沙漏型身材難覓 英國女性多爲矩形身材
You might think you have the figure of Marilyn Monroe but according to research the truth is likely to be far more prosaic.
你可能以爲你是瑪麗蓮·夢露的身材，不過據一項調查顯示，現實可能沒你想象的那麼好。A study found nine in ten women didn’t know their body shape – with many mistakenly believing they have a wasp waist and hourglass curves.
調查顯示，十分之九的女性不知道自己的體型，很多人誤以爲自己有蜂腰和沙漏曲線。In fact, the majority have a straight up and down figure, known rather unflatteringly, as ‘the rectangle’. Rectangles – who include Kim Cattrall and Nicole Kidman – have bust, hips and shoulders of the same width. They also have no waist to speak of.
實際上，大多數女性是筆直體型，說句大實話，就是矩形身材。矩形身材的代表女性包括金·凱特羅爾和妮可·基德曼，這種身材的特點是胸、臀部和肩部一樣寬，沒有腰可言。
Some 240 women had body scans to obtain their measurements and proportions. These were then used to identify their body type. Options included hourglass, rectangle, pear and triangle – a woman with a big belly and hips.
有240名女性接受身體掃描以獲得體型測量和比例，這些數據就用來判別他們的體型。基本體型分爲沙漏型、矩形、梨型和三角形（即即肚子和臀部較大）。The scans revealed 63 per cent of the women to be rectangular, with waists getting bigger and their curves becoming less defined with age.
掃描結果顯示63%的女性是矩形身材，他們的腰部越來越粗，腰部曲線隨着年齡增長日趨減少。Just 38 per cent of 18- to 35-year-olds had the rectangular proportions but 80 per cent of those aged 56-plus met the criteria. Similarly, 30 per cent of young women had an hourglass shape, but the figure fell to 4 per cent in older women.
在18-35歲人羣中，只有38%的女性是矩形身材，而在56歲以上人羣中，有80%的人符合此標準。同樣地，30%的年輕女性符合沙漏型身材標準，而在年老女性中，只有4%的人符合此標準。The results, said shopping website , were even more telling when women were asked to pick their own shape. Whether they're an hourglass, rectangle, triangle (a leaner version of a pear), bottom hourglass, inverted triangle or top hourglass - only one in ten women can identify their own body shape.
據購物網站的調查，當女性被要求選出自己的體型時，對比結果更生動。無論他們是沙漏型、矩形、三角形（梨形身材的瘦弱版）、下半身沙漏型（肩部較窄，下身較寬）、倒三角型和上半身沙漏型（上身較大，臀部較小），只有十分之一的女性能準確選出來。On top of this, a quarter don’t believe their figure fits in with any of these traditional body shapes.
此外，四分之一的女性認爲自己不屬於上述傳統身材中的任意一種。A common frustration for women when buying clothes to fit their shape was spending money on adjusting a garment to get a more appropriate fit, according to nearly half (42 per cent) of those questioned.
根據調查，有近一半（42%）的人需要花錢在改衣服上，以便使它更合身。On the back of this, 63 per cent of those surveyed also stated they would like more help and advice from retailers when shopping to fit their size and shape.
另外，63%的受訪女性表示在店裏買衣服時會向店員尋求幫助和建議，以便買到合適的尺寸和版型。The report goes on to reveal that women are out of touch with their true shape because of the body’s tendency to change and shift with age.
這份報告也顯示女性對自己的真實身材不甚瞭解，因爲體型會隨着年齡不斷變化。A spokesperson for Manchester Metropolitan University, who carried out the survey with , said: 'The research so far has shown that a woman’s body size, shape and posture can change - sometimes substantially - as a result of the ageing process.
一位與網站合作此調查的曼徹斯特城市大學發言人說道：“這項調查已經證明女性的身材有時會隨着年齡有很大程度的變化。”'The study confirmed this, and also highlighted that shape change occurs not only into terms of posture and body shape but also in terms of circumferential measurement differences between the front and back of the body in the waist region.'
“這項調查證實並強調了形體變化不僅表現在姿態和身體形狀上，也表現在腰部前後測量的不同上。”Carol Vorderman, ambassador for , added: 'It's no surprise that women's body shapes change so dramatically as they get older, with motherhood and a slowing metabolism taking its toll.
的代表Carol Vorderman補充道：“隨着成爲母親和新陳代謝緩慢的損害，女性年老以後體型變化巨大並不意外。”'My body shape has changed a lot over the years but the key is understanding what styles your body suits and then finding clothes that fit properly.'
“我的體型這麼些年來變化巨大，但關鍵是找到適合你體型的穿衣風格，然後挑選合適的衣服。”'Size is just a number and varies from retailer to retailer, it's important that shape is the main consideration when choosing items for your wardrobe.'
“衣服尺寸只是一個號碼，而且不同的店裏並不一樣，所以購買衣服時體型時是最主要的考慮因素。”ed that Gates had been her mystery gift giver, writing “I want to start by giving a HUGE THANK YOU to Mr. Bill Gates for an amazing gift and secret santa experience. Bill—you ROCK (can I call you Bill?! I feel like we’re friends now!).”
在一篇題爲“注意：比爾·蓋茨沒有找你，是因爲他找到我了”的帖子中，一位名叫蕾切爾的Reddit用戶透露，蓋茨是她神祕的禮物派送者，並寫道，“首先，我非常感謝比爾·蓋茨先生給我帶來這麼棒的禮物和神祕聖誕老人的經歷。比爾——你好厲害（我能喊你比爾嗎？！我想我們現在是朋友吧！）。”She goes on to describe Gates’ gift—which could have come from a particularly thoughtful uncle—of a stuffed cow, along with a donation in her name to the non-profit Heifer International
她繼續形容蓋茨的這份禮物——本該是來自一位特別體貼的叔叔——填充奶牛玩偶，和以她的名義向非盈利組織國際小母牛組織（Heifer International）捐贈一頭小牛（該組織貧困地區的家庭免費提供家畜）。該禮物中還包括一本《國家地理：一生必遊的500經典路線》（National Geographic Journeys of a Lifetime）。Gates exposed his identity in a note explaining the donation, and included a picture of himself (above) holding the stuffed bovine and the note as confirmation. For anyone thinking this was a cheap gift from the country’s wealthiest man, the donation of one heifer to a family in need rings in at $500—well above the gift ceiling of your standard Secret Santa.
蓋茨在一張解釋這份聖誕禮物的便籤中表明瞭自己的身份，幷包括一張他拿着禮物和卡片的照片作爲證明。有些人會認爲，美國首富的這份禮物太廉價了，但是要知道，向一個貧困家庭捐贈一頭小母牛相當於500美元——這可比你最昂貴的聖誕禮物都值錢多了。Reddit Gifts is an annual gift exchange started in 2009 to connect “Redditors” around the world. Users enter their home address and information such as likes and dislikes, and Reddit matches gifters and recipients at random. After participants receive a gift, they’re encouraged to return to Reddit and post a public thank you.
Reddit Gifts是一年一度的禮物交換活動，始於2009年，旨在將全球的“Redditors”聯繫起來。用戶們輸入他們的家庭住址和個人喜好，Reddit會隨機對禮物贈送者和接收人進行配對，並鼓勵他們在收到禮物之後回到網站發一封公開的感謝信。Rachel says in her post that it wasn’t until she saw the photo of Gates that she knew who had sent her loot, but she had an inkling it was somebody special when she received a notification email that said her gift was being overnighted and weighed in at 7 pounds.
蕾切爾在她的帖子中寫道，直到她看到蓋茨的照片，她才知道送她禮物的神祕人是誰。但她事前她收到過一封通知郵件，告訴她有一份7磅重的禮物正連夜送達，因此她隱隱感覺到今年的聖誕老人會是個特別的人物。Gates has become an enthusiastic Reddit user over the past year, participating in an Ask Me Anything thread in the spring and posting thoughts and questions periodically, such as “How much of the Earth are humans consuming?”, using the handle “thisisbillgates.”
在過去一年，蓋茨已經成爲Reddit熱情的用戶，他不僅在今年春天參與該網站組織的“Ask Me Anything”問答活動，還定期以我是“我是比爾·蓋茨”的句柄發表想法和問題，諸如，“地球有多少正在被人類消耗着？”A Gates spokesman told GeekWire he joined the gift exchange in part to raise awareness for Heifer International.
蓋茨的一位發言人告訴GeekWire說，他參與禮物交換活動，在某種程度上是爲了提高對國際小母牛組織的意識。Gates hasn’t posted a response to Rachel’s public thank you just yet, but whoever drew the name “Bill Gates” from Reddit’s virtual hat better come up with something extra thoughtful for the man who truly has everything.
蓋茨尚未對蕾切爾的公開感謝做出回覆，不過，無論是誰在Reddit的抽籤遊戲中抽中“比爾·蓋茨”的名字，都想不到一個真正擁有一切的人會想得這麼周到。
