赞美反招女人怨？研究揭示赞美之道

2012-04-18 00:00:00来源：中国日报英语点津

　　Saying she looks curvy or like her mother or father is an absolute no-no.

　　Want to insult a woman? Then offer her a compliment.
　　想侮辱一个女人吗？那就赞美她吧。

　　Only half of women actually enjoy being praised and many others misinterpret well-meant words as offensive, according to new research.
　　新研究发现，只有半数女性受到赞美会感到高兴，其他许多女性会将好意的赞美误解成冒犯。

　　And "you look well" is one of the worst things a man can say to a woman - because she just thinks it means she looks fat.
　　“你看起来不错”是男人能对女人说的最糟的话之一，因为女人会认为这句话的意思是她看起来很胖。

　　Other compliments likely to backfireinclude telling a woman that you like her make-up, or that her dress is figure hugging.
　　其他会弄巧成拙的赞美还包括告诉一个女人你喜欢她化的妆，或者她的裙子很紧身。

　　Calling a woman "curvy" or saying she looks like her mother or father are also absolute no-nos, according to a survey that will ring true to husbands who decided long ago that paying their wives compliments is more trouble than it's worth.
　　调查还显示，说一个女人“有曲线”或者说她长得像她母亲或父亲也是绝对的禁忌，这一点会得到丈夫们的响应，他们在很久以前就决定赞美老婆是件不值得做的麻烦事。

　　The social minefield was revealed in a new survey by a health-care company that interviewed more than 2,000 men and women.
　　一家保健公司开展的新调查揭示了这一社交雷区，该调查访问了2000多名男性和女性。

　　It found that many women view compliments as "back handed" and are likely to throw them back in your face.
　　调查发现，许多女性将赞美视为“含沙射影的讥讽”，而且很可能会以牙还牙。

　　The best way to compliment a woman is to mention her weight loss, saying that she looks thinner than normal.
　　赞美一个女人最好的方法是夸她成功瘦身，说她看起来比往常瘦了。

　　Around 43 percent of those surveyed said this was the best compliment.
　　约43%的被调查者说这是最好的赞美。

　　A further four in 10 are happiest when someone comments on their gorgeous smile.
　　还有十分之四的女性在别人夸她们笑靥如花时最开心。

　　Focusing on the way a woman smells, how nice her hair is, or what beautiful eyes she has are also unlikely to be misinterpreted.
　　称赞一个女人身上散发的香气好闻、夸她的头发美丽，或者夸她的眼睛漂亮也不容易被误解。

　　But men should avoid talking about how well a woman looks as she will think he is saying she is fat.
　　但是男人应避免谈论一个女人看起来气色如何，因为女人会以为他指的是她很胖。

　　Other backhanded compliments include "you're not as stupid as you look" and "you don't look as bad as I thought you would".
　　其他表面恭维实则挖苦的话还有“你不像你看起来那么愚蠢”，或者“你看起来不像我预料的那么糟”。

　　Women also hate anyone to make reference to their "large features" and are particularly unimpressed if someone says they are strong or broad.
　　女人还讨厌任何人说她们的五官大，特别反感别人说她们强壮或魁梧。

　　More than one in 10 misunderstood praise about their make-up, assuming they were wearing too much.
　　超过十分之一的女性会误解人们对她们妆容的称赞，以为是自己妆化得太浓了。

　　Vocabulary:

　　backfire:产生和预期情况完全相反的结果；事与愿违，弄巧成拙，适得其反

　　figure hugging:紧身的

　　no-no:禁忌

　　back handed:含沙射影的；讥讽的

本文关键字: 女人会