調查：英國人不苟言笑的形象成爲過去

The famous British "stiff upper lip" has become a thing of the past, according to a survey on Thursday which found Britons are no longer embarrassed to shed a tear or be affectionate in public.

Nearly three-quarters of Brits now greet others with an air kiss or hug, an increase of a third over the last 15 years, while 63 percent of the 1,000 people surveyed said they had cried in public.

"The British stiff upper lip is finally wobbling as more and more Brits wear their hearts on their sleeves," said Richard Hayes of Warburtons bakers, who carried out the research in connection with an upcoming advertising campaign.

Brits are also prone to getting carried away when they are excited, the research showed, with 47 percent waving their arms in the air, a third jumping up and down and three in 10 throwing their arm around someone nearby.

Plotted on the "passion index," which measures how often people display emotion, Britain averaged 69 out of 100, with people in the south most likely to show how they feel while the Welsh were the least emotional.

上週四公佈的一項調查稱，英國人不苟言笑的著名形象如今已成爲過去。調查發現，英國人已不再羞於當衆落淚或流露感情。

近四分之三的英國人用空吻或擁抱的方式來問候他人，採用這種問候方式的人的數量在過去15年中增加了三分之一。另外，在1000名受訪者中，有63%的人說他們曾當衆哭過。

開展該調查的沃伯頓麪點公司的理查德•海耶斯說：“如今越來越多的英國人開始大膽表露自己的感情，英國人不苟言笑的傳統形象終於開始改變。”該調查爲配合一個即將舉行的廣告宣傳活動而開展。

調查顯示，如今英國人在激動時也會“忘乎所以”，47%的人會手舞足蹈，三分之一的人會高興地跳上跳下，十分之三的人會擁抱旁邊的人。

根據用來衡量人們流露情感頻率的 “熱情指數”，英國人的平均“熱情指數”爲69（總分100）。英國南部地區的人最容易流露感情，威爾士人最不善於表達情感。

Vocabulary:

(keep) a stiff upper lip: 不動聲色，沉着而不外露

air kiss: way of saying hello or goodbye to somebody by kissing near the side of their face but not actually touching them （見面或道別時的）嘬脣示吻

wobble: to move from side to side in an unsteady way 搖擺，搖晃

wearone's heart onone's sleeves: 感情外露

carry away: 使激動得失去控制（The match was so wonderful that he was totally carried away. 比賽十分精彩，令他興奮不已。）