禮節(jié)美語:268 You Are What You Wear 2

　　Cathy 跟同事Adam 正在討論，一個人的穿著是否會對他的精神狀態(tài)產(chǎn)生影響。Adam 說，

　　A: Have you ever heard the saying, "clothes make the man"? It might be truer than we imagine.

　　C: When a police officer or firefighter puts on their uniform it must affect their psychology. It probably gives them a sense of responsibility and authority.

　　A: Absolutely. When a judge puts on that heavy black robe it transmits an image of power, but it also serves as a reminder to the judge of the responsibility of their position.

　　C: I know when I'm wearing a nice suit I feel a lot more confident. If I'm going out for a night on the town and I'm all dressed up I feel a lot better about myself than if I was wearing jeans and a T-shirt.

　　英語里有一種說法叫 clothes make the man. 相當于中文里說的人靠衣服馬靠鞍。Adam 說，這句老話恐怕比我們想的更有道理。警察穿上警服，消防員穿上消防服，法官穿上黑色長袍，都會平添一種使命感和權(quán)威感，Cathy 說，她每次穿西裝，也會倍感自信，還說，晚上出去吃飯消遣時，如果 dressed up 精心打扮，就會自我感覺更好。Cathy說的， go out for a night on the town, 是一種固定說法，意思是出去吃飯，喝酒，看節(jié)目，消遣。

　　A: Yeah, I think everyone recognizes that part about the power of clothes....but that's not exactly why I wear a tie to work every day.

　　C: You wear it because you think it makes you smarter.

　　A: Yes. I think putting on a shirt and tie actually affects the way my brain works.

　　C: That's a very interesting concept!

　　A: My eyes look down and see what I'm wearing and my brain gets a reminder that I'm a businessman.... and I think the brain responds to expectations.

　　Adam 說，他每天都穿西裝打領(lǐng)帶，不是給別人看的，更多的是在提醒自己，隨時提醒自己是商界人士，這樣大腦就會做出反應，做出的事，說出的話都會更加得體。

　　C: It's kind of like an actor trying to play a role...you have to have the right costume!

　　A: I think that's a good way of expressing it! I'm sure it's much harder for actors and actresses to get into character before they put on the right costume.

　　C: Yeah....but after the clothes and the makeup go on, they look in the mirror and their brains are able to shift into the role.

　　A: The symbolic meaning of a tie is "business" and so for me it's an identifying symbol that I think affects both how others see me and how I see myself.

　　C: Interesting.....hmm.....maybe I should start wearing a suit.

　　這就跟演員穿上戲服，才能進入角色一樣。Adam 覺得，這樣比喻恰如其分，that's a good way of expressing it. 演員穿上戲服，化好妝，看著鏡子里的自己，他們的大腦就會做出反應，help them to shift into the role. 幫他們進入角色。Adam 最后說，西裝領(lǐng)帶，對他來說就是一種定位的象征符號，不僅影響到別人對他的看法，也會影響到他自己的精神狀態(tài)。 Clothes make the man, 也可以說，you are what you wear, 人靠衣服馬靠鞍。