中美"性感城市"评选凸显文化差异

    Tall buildings, big events, modernity: The characteristics of a sexy Chinese city. Condom sales, birth rates, transmitted disease and toys: The determinants of a sexy US city。
    In unrelated surveys released this week, Shanghai was named China's sexiest metropolis¹ while Austin, Texas was crowned with that honor for the US. The survey results provide a gimmicky² glimpse into cultural psyches³ in the G-2 nations。
    Beijing-based Horizon Research Consultancy said respondents to its recent China survey based their No. 1 ranking for Shanghai on the basis of some of its most visible attributes: wealth, modernity and tall structures like Oriental Pearl Television Tower, plus its iconic image. Runner up Chinese cities included Hong Kong, for its star power, and Chongqing, for its beautiful women。
    The so-called "lad's mag" that did the US survey, Men's Health, tried to get, as it said, closer to "nookie rates." More data driven, its rankings considered Nielsen estimates of condom sales, state records on births and financial reports from sex toy makers⁴. Seven of its top 15 US cities were in Texas, while cold weather cities generally ranked low in that survey. "One possibility is that in an area where’s it's hotter, people need to dress lighter⁵ and that puts pressure on them to look better and keep in better shape,” Matt Marion, the deputy editor of the magazine said。
    One way to think about the results is, in top-down administered China, people take sexual cues by peering skyward at the big picture. In democratically run America, it's the individual who matters. Another possibility is that sex remains⁶ a more private matter in China than the US, at least in terms of how openly it is discussed and therefore measurable。
    美国《华尔街日报》9月18日文章：上海和奥斯汀，哪个更性感？
    高楼林立，大型活动，现代气质：这些是中国“性感”城市的特征。避孕套销量，生育率，性传播疾病和情趣玩具：这些则是美国“性感”城市的决定因素。
    在本周公布的两项互不关联的调查中，上海被命名为中国最性感的城市，而德克萨斯州的奥斯汀则被冠以美国最性感城市。这两项调查结果可以巧妙地让人管窥到美中两国的文化气质。
    北京零点研究咨询集团说，该公司最近在中国进行的调查中，受访者把上海排在第一，所依据的是这个城市最明显的特质：财富、现代气质和东方明珠塔之类的高楼大厦，还有上海受人崇拜的形象。排名紧随其后的中国城市包括盛产明星的香港和盛产美女的重庆。
    在美国进行调查的男性杂志《男性健康》自称试图尽可能接近性的本质。这家杂志的排名更加偏重于数据，考虑了尼尔森公司的避孕套销量估计数字、生育情况纪录以及性玩具制造商的财务报告。排名最靠前的15个美国城市中有7个位于德克萨斯州，而气候寒冷的城市在这项调查中的排名一般都偏低。这家杂志的副主编马特-马里安硕：“一种可能是在比较炎热的地区，人们需要穿得单薄一些，这会迫使他们让自己显得漂亮一些，保持好一点的身材。”
    对于这些结果的一种解读是：在自上而下管理的中国，人们通过仰视恢宏的景象来获得有关性的提示；在民主化管理的美国，重要的是个体。另一种可能得出的解读是，比起美国，性在中国仍是一件比较私人的事情，至少在对性的公开讨论及衡量方面。

1 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

2 gimmicky   

adj.诡计的，骗人的

参考例句：

• A gimmicky or imbalanced team relies on one powerful tactic to win. 投机取巧的团队依靠单一的强力战术制胜。 来自互联网

3 psyches   

n.灵魂，心灵( psyche的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You want to fly to haiti for a quickie divorce just for our psyches ? 你想去海地快速离婚是为了我们的精神健康？ 来自电影对白
• Our psyches are naturally attuned to energetic codes and symbolic language. 我们的心灵会自动地与能量和象徵语言共鸣调音。 来自互联网

4 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。