Posture Talks
In the United States, where“ casualness”is considered a great virtue, people often sit with feet on chairs or even desks. They sometimes sit with their backsides ( buttocks) on tables and desks as a way of expressing their individuality or career attitude. They feel comfortable crossing their legs and sitting with one ankle on the other knee . Poor posture — slumping oneself over while sitting in a chair and placing feet on whatever object is around — is a common U. S. behavior. It is designed to show that the person is casual, honest, sincere, and“ just one of the folks ”. In the United States, even millionaires, corporation presidents, government leaders, and movie stars try to pretend they are ordinary people by using“the U. S. slouch ”and“ the feet-on-the -furniture”maneuver.
Unfortunately, other countries interpret this behavior as being sloppy and as reflecting a general lack of alertness, interest, and respect. People from the United States do not usually realize that what they regard as casualness is viewed very differently and very negatively by many people around the world.
People in many cultures are expected to sit erect. Such cultures include many countriesin Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. In the United States, slouching is acceptable and is a positive sign of being casual and friendly. In the United States, crossing legs is a sign of good etiquette . Many cultures say thatcrossing legs is okay, but placing the ankle on the knee while crossing one’s legs is totally unacceptable .
One reason for not putting the ankle on the knee is that when you do so, one foot or the sole of the shoe is usually pointing at someone . This is a very severe insult in many countries around the world, especially Muslim countries. Under few circumstances should you point your foot at anyone , because the foot is cons idered the least sacred part of the body in many societies. In some countries such as Nepal, pointing the foot at a cow is an outrage , because the cow is a sacred animal. In Buddhist countries, pointing the foot at statue of the Buddha is a severe offense. Moving objects with the feet is very rude in Thailand, Nepal, and Taiwan. In Bangladesh, you should not touch books with a foot or shoe; if you do, you must make an elaborate apology.
As you can tell, posture is a very strong messenger. It conveys much about a particu lar person. Posture ( in many cultures) says something about the person’s honesty, alertness, intelligence, religiousness, respect, and overall decency — or the opposite of all of these ! Posture tells people whether they want to get to know a stranger, and it also tells what to think about the people already known.
閱讀自測
Translate the sentences into English with the words in parentheses :
1. 這座紀念碑是為內戰中犧牲的烈士們而建立的。( erect)
2. 我希望他不會因為我拒絕他的邀請而覺得受到了侮辱。( insult)
3. 他把我的沉默看作是軟弱的標志。( interpret)
參考答案
1. This monument was erected in honour of the martyrs during the civil war.
2. I hope he won’t feel insulted if I turn down his invitation.
3. He interpreted my silence as a sign of weakness.
參考譯文
身體姿勢會說話
在 美國, 人們坐著的時候常常把雙腳放在椅子甚至桌子上, 在那里“ 不拘小節”被認為是一種優良品德。有時, 他們坐在工作臺或辦公桌上, 以此來表達自己的個性或職業態度。美國人坐著的時候常會兩腿交叉, 他們覺得將一只腳踝放到另一條腿的膝蓋上很舒服。懶散地坐在椅子上, 并將雙腳隨便擱在近旁的一個東西上——— 這種姿勢很不雅觀, 但在美國相當普遍。人們擺出這種姿勢旨在表明自己的隨意、誠實和真誠, 告訴別人自己是“ 一個實在人”。在美國, 即使是百萬富翁、公司總裁、政府領導以及電影明星都會做出“ 美國式的懶散樣子”和“ 腳放在家具上”的姿勢, 借這種方式來表現自己也是一個普通人。不幸的是, 在其他國家里, 這種行為方式被視為邋遢隨便, 反映了擺出這種姿勢的人缺乏活力、興趣以及對他人的尊敬。美國人往往意識不到, 他們視為不拘小節的姿勢在世界上許多人的眼里卻具有截然不同的、甚至十分消極的意義。許多文化認為人坐著的時候要腰板挺直。持有這種觀點的國家包括拉丁美洲、亞洲、歐洲和中東的許多國家; 而在美國, 懶散的姿勢是可以接受的, 是隨意和友好的明確標志。在美國, 交叉雙腿是有禮貌的標志, 而許多文化認為, 交叉雙腿是可以的, 但在交叉雙腿的時候將腳踝放到膝蓋上是令人無法接受的。不能將腳踝放到膝蓋上的一個原因是, 當你這樣做的時候, 你的腳或鞋底通常是指向別人的。在許多國家里, 這種行為被視為是對別人的一種極大的侮辱, 特別在穆斯林國家里更是如此。你不應將腳指向任何人, 因為在許多社會里, 腳被視為身體中最不神圣的一個 部位。在尼泊爾這樣的國家里, 將腳指向一頭牛是一種暴行, 因為牛在那里被視為圣物。
在佛教國家里, 將腳指向佛祖的塑像是對佛教的極大冒犯。在泰國、尼泊爾和臺灣, 用腳移動物體是粗魯的行為。在孟加拉國, 你不能用腳或鞋接觸書籍。如果這樣做了, 你必須要認真道歉。
如你所知, 身體姿勢能傳播很多信息。在許多文化里, 姿勢可以告訴人們一個人具有以下品質——— 誠實、機敏、聰明、信奉宗教、彬彬有禮、大方得體; 姿勢也可能讓人們知道這個人根本不具備這些美德! 身體姿勢告訴人們一個人是否想跟陌生人交往, 同樣也讓人們了解了一個已經認識的人。
閱讀導評
中國人講究體態之美, 對身體姿勢的要求是“ 行如風, 立如松, 坐如鐘, 臥如弓”; 而某些西方人對姿勢就沒有這么高的要求, 但我們不能因此而貶抑對方, 因為身體姿勢只不過是個人情感或情緒的表露, 或反映了這個人的文化、民族性、甚至宗教信仰。在全球化這個大環境下, 每個人都應具有包容和理解的心態。
閱讀導釋
1. 該短語譯為“一個實在人”。它源自短語just folks ( 樸實無華的人們, 老實人) 。
2. 許多文化認為人坐著的時候要腰板挺直。erect a. 直立的, 筆直的。erect 也可以作動詞用, 意為“ 豎起, 直立”, 如: erect a tent ( 支起一個帳篷) 。
3. 將腳指向一頭牛是一種暴行。同印度人一樣, 信奉印度教( Hinduism) 的尼泊爾人尊牛為圣, 虔誠地相信母牛( cow) 是神的化身, 稱其為“ 圣牛”( sacred cow) 。牛還是尼泊爾法定的“國獸”。印度教教規規定, 不得宰殺母牛, 禁食牛肉, 即使是老弱病殘的牛, 也要讓它們“安享晚年”。印度每年還要舉行一次盛大的“ 敬牛節”, 來表示對牛的珍愛和崇拜。
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