我们的外表 The way we look

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m Neil...
大家好，欢迎收听六分钟英语。我是尼尔。
… and I’m Alice. Have you er… gained some weight, Neil?You’re not looking in great shape…
我是爱丽丝。尼尔，你最近是不是胖了？你最近身材有些走形啊。
I’m afraid so!My New Year’s resolution is to get in shape – or to get fit through physical exercise. I look fat, don’t I?
恐怕是的。我的新年决心是通过锻炼保持好身材，保持健康。我看起来很胖，是吗？
Well… er… Did you overindulge during the Christmas holidays, Neil?
额，你是不是圣诞假期过于放纵自己了？
I’m afraid I did, Alice.Overindulge means to have too much of something nice – like all that lovely Christmas food!
恐怕是的。放纵是指吃或拥有太多好东西，这里是指美味可口的圣诞食物。
Yes, lovely. Why do you think appearance is so important to us, Neil? Getting in shape is a very popular New Year’s resolution – that’s a decision to do or stop doing something at the beginning of the New Year.
确实很可口。你认为外表对于我们为什么这么重要呢？锻炼出好身材是很多人的新年决心，新年决心是指在新年伊始决定做某事或停止做某事。
Good question. Well, I think we all judge people according to the way they look.
这个问题问的好。我认为很多人通过外貌来评价对方。
The subject of today’s show is appearance or the way we look. Did you know Neil that better-looking people tend to be judged by others as more intelligent?
今天节目的主题就是外貌，外表。你知道吗？人们通常认为好看的人更聪明。
That sounds unfair!
这听起来太不公平了。
I know. Well, show us you aren’t just a pretty face by getting today’s quiz question right.From a study done in the UK, which physical aspect of their appearance were men most likely to say was their favourite? Was it…a) their hair?b) their face?Or c) their height?
我也这么认为。答对今天的问题，告诉我们你不仅是脸长得好看。根据英国的一项调查，男士通常最喜欢自己外表的哪一部分？a) 头发?b) 脸?还是c)身高?
OK, I’m going for a) hair. I like my hair.
我选a) 头发，我很喜欢我的头发。
You have lovely hair, Neil.
你的头发很美。
Thank you.
谢谢。
And a lot of it.
而且头发很多。
Yes.
是的。
Anyway, we’ll find out later whether you’re right or not. Now, it’s not only people who make quick decisions about others based on the way they look.Some animals do this too. Peahens – that’s a female peacock - prefer male peacocks with lots of eyespots on their tail.
总之，节目的最后我们再看你回答的是否正确。不仅人类喜欢通过外表来评判其他人。一些动物也这么做。雌孔雀更喜欢尾巴上有很多眼状斑点的雄孔雀。
Why’s that?
为什么呢？
Well, one theory is that a male peacock’s tail is a sign of his genes. Genes are part of the DNA in a cell that controls the physical development and behaviour of an animal.It takes lots of energy to grow a big tail, and to carry it around, so only the strongest, healthiest males can afford to do this.
一个说法是雄孔雀的尾巴是基因的象征。基因是细胞中DNA的一部分，控制着动物的身体发育和行为。雄孔雀长出大大的尾巴，拖着它到处走，其实要花费很多力气，所以只有最强壮、最健康的雄孔雀才能长出长尾巴。
So what do men need in order to attract women, Alice?
男性若想吸引女性需要具备什么呢？
A deep voice and a square jaw, according to research.
磁性的嗓音和方下巴，根据调查显示。
Well, let’s listen now to fashion historian Amber Butchart describing what men used to do to enhance – or improve – their physical appearance.
我们现在听听时尚历史学家Amber Butchart为我们介绍过去男士是如何改善自己外表的。
Men quite often would wear corsets throughout [the] 18th Century even into the 19th Century.It was possibly concerned with displaying status and rank rather than what we now define as physical attractivenessbut I think the two were very bound up together.
十八世纪甚至到了十九世纪，男性经常穿紧身内衣。这通常是为了展示他们的地位和等级，而非我们如今定义的增强外表的吸引力。但是我认为这两者联系紧密。
This was Amber Butchart.A corset is a tight-fitting piece of underwear that squeezes you in and makes your waist look smaller.
这就是Amber Butchart的观点。紧身内衣是将身体裹得很紧的贴身衣服，可以让腰部更细。
I didn’t know men used to wear corsets!That might make you talk in a high voice – and that wouldn’t be very attractive, would it?
我从来不知道男性过去居然穿紧身内衣！这可能会让他们声音变得很高，这一点都不吸引人，不是吗？
Well, no, Neil. It’s a very interesting look and sound for you…On a more serious note, Amber says that men weren’t wearing these uncomfortable garments – or clothes – just to look more physically attractive – they were also doing it to display their status and rank.
是的，尼尔。你的样子和声音很有趣。Amber 很严肃的告诉我们，男性过去穿这些不舒适的衣服不是为了增强外在吸引力，而是展示自身的地位和等级。
Status means the professional or social position of a person in relation to others.And rank is another way of saying the same thing. Do you think we still dress to impress, Alice – or are things a bit freer than they were in the 18th Century? I’m a jeans and T-shirt man, as you know.
地位是指一个人在专业领域或社会地位相对于他人的位置。等级也是类似的意思。你认为现在男性穿衣服还是考虑吸引力的问题吗？相对于十八世纪是不是更自由了些？你知道的，我天天穿的都是牛仔裤和T恤。
Well yes, indeed, you don’t have to be suited and booted for our job – and that means smartly dressed.But I think the way we dress is still important.But for women, particularly, I think we dress nicely for ourselves – not for anybody else. Sometimes I put on make-up – not because I’m going out – but because it makes me feel good.
确实，你上班不需要西装革履，不需要穿的那么正式得体。但是我认为穿着依旧很重要。但是对于女士来说，我们穿着时尚是为了我们自己，并不是为了其他人。有时我会化妆，不是因为我要约会，而是这样让我心情很好。
You always look nice – with or without make-up, Alice.
你不管化不化妆都很美，爱丽丝。
Thank you, Neil! That’s very nice. But let’s listen now to academic Philippa Dietrich from the University of the West of England, Bristol,talking about valuing ourselves for all our attributes – not just our appearance.
谢谢，你太好了。我们来听一听布里斯托尔西英格兰大学的学者Philippa Dietrich的看法，他认为我们要注重自身的所有特质，而不仅仅是外表。
This focus just on appearance – on looks – really sends people the ideas that their bodies are just objects to be looked at. Having a belief system or focussing on your values in life or other attributes or personality characteristics or interests or anything elsethat’s not to do with appearance is really important. Our bodies are not there to be looked that – they have functions.
仅仅关注外表，会给人们这样一种信号，我们的身体只是被用来看的。培养一种信念，关注自身在生活中的价值，重视自己的其他特质，如性格特点、兴趣或其他和外表无关的东西，这都非常重要。我们的身体不是为了被看的，他们有各自的功能。
What Philippa Dietrich said makes sense to me. We need to focus on our inner beauty.What do you think, Alice?
Philippa Dietrich的话非常有道理。我们应当关注自己的内在美。你怎么看呢？
Well, I think you should stop posting selfies on social media then, Neil!Now here’s the answer to today’s quiz question. I asked: From a study done in the UK, which physical aspect of their appearance were men most likely to say was their favourite? Was it… a) their hair? b) their face? Or c) their height?
我觉得你不要在社交媒体上放自己的自拍照了。回到今天的问题。我问你：根据英国的一项调查，男士通常最喜欢自己外表的哪一部分？a) 头发?b) 脸?还是c)身高?
And I said a) hair.
我选的是a) 头发。
And you were wrong I’m afraid, Neil! It’s c) height. A poll conducted by ComRes for BBC Radio found that when it comes to appearance,men were most likely to mention their height - 21% of them in fact said it was their favourite physical attribute whereas for women, 35% of them said their hair was their favourite thing.
你答错了。正确答案是c)身高。根据康雷斯为BBC电台进行的一项民意调查，说到外表，男性更在意自己的身高，21%的男性认为这是他们最喜欢的身体特征。然而对于女性来说，35%认为她们的头发最迷人。
Well, forget about my hair, Alice - I’m tall too, OK, so… you can tell us the words we heard today, please?
忘记我的头发吧，我也很高。好了，我们再听一下今天的单词吧？
Here they are:
今天听到的单词有：
get in shape
保持体形
overindulge
放纵
New Year’s resolution
新年决心
appearance
外表
genes
基因
corset
紧身内衣
garments
衣服
status
地位
rank
等级
suited and booted
西装革履
Well, that’s the end of today’s 6 Minute English.Happy New Year everyone and we hope you keep your New Year’s resolutions! Please join us again soon.
今天的六分钟英语就到这里。祝大家新年快乐，每个人都能实现自己的新年决心。下期节目再会！
Bye.
再见。