趣味英语：英国人身上的矛盾本性(图)

　　每个民族都有独特的传统性情。推崇“中庸之道”大概是中国人的标签，美国人自信坦率，缄默、拘谨、冷幽默，则差不多算是英国人的招牌。下文是英国人对自我的深度剖析。它以英国人对待“成功”的态度为切入点，为你揭开英国人的神秘面纱。

　　British people have always received success in a way quite unfamiliar to, for example, Americans and Chinese. To some extent, this is the tiff-upper-lip eld, untremblingly, by countless generations-concealing emotions in good times just as in bad.

　　英国人接受成功的方式总是与众不同，比如美国人或中国人就会觉得陌生。某种程度上，这是“紧抿上唇”，一种世世代代恪守的矜持态度——藏起情感，无论在得意还是失意的时候。

　　Such implacability may simply disguise shyness or arrogance. But, I argue, in the case of the British, there has, for a long time, been something deeper than merely biding success. There has also been, perhaps, a shame in success itself.

　　这种冷漠无情也许仅仅是为了掩饰害羞或傲慢。可我认为，就英国人来说，长期以来，在简单的“隐藏”成功的背后，还有一些更深层的东西。也许还有一种对于成功本身的羞愧。

　　Neither British teachers nor students refer often to the top of the class If one mentions the academic success of a classmate, boy or girl, one does so with a sneer, perhaps calling such a student hwot insinuating that their success resulted only from effort, or worse, the sacrifice of social life. Successful students might also be termed teacher's pet? attributing success to the teacher's favour. Such accusations are usually, of course, unjustified. But life in British schools nonetheless creates ambivalences even for gifted children. Their culture and language discourages excellence. And it is rare to find a British student, of any ability, graduating from university without having enjoyed a sustained period of rebellion. For the majority of the time, perhaps, the scorn for success is merely rhetoric. Still, it's rare to find anyone for whom the message has never entered consciousness.

　　英国的师生都不大提及“优等生”。如果有人谈到同学的优异成绩，无论此人是男生还是女生，谈论者都会语带讥讽，也许还称这样的学生是“书呆子”，暗讽其成绩无非是用功的结果——或者更糟——是牺牲了社交生活而来。优秀的学生还可能被贴上“老师的

宠物”的标签，以示其成功来自教师的偏爱。当然，这种谴责通常是不正确的。尽管如此，英国的校园生活的确塑造出一种矛盾态度，即使对天才孩童也是如此。他们的文化和语言不鼓励出类拔萃。而且，几乎找不出一个大学毕业前没享受过一段叛逆时期的英国学生，无论其能力如何。也许绝大多数时候，对成功的轻蔑不过是不实之辞，然而，几乎没有一个人是从未有过这种想法的。

　　In adulthood, likewise. Whereas the American or Chinese will willingly discuss their salary with a stranger, along with the exact monetary value of possessions, few from Britain would mention such things outside close family. We British would like you to think that, in not mentioning such quantitative details openly, we are not even thinking about them.

　　长大成人以后，情况依然如此。尽管美国人或中国人会欣然与陌生人谈论薪水，以及个人财产的确切价值，却极少有英国人与家人之外的人提及这些事。我们英国人希望你们知道，我们不公开讨论这些数字的细节，我们甚至连想也不想这些。

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