调查:法国人自认全球牢骚之王

Irritable waiters huffing in cafes. A gallic shrug in a heated debate. Street protests at every new government initiative. Many may already see France as a nation of grumblers, but a new survey shows the French agree.

The poll commissioned by insurance company Maaf found that 93 percent of French people think their compatriots grumble often, although only 37 percent admit they tend to complain.

The older you are the more likely that you will be grouchy, with politicians being the biggest bugbear for sexagenarians.

"You have to grumble in life, otherwise you get trampled on," was the main reason given by almost one in six people in the land of liberty, equality and fraternity.

Just under one third said grousing was in the French temperament.

Men were the grumpier of the two sexes, said 43 percent of respondents, with around one in five men saying they moaned to get what they wanted compared with 16 percent of women.

One in four said carping was a way of relaxing.

The survey, entitled "Are the French moaners?" polled more than 1,000 people over 18 across France and was carried out by market research firm Opinionway (www.opinion-way.com).

The French also see themselves as the world champions of moaning. More than 70 percent believe they outgripe the rest of the world compared with 15 percent of Italians, 4 percent of Americans and 3 percent of Britons.

Banks, insurance firms and other administrative centres were the main target of gripes among those polled.

And the biggest cause of grumbles? Thirty-one percent of women said their partners gave them the most grief -- ahead of their children, colleagues and bosses.

餐厅里的服务生脾气暴躁、态度蛮横；激烈的争论中他们总会给你一个法式耸肩；政府每出台一项新政都会出现街头抗议。很多人可能早已觉得法国人爱发牢骚，然而一项最新调查表明法国人竟然也对此表示认同。

这项由法国Maaf保险机构委托开展的调查发现，93%的法国人认为本国人爱抱怨，不过只有37%的人承认自己有此倾向。

人年龄越大，越爱发牢骚，法国六十多岁的老人最爱抱怨政治人物。

至于法国人爱发牢骚的原因，这个宣扬自由、平等和友爱的国家的六分之一的人称，这是因为“在生活中必须得抱怨，不然就会受到轻视。”

近三分之一的人说法国人爱发牢骚是性情使然。

43%的受访者称，相比于女性而言，法国男性更爱抱怨。约五分之一的男性说他们之所以抱怨是为了得到自己想要的东西，而仅有16%的女性表示会这么做。

四分之一的人说发牢骚也是一种放松的方式。

这一名为“法国人是牢骚鬼吗？”的调查由Opinionway市场调查公司开展，对1000多名18岁以上的法国人进行了访问。

法国人也认为他们是全球“牢骚之王”。超过70%的法国人认为他们比世界上其他国家的人都爱发牢骚，而这一比例在意大利为15%，在美国和英国分别为4%和3%。

银行、保险公司和其他行政中心是受访者的主要抱怨对象。

那么人们究竟因为什么而抱怨呢？31%的女性称是因为她们的伴侣，其次是孩子、同事和老板。

Vocabulary:

huff: to say something or make a noise in a way that shows you are offended or annoyed 生气地说；怒气冲冲

gallic shurg: a gesture that has a number of meanings: It's not my fault; I don't know; I doubt it can be done; I don't really agree...（法式耸肩；表示“不是我的错”、“我不知道”、“我怀疑”和“不同意”等含义）

grumbler: 爱抱怨的人

grouchy: bad-tempered and often complaining 脾气不好并常发牢骚的；好抱怨的

bugbear: a thing that annoys people and that they worry about 使人烦恼担忧的事；牵挂

sexagenarian: someone whose age is in the sixties 六十至六十九岁的人

fraternity: a feeling of friendship and support that exists between the members of a group （团体内的）情谊，兄弟般友谊，博爱

grouse: to complain about somebody/something in a way that other people find annoying 抱怨；发牢骚

grumpy: bad-tempered 脾气坏的；性情暴躁的

carp: to keep complaining about somebody/something in an annoying way 不停地抱怨；唠叨

gripe: a complaint about something 抱怨；怨言；牢骚