評論
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1. In the spring of this year, a Beijing television channel produced a program called, "Smile". It televised the reaction of people on the street when confronted with a smile from an unknown person, chosen at random. Most people were either surprised or seemed a little worried. A few more enthusiastic people even muttered that the person who smiled was "crazy". The number of people who actually returned the smile could be counted on one hand.
1、這一年春天（in the spring of this year），北京電視臺以《微笑》為題作了一檔街頭調查節目：請一些人在街道上對著遇到的行人微笑，以觀察行人的反應(televise vt. 用電視播放；confront with 面臨; 直譯為：這檔節目在屏幕上播放面對來自隨機選擇的、陌生人的微笑時行人做出的反應)。結果多數人現出驚訝或緊張的表情，更激烈些的（A few more enthusiastic people; enthusiastic adj. 熱情的；狂熱的；mutter vt. 咕噥；抱怨地說）則罵一聲“神經病”。回報以微笑的路人屈指可數(could be counted on one hand一只手就能數過來)。
2. It seems Chinese people don't really like to smile and that's the impression they convey to the world.
2、中國人不太愛笑，這差不多是個國際印象(like to do sth. 喜歡做某事；impression n. 印象；convey to 轉達；這是他們傳達給這個世界的印象)。
3. What is not understood by outsiders is that smiling in China is a very meaningful and subtle thing. Around 781 BC, there was a monarch called Zhou You Wang, who cared little for ruling his country. Instead, he much preferred to chase women. One of his Ministers gave the Emperor a beautiful woman, whom the Emperor really liked, except for the fact that she would never smile. After trying countless different methods to get her to smile, a Minister came up with an idea. He suggested the Emperor light the twenty or so signal fires which were spread around the capital city to warn people when the country was in danger of war. The Minister thought the fires would summon the Warlords and Dukes to bring their armies to the capital and, when the woman saw the chaos caused by tricking the armies, she would surely laugh.
3、外國人(what is not understood by outsiders 主語從句；outsiders n. 外來者；局外人)不明白，笑在中國是一件內涵頗深的事情(that smiling in China is a very meaningful and subtle thing 表語從句；meaningful adj.有意義的；意味深長的; subtle adj. 微妙的；敏感的)。大概在公元前781年（around 781 BC），一位稱作周幽王的君主（monarch n.），酷好美女（prefer to do sth. 更喜歡做某事；chase vt. 追逐），無心國政(who cared little for ruling his country非限制性定語從句；care for 關心)。有大臣（ministers）便將一名美女獻給他。周幽王非常喜歡她(由whom引導的非限制性定語從句，whom在從句中做賓語)，但這個美女從未笑過（除了美女從未笑過這件事外；except for 除了…以外）。百般招數無效后(to get her to smile不定式作目的狀語)，有一大臣出主意(come up with 想出; 直譯為：為博得美女一笑，嘗試了無數次不同的方法，一個大臣想出了一個主意)讓周幽王點燃烽火(single fires)，京城附近有20多座烽火臺（or so 大約），這是為戰爭時向諸侯求救而建立的信號臺（to warn people when the country was in danger of war不定式作目的狀語；直譯為：以便在國家陷入戰斗時向人們做出警告）。大臣認為諸侯（the Warlords and Dukes；warlord n. 軍閥; duke n. 公爵）見到烽火就會趕至京城（summon vt. 召喚；召集；直譯為：大臣認為烽火將召喚諸侯帶著人馬抵達京城），美女看到“兵慌馬亂”的情形(caused by tricking the armies過去分詞做定語，修飾the chaos；可譯為：受騙軍隊所造成的混亂; chaos n. 混亂; trick vt. 欺騙；n. 騙局)，一定會笑出來。
4. The Zhou Emperor tried this idea and, sure enough, it made the beautiful woman laugh. Later, when a real enemy came and the Emperor lit the signal fires, the Generals didn't respond, thinking it was just another trick. Thus, the Emperor and his beautiful woman were both captured. Today, the Chinese refer to this story of Emperor Zhou as, "Signal fires joke with the Generals".
4、周幽王照此辦理，果真(sure enough)引得美人一笑(make (sb.) do sth.; make后接不帶to的不定式)。只是后來外敵來犯，周幽王的烽火沒能把曾受騙的諸侯召來(respond vi.; light-lit-lit vt. 點燃；直譯為：后來，真正的敵人來犯而國王點燃烽火臺時，諸侯們沒有趕來，他們認為這又是另一個騙局)，至使自己命喪敵手（這句話，原文中真沒有），那位美女也被敵人擄了去（還是直譯吧：因此，國王和他的美人雙雙被抓）。這一樁君王逗美女一笑的故事，就是今天中國人所知的“烽火戲諸侯”（refer to … as… 把…稱作…; joke with開…的玩笑；直譯為：中國人把周幽王的這個故事稱作“烽火戲諸侯”）。
5. There are four main Chinese classical stories that deal with this problem of smiling. The books are A Dream of Red Mansions, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, and Journey to the West. The main character in A Dream of Red Mansions is a young master, no older than 15 or 16, named Jia Baoyu. When trying to get a servant girl to smile, he prepared a bunch of paper fans for her to rip. When the servant heard the ripping sound, she couldn't contain her happiness and broke into a smile. The mother of the young master took a dislike to the girl and found an excuse to cause her death.
5、中國有四大古典名著（《紅樓夢A Dream of Red Mansions；mansion n. 大廈；宅邸》、《三國演義Romance of the Three Kingdoms；romance n. 傳奇；冒險故事》、《水滸Water Margin；margin n. 邊緣》和《西游記Journey to the West；journey vi. 旅行》)，它們論講述了微笑這個問題。《紅樓夢》中的男主人公（main character）是年齡不過十五六歲（no older than 15 or 16）的王府少爺，名叫賈寶玉（named Jia Baoyu過去分詞作定語，修飾a young master）。這少爺為討婢女的笑臉，備下大堆的紙扇(a bunch of paper fans)給她撕，這女子聽到撕扇聲(the ripping sound)就樂不可支（contain vt. 包含；偏意：控制）。結果是少爺的母親看不慣這位婢女的張揚（take a dislike to 討厭，不喜歡），找了個碴（find an excuse 找個理由），置她于死地（to cause her death 不定式作結果狀語）(可憐的晴雯，罪不致死呀，寶玉就是個害人精，哈……)。
6. In the 8th century AD, there was an Emperor named Tang Ming Huang who doted on one of his concubines. A famous poet of the time, Bai Juyi, wrote a poem describing the beauty of this concubine. The poem says, "If she but turned her head and smiled, there were cast a hundred spells, and the powder and paint of the Six Palaces, faded into nothing." However, a tragic ending to the life of this beautiful concubine came about when a few Generals rose up against the Emperor. The Emperor needed a gesture to boost the morale of his loyal soldiers and urge his concubine to provide the gesture by committing suicide.
6、在公元8世紀，有一位被稱作唐明皇的皇帝，他對一個妃子寵愛有加（dote on 寵愛，溺愛; concubine n. 妾）。當時著名的詩人白居易在詩中形容這位妃子魅力（describing the beauty of this concubine 現在分詞短語做賓語；poet n. 詩人; poem n.詩歌）：“回眸一笑(but conj.但是；偏意：adv. 僅僅，只)百媚生（there were cast a hundred spells; cast n. 投擲物，這里應該指的是“笑容”，個人意見，希望得到求證，或發表不同看法；spell vt. 拼寫；偏意：n.魅力），六宮粉黛無顏色”（faded into nothing; fade into 漸漸融入于…）。這個有媚人笑容的妃子的結局更慘（tragic adj. 悲劇的; end to 以…為結尾；come about 發生；產生；出現）：當那些背叛皇帝的軍人挑起戰亂時，皇帝不得不逼迫她自殺以安撫軍心（rise up against 奮起反抗; gesture n. 姿態；boost vt. 促進；增加，提高; morale n. 士氣；斗志; urge vt. 力勸；催促；commit suicide 自殺）（后兩句直譯為：然而，當一些諸侯奮起反抗拼皇帝時，這個美妃的人生悲劇發生了；皇帝需要一個行動來激發忠實于他的將士們的斗志，他不得不逼迫他的妃子自殺，以作為激發士氣的行動）。
7. From some of the examples above, it seems the ideal taught is, "Women aren't allowed to smile, and men aren't allowed to demand that they smile." Besides these examples, there are some ancient idioms related to smiling, sun as "Hide a dagger behind a sharp smile" and "put on a false smile." These idoms could refer to the sinister plans of an unexpected enemy or the indiscretion that sometimes occurs in the world. The saying, "smiling adds ten years to your life", sounds good, and is true if one gains a physical or mental benefit.
7、從上面這些曠世之笑中，似乎可以得出“女人不可發笑，男人不可討笑”的教訓（allow to do sht. 允許某人做某事；demand vt. 要求；需要）。此外，還有一些流傳久遠的，與笑有關（related to smiling過去分詞做定語；related to 與…有關的）的成語(idiom n.)——笑里藏刀（dagger n. 匕首，短劍）、皮笑肉不笑（put on 假裝；false adj. 錯誤的；虛偽的；虛假的）——也許道出了人世的險惡和處世的謹慎（sinister adj. 陰險的; unexpected adj. 意外的；想不到的；indiscretion n. 輕率）。“笑一笑，十年少”，這條古訓看上去正面了不少，卻充滿著功利（saying n. 諺語；sound good 聽起來不錯；physical adj. 身體的；mental adj. 精神的；心理的；直譯為：“笑一笑，十年少”這條諺語聽上去不錯，如果一個人能同時獲得身心益處也是不錯的一件事兒；嘿嘿，還是我翻得靠譜）。
8. I remember in the 1980s, I interviewed the Vice President of a high class hotel, which was state run, but eventually became a joint-venture between a Chinese and foreign ownership. At the time, everything was in short supply and the foreign guests gave the hotel staff a nickname of "No" because the standard reply to most inquiries was always, "No. We don't have it." The attitude of the hotel staff was usually downbeat and smiles were extremely hard to come by.
8、記得上世紀80年代，我采訪過一個星級酒店的副經理，合資前，這是一家國營飯店(which was state run非限制性定語從句，修飾a high class hottel; run 偏意：n.經營；eventually adv. 最后; joint-venture n. 合資企業，合資公司; ownership n. 所有權; 直譯為：飯店是由國家經營的，但最后成為了一個中外合資企業)。那個時代（at the time）服務業的人員被外國人稱為“沒有”——因為當時商品匱乏，要什么都回答“沒有”(in short supply 缺乏；供應不足; staff n. 職員，員工; nickname n. 綽號；直譯為：那個時候，每件東西都供不應求，因為大多數詢問得到的答復都是“沒有，我們這里沒有這個東西”，因此外國客人送給飯店員工“No”作為綽號)；服務態度也出奇地差，一笑難求(downbeat adj. 悲觀的;不強烈的；extremely adv. 非常; hard to come by 難得；直譯為：飯店員工的服務態度通常都缺乏熱情，微笑是非常難得的事情)。
9. In the course of my interview with the Vice President, we came to the subject of smiling. The Vice President, who came from a military background, resolutely told me, "In my Hotel, we want a 'proletariat' smile and, definitely, don't want a 'capitalist' smile. After all, my employees are people too, why would they want to smile at a guest unless they had reason to?"
9、在我的采訪過程中（in the course of 在…的過程中），我就同這位副經理談到了微笑服務（came to the subject of smiling）。軍人出身（military background; military adj. 軍人的；n. 軍人）的副經理堅定地（resolutely adv.）告訴我：“在我的酒店，只要無產階級(proletariat n.)的微笑，絕不要資產階級（capitalist n.）的微笑(definitely adv. 清楚地；明確地)。我們的服務員也是人，無緣無故，為什么要對客人笑？(after all 畢竟; employee n. 職員；雇員; smile at 對...微笑；have reason to do sth. 有理由做某事; unless they had reason to（smile）可譯為：除非他們有理由微笑)”
10. Smiling, and not smiling, according to some people, is a form of respect.
10、笑與不笑，在一些人眼里是關乎尊嚴的大事(a form of 一種…形式；respect n. 尊重；敬意)。
11. David Lamb is a reporter who wrote about the Vietnam War for the L.A. Times, and later wrote a book describing Vietnam's development during times of peace. In his book, he wrote, "During my first encounters with the Vietnamese during a time of peace, what struck me was the smile. Faces aglow, their smiles seemed natural and spontaneous, not a forced, mechanical flash of politeness, but rather an expression straight from the heart. A European businessman told me he had rejected a posting in China for one in Vietnam because in China, people are distant and somber. They frown all the time. In Vietnam, I walk out my door in the morning, and people are smiling. They make you feel welcome. They're approachable. They act as though life's pretty good."
11、曾經報道過越南戰爭（the Vietnam War）的《洛杉磯時報the L.A. Times》記者大衛·蘭姆，在描寫越南和平年代(during times of peace)的書中說：“和平時期我遇到的越南人（encounter with 遇到；遭遇），最打動我的就是那種微笑（what struck me名字從句做主語；strike-struck-struck vt. 撞擊；罷工；打動）。 那些面孔散發出光芒(aglow adj. 發紅的)，那是自然而然流露出來的（spontaneous adj. 自然的），而不是為著禮貌擠出的機械笑容（mechanical adj. 呆板的; politeness n. 有禮貌；優雅），相反地（but rather），它們是直接從心中表達出來的。一個歐洲商人告訴我，他已經拒絕了中國的一個差事來到越南（he had rejected a posting in China for one in Vietnam；reject vt. 拒絕; posting n. 委派; one 指的是another posing），因為中國人冷淡且陰郁（distant and somber；somber adj. 憂郁的）。他們整天眉頭不展（frown vi. 皺眉）。在越南，清晨時我走出屋門，人們就在微笑。他們讓你感到愉快(make后接不帶to的不定式)，他們有親和力（approachable adj. 親切的）。他們如此這般，仿佛生活特別美好（act as though 表現得似乎）。”
12. After reading this, it is easy to feel that smiling is a very simple, yet wonderful thing.
12、這番話讓人感到，微笑是一件多么單純而美妙的事情。
13. According to the papers, the director, Zhang Yimou, looked for 10,000 smiling children from around the world to feature in a program for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics. Mr. Zhang deserves to be called a "Maestro of China," because he completely understands how much those smiling faces will impact the world.
13、電影導演張藝謀為了北京奧運會開幕式(for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics; ceremony n. 典禮，儀式)，在全球征集一萬張孩子的笑臉，在節目中引起轟動（to feature in a program; 應尊重原文；feature n. 特色；偏意：vi. 起重要作用）。張不愧是中國的大師（deserve to 值得；可譯為：張藝謀被稱作“中國的大師”當之無愧），他深知（he completely understands），熱愛笑臉的中國人對世界將有怎樣的意義（impact vt. 影響；撞擊；沖擊；直譯為：如此多的笑臉將影響這個世界）。
