

不过，该杂志的这篇报道在结尾部分对该市调价之后的出租车收费情况作了一个总结，对“起步价”则使用了另外一个更加通俗易懂的表达initial charge：

NEW FARE STRUCTURE, MAY 3

Initial charge: $2.50

(was $2)

Mileage: 40 cents per 1/5 mile

(was 30 cents)

Waiting charge: 40 cents per 120 seconds

(was 30 cents per 90 seconds)

JFK flat fare: $45

(was $35)

Newark surcharge: $15

(was $10)

4 p.m.–8 p.m. weekday

Surcharge: $1

(new charge)

美国新兴的私家车搭乘服务商UBER在其收费说明中也使用了base fare这一说法：

• 在澳大利亚，出租车的“起步价”通常使用flag fall 或flagfall，维基百科就有如下说明：Flagfall or flag fall is common Australian expression for a fixed start fee, especially in the haulage and railroad industry. The origin is a taxi expression for the minimum charge for hiring a taxi, to which the rate per kilometer or mile is then added.

• 澳大利亚新南威尔士州交通局官网一则关于本地出租车从2012年7月22日开始调价的通知中，出现了以下相关词语：起步价（flag fall），公里价（distance rate），夜间营业额外收费（night-time surcharge），订车费（booking fee）等等。

关于Flag-fall 这一说法，已有被我国媒体援引的先例，如海南省三亚市关于出租车资费涨价的新闻报道：According to the results of the fare-adjustment hearing, Sanya will introduce a new taxi flag-fall fare starting September 1st, 2011.

Flag-down fare/rate这一说法则在新加坡和香港等亚洲以英语为工作语言的国家比较常用，如新加坡公共交通官网的一则服务介绍中关于出租车资费的说明：Taxi fares are charged by the taxi meter and are based on a flag down rate and the distance traveled. The flag down rate ranges from S$3.00 to S$5.00 (depending on type of taxi). 以下是具体的资费收费标准说明：

新加坡出租车官网也有类似内容的介绍：In Singapore, taxi cab fares must be charged by the taxi meter and are based on a flag down rate and the distance traveled. The flag down rate ranges from S$3.00 to S$5.00 (depending on the type of taxi).

香港某网站关于本地出租车资费的介绍也使用了flag-down fare这一说法：The red taxi could run around the whole Hong Kong only except Lanta. The flag down fare is HKD 15 for the first 2 kilometers and HKD 1.4/0.2 km will be charged thereafter. In addition, the waiting time fee may be added as HKD1.2/minute and HKD 4 of big luggage fee be charged. 不过，在另一网站关于香港地铁的介绍中，则出现了base fare：The base fare for a one-way ticket is $4 HKD (about $0.52 USD) and quickly increases depending on the distance traveled.由此看来，在香港，关于公共交通工具的“起步价”，flag-down fare 和base fare都是很常用的。

其实，flag down 不仅用作名词，表示出租车的起步价，它还可以用作动词，表示“招手截停”出租车（signal to stop），有时候也可以单独使用flag，这可是值得我国英语学习者牢记在心的一个地道表达，例如：

1. In downtown Hong Kong and the Kowloon Peninsula, taxis are easy to flag down from the street. In other areas, you should call the taxi dispatch to request one.

2. Taxis in Hong Kong abound but are difficult to flag down during rush hours and when it rains. Make sure that you flag taxis in the stop zones. You can easily recognize the no-stopping zones by a yellow line on the curb of the road.

3. Taxis are everywhere in Hong Kong and very easy to find or flag down.

笔者发现，关于“招手截停”出租车，我国的英语学习者基本上只会使用“stop”这一单词，其语境和语用与地道表达相去甚远。除了上面说到的flag down，另一说法是hail，例如：If this is about seeing a vacant taxi on a street and asking the driver to stop for you, "hail a taxi" is what one would say in AE. If you mean something else, please be more specific. 该网站更加具体的说明是：to hail a taxi -- which is to make a gesture (raising your arm) to get a taxi to stop。如果你有急事需要求助，招手示意其他车辆停下来，也是flag down，例如：

1. I flagged down a passing car to ask for help.

2. Let's flag down a cab--it's starting to rain.

3. The policeman flagged down our car.

无论是flag down 还是flag fall，关于出租车“起步价”在英语中的地道表达，都离不开一个关键词flag。那么，这里的flag又是什么意思呢？是我们通常理解的“旗帜”吗？百度词典对flag down 的解释是“打旗号使停下”，貌似“打旗语”的意思。但根据笔者的查证，这里的flag和“旗语”似乎无关，而是来自早期的出租车营运方式，那时候的出租车里有一个类似旗帜的操作杆，如果是空车，这个操作杆是竖着的，而如果乘客进入车内，这个操作杆就被放倒了（down/fall），出租车开始计费，此乃flag down/fall也。维基百科关于flag fall的解释提供了详细的说明：The origin is a taxi expression for the minimum charge for hiring a taxi, to which the rate per kilometer or mile is then added. It dates back to the old mechanical taximeters, which were equipped with a flag-like lever that could be seen from outside the cab. When the "flag" was up and visible, the cab was not occupied. When a passenger stepped in, the driver turned the lever down - the "flag fall" - and the taximeter started counting.