英國(guó)人為何喜歡發(fā)牢騷？

　　摘要：眾所周知，英國(guó)人向來(lái)很彬彬有禮、冷漠淡定。其實(shí)我們并非冷漠，而是不會(huì)干涉他人生活。如果我們受傷了，我們不會(huì)在你面前哭天喊地、淚流滿面;相反我們會(huì)回家獨(dú)自默默哭泣。這樣做完全是為了讓你心里好過(guò)，我們不會(huì)侵犯你的空間。這才是典型的英國(guó)人。

　　Bad weather, bad food, and grumpy people. That’s what seems to come to mind first when some people think about Britain. Many online commentators even joke that Britons are so grumpy precisely because it constantly rains and they are always hungry.

　　惡劣的天氣，難吃的食物，脾氣暴躁的人，一些人提到英國(guó)時(shí)總是首先想到這些。許多網(wǎng)友甚至開玩笑說(shuō)，英國(guó)人這么喜歡發(fā)脾氣，是因?yàn)槟抢锢鲜窍掠?，他們還經(jīng)常餓肚子。

　　But British pessimism isn’t just a fanciful claim — there’s evidence to support this notion. In 2011, a national Ipsos Mori poll found that more than 60 percent of respondents believed the UK was getting worse as a place to live and that it was unlikely that today’s youth would have a better life than their parents.

　　但英國(guó)人的悲觀情緒并非無(wú)中生有——有事實(shí)為證。2011年，英國(guó)伊普索•莫利調(diào)查機(jī)構(gòu)的民意調(diào)查顯示，超過(guò)60%的調(diào)查對(duì)象認(rèn)為英國(guó)越來(lái)越不宜居，現(xiàn)在的年輕人不太可能會(huì)過(guò)上比他們父母更好的生活。

　　An obvious reason for such pessimism is the 2008 global economic crisis, which the UK is still recovering from. Yet, many believe that Britons are inherently negative, in contrast to their neighbors across the Atlantic Ocean.

　　導(dǎo)致這種悲觀情緒的一個(gè)很明顯原因是2008年爆發(fā)的全球經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)，英國(guó)至今還沒(méi)有完全從這場(chǎng)危機(jī)中恢復(fù)過(guò)來(lái)。然而，有一部分人則認(rèn)為英國(guó)人生來(lái)就消極，這與他們大西洋彼岸的鄰居截然相反。

　　“The big difference is the Americans are more optimistic. And that’s due to the fact that Americans are told, they can become the next president of the United States,” Ricky Gervais, a British comedian, told online forum Big Think. “British people are told, it won’t happen to you. And they carry that. They carry that with them. We champion the underdog.”

　　“與英國(guó)人相比，美國(guó)人更加樂(lè)觀。因?yàn)槊绹?guó)人會(huì)被告知他們有可能成為下一屆美國(guó)總統(tǒng)。”英國(guó)喜劇演員瑞奇•熱維斯在網(wǎng)絡(luò)視訊論壇“大思想”上說(shuō)到：“而英國(guó)人則被告知，那種事不會(huì)發(fā)生在你身上。于是他們就一直揣著這種認(rèn)知：我們是十足的失敗者。”

　　It’s no wonder that Britons’ reputation of having a “stiff upper lip” — being cold and not showing any emotion— precedes them.

　　難怪英國(guó)人比美國(guó)人更緘默、冷酷、不露情感。

　　Show of strength

　　奮武揚(yáng)威

　　Britain’s reputation as a grumpy country may, however, simply be the result of a cultural misunderstanding. According to the BBC, British actor Michael Caine once said:

　　然而，英國(guó)之所以被看成一個(gè)脾氣暴躁的國(guó)家，坦白來(lái)說(shuō)是源自文化差異所造成的誤解。據(jù)英國(guó)廣播公司報(bào)道，英國(guó)演員邁克爾•凱恩曾經(jīng)說(shuō)過(guò)：

　　“I think what is British about me is my feelings and awareness of others and their situations. English people are always known to be well-mannered and cold, but we are not cold — we don’t interfere in your situation. If we are heartbroken, we don’t scream in your face with tears — we go home and cry on our own. It’s completely to do with your comfort — we don’t intrude on your space. That’s very English.”

　　“我對(duì)英國(guó)人的認(rèn)識(shí)來(lái)自自身的感受和對(duì)他人及其境況的理解。眾所周知，英國(guó)人向來(lái)很彬彬有禮、冷漠淡定。其實(shí)我們并非冷漠，而是不會(huì)干涉他人生活。如果我們受傷了，我們不會(huì)在你面前哭天喊地、淚流滿面;相反我們會(huì)回家獨(dú)自默默哭泣。這樣做完全是為了讓你心里好過(guò)，我們不會(huì)侵犯你的空間。這才是典型的英國(guó)人。”

　　A BBC reader noted that the perceived coldness of British people is actually their way of dealing with hardship. Remembering the terrorist attacks against London on July 7, 2005, Stuart Colley, who lived in the capital at the time, said: “It seemed to me that most people’s response was a grim determination to carry on and not to descend into an over-emotional outpouring of grief or anger — despite what many of us felt inside. Our stiff upper lip seems to be something that gives us strength as a society when we most need it.”

　　英國(guó)廣播公司的一位讀者說(shuō)道，實(shí)際上，英國(guó)人就是利用這種冷漠來(lái)克服困難。記得2005年7月倫敦遭遇恐怖襲擊時(shí)，當(dāng)時(shí)住在倫敦的斯圖爾特•科利說(shuō)：“在我看來(lái)，大部分人都以堅(jiān)韌的意志把持著，盡管我們中有很多人內(nèi)心十分痛苦和憤怒，卻沒(méi)有因此情緒失控。在我們最需要的時(shí)候，緘默似乎能給我們帶來(lái)力量。”