My friend and I recently attended a class that promised to unearth the "mysterious connections" between one’s eyebrows and one’s fate.
我和我的朋友最近参加了一个课程，他们承诺能揭开一个人的眉毛和命运之间的“神秘联系”。
Many people around the world believe in the Chinese practice of feng shui and devoutly apply its method of arranging furniture to promote balance, comfort and good fortune. According to the teacher, people’s eyebrows - one of the five organs: the eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, and ears - in facial feng shui, are especially important in deciding one’s fate.
世界各地的许多人都相信中国风水，并虔诚地运用其来摆设家具，以保持平衡、舒适和好运。据老师讲，在决定一个人的命运时，人们五官（眉毛、眼睛、鼻子、嘴巴和耳朵）之一的眉毛在面部风水中尤为重要。
From ancient times, people have always been fascinated with trying to understand, explain and foresee our destiny. Some techniques relate a person’s life to his or her birth date. The Chinese way of reading bazi (the eight words) in accordance with one’s lunar birthday and the Western way of analyzing one’s constellation are prime examples.
自古以来，人们总是对试图了解、解释和预见我们的命运而着迷。有一些方法将一个人的人生和她（他）的生辰联系起来。中国人根据一个人的农历生日来读他的“八字”，和西方人分析一个人的星座类似，都是典型的例子。
These activities are interesting to me not only because they may reveal some "secrets" about our life but also for their practicality. If we know our weaknesses, we can always make an effort to avoid them and change for the better. The facial feng shui class intrigued me because I never thought that one could proactively change his or her life by "replacing" their "facial organs."
这些活动对我来说很有趣，不仅因为它们可能揭示了我们生活的一些“秘密”，而且也因为它们的实用性。如果我们知道自己的弱点，我们总能努力避免它们，并做出更好的改变。我的面部风水课激起了我的兴趣，因为我从来没有想过一个人可以通过“更换”他们的“面部器官”来有预见性的主动改变人生。
One of the most exciting parts of the class was when the teacher gave individual advice to each student.
课堂上最令人兴奋的部分之一是老师给每个学生单独的建议。
He told my friend she was "a second person" in her department and that the thin, long shape of her eyebrows coupled with their ending low on her face indicated that she was indecisive and tended to avoid problems at work. He also suggested that my friend, who is 36 years old, would soon become a mother of two: a boy and a girl.
他告诉我的朋友，她是她所在部门的“二把手”，她的眉毛细而长，眉尾低低的延伸到脸部，表明她优柔寡断，并倾向于在工作中逃避问题。他还暗示，我这位36岁的朋友很快就会成为一男一女两个孩子的母亲。
He then asked me if he was correct. I replied, "No, she is the first person in her department."
然后他问我我是否正确，我回复说，“不，她是部门的老大。”
I immediately felt that I had been too straightforward, and I quickly paid for it.
我立即就意识到我的回答太直接了，我马上就付出了代价。
"You have little art in speaking, and sometimes your outspoken personality hurts people around you," he said. "Therefore you won’t be very successful in a leadership role, and you need to find a husband who is tolerant and gentle."
老师说，“你不懂说话的艺术，有时你直言不讳的性格会伤害到你身边的人。因此你不会是一个成功的领导者，对了，你得找一个宽容、温柔的丈夫。”
"I read this from your eyebrows. The lines are too straight, and the ends are short," he added.
他补充说，“我是从你的眉毛里看出来的，它的线条太直，眉尾很快就结束。”
He recommended that both of us get semipermanent eyebrow tattoos done at his beauty studio. He could help us improve our personalities by giving us a new pair of eyebrows. One cannot rely on drawing in eyebrows every day to change their fate because we have to remove the makeup every night, and it greatly weakens the effect, he said.
他推荐我们两人在他的美容工作室里做半永久性的纹眉。他可以通过给我们一条新的眉毛来帮助我们改善我们的性格。一个人不能靠每天画眉毛来改变命运，因为我们每晚都要卸妆，这大大的减弱了效果，他说。
Two days later, my friend told me she visited the teacher’s studio and got the procedure. She spent 4,000 yuan ($592) to lift the ends of her eyebrows a little bit.
2天后，我的朋友告诉我她去老师的工作室纹眉了。她花了4000元（约592美元），把眉尾抬高了一点点。
She looked younger in the photo she sent me. However, I decided not to go the semipermanent eyebrow route. I like drawing my eyebrows every morning and trying various cosmetics, which are not possible with semipermanent eyebrows. Wearing the same look for three years also makes me nervous. I’d rather have a new trendy look every season. But I will try to be a person who understands the art of speaking.
她寄给我的照片看上去更年轻了。不过，我决定不走半永久性的眉毛路线。我喜欢每天早晨画眉毛，尝试各种各样的化妆品，半永久的眉毛可无法做到。三年都是一样的眉毛也让我很恐慌。我宁愿每个季节都有一种新形象。当然我也会努力成为一个懂得说话艺术的人。
来源:环球时报
爱语吧作者:悠悠
