中英双语新闻——127 Why men are tied to conventional neckwear

 　　The United States will vote for a new president this November. Politicians are busy on their campaign trails. There’s something interesting about their attire¹: They rarely wear ties when giving stump² speeches and pressing the flesh.

 

　　今年11月美国总统大选在即。政客们正忙于竞选拉票。他们的着装有一点很有趣，那就是他们在巡回演说及与选民们见面握手时很少打领带。

 

　　Usually they do this wearing open-necked shirts. Why no ties? Well, it’s less formal and makes them look like regular guys.

 

　　他们不打领带时，通常穿开领衬衫。那么他们为什么不打领带呢？原来，这种着装没那么正式，让他们看起来像普通民众。

 

　　Candidates such as Mitt³ Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich who are vying⁴ for the Republican Party nomination⁵, adopt a casual look when campaigning. Ties are out.

 

　　米特?罗姆尼、里克?桑托勒姆、纽特?金里奇等共和党候选人在竞选拉票中都以非正式的着装出现，没有打领带。

 

　　But when it comes to the big, televised speech or debate then they all revert⁶ to business suit, collar and tie.

 

　　但在重要的电视演讲或辩论中，他们又都穿上了西装和衬衫，系上了领带。

 

　　“To press the flesh and get yourself elected it seems essential to dress down and appear casual, like ordinary voters, rather than buttoned-up or formal,” said David Cannadine, professor of history at Princeton University, US.

 

　　美国普林斯顿大学历史学教授大卫?康南狄表示，“在与选民见面握手时，候选人不穿正装，而改着休闲装，就像普通选民，看起来比较随和，这对候选人是否能够当选似乎是至关重要的。”

 

　　Speaking on the program A Point of View on the BBC Radio 4, he went on: “But to undertake the very different task of running a country, it’s still expected that politicians will wear what is termed as business attire, which means a suit (whether you are a man or woman) and also a tie (if you’re male).

 

　　他在BBC广播电台第四频道《一家观点》节目中说：“但政治家是要担当管理国家重任的人，人们还是希望看到他们穿着所谓的正装——也就是穿西装（男女均如此）打领带（仅限男士）。”

 

　　What are the conventions of wearing a tie?

 

　　打领带有那些规矩呢？

 

　　Some schools and most business organizations have a dress code. It may stipulate⁷ that male employees who meet the public must wear a collar and tie. Why? Because it is thought to give a man a smart appearance. It makes him look respectable, professional, like a banker, businessman or insurance broker⁸.

 

　　部分学校和大多数的商业机构都有着装规定。有些会规定男性员工在接待客户时一定要穿衬衫打领带。为什么呢？因为人们认为这样打扮会使男性看起来更整洁、更体面、更专业，就像银行家，企业家或保险经纪人一样。

 

　　“With an evening coat and a white tie, even a stockbroker⁹ can gain a reputation for being civilized,” said Oscar Wilde, the Irish poet and playwright¹⁰. Of course Wilde was being ironic¹¹. Stockbrokers¹² might be rich, but they were often snubbed by the upper class.

 

　　爱尔兰诗人及剧作家奥斯卡?王尔德曾说：“就连股票经纪人穿上晚礼服打上白领结之后，也会让人感觉彬彬有礼了。”当然，王尔德是在调侃，股票经纪人虽然很有钱，但是一度为上流社会所轻视。

 

　　Fashions in ties change. Kipper ties (broad, colorful ties popular in the West in the 1970s) gave way to narrow strips of material as worn by punk rockers.

 

　　领带的流行趋势也在变化。Kipper领带 (20世纪70年代西方流行一种较宽的，颜色艳丽的领带)被淘汰，人们开始热衷于细领带，就像过去朋克摇滚音乐人戴的那种。

 

　　How you knot your tie may reveal your personality. In From Russia with Love, author Ian Fleming says of secret agent 007: “Bond mistrusted anyone who tied his tie with a Windsor knot (a wide symmetrical triangular¹³ knot). It showed too much vanity. It was often the mark of a cad.”

 

　　打领带的方式也许能够反映你的个性。在007系列《来自俄罗斯的爱》中，作者伊恩?弗莱明曾这样谈论秘密特工007：“只要是将领带打成温莎结（一种宽边对称三角结）的人，一律无法获得邦德的信任。温莎结太过虚荣，通常是行为不端的标志。”

 

　　Police officers in the UK used to wear white shirts and black ties. They looked very dapper. But the tie wasn’t fastened around their necks. It was a clip-on variety so that violent criminals could not drag them around by their ties.

 

　　英国的警察曾经穿白衬衫打黑领带，看上去衣冠楚楚。但其实，这种领带不是系在脖子上的，而是用夹子别在领子上的，这样的话，歹徒就无法拽着警察领带勒住他们的脖子了。

 

　　Times change. Today UK cops wear black T-shirts and stab-proof vests. For many professions the tie is a relic¹⁴ from a bygone age and will not be missed.

 

　　时过境迁，如今的英国警察穿上了黑T恤和防刺背心。对于很多职业来说，领带已经过时，人们也不会再怀念了。

1 attire   

v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装

参考例句：

• He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
• Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。

2 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

3 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

4 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

5 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

6 revert   

v.恢复，复归，回到

参考例句：

• Let us revert to the earlier part of the chapter.让我们回到本章的前面部分。
• Shall we revert to the matter we talked about yesterday?我们接着昨天谈过的问题谈，好吗？

7 stipulate   

vt.规定，（作为条件）讲定，保证

参考例句：

• International rules stipulate the number of foreign entrants.国际规则规定了外国参赛者的人数。
• Some manufacturers stipulate the price at which their goods are to be sold.有些制造商规定出售他们生产的商品的价格。

8 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

9 stockbroker   

n.股票（或证券），经纪人（或机构）

参考例句：

• The main business of stockbroker is to help clients buy and sell shares.股票经纪人的主要业务是帮客户买卖股票。
• My stockbroker manages my portfolio for me.我的证券经纪人替我管理投资组合。

10 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

11 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

12 stockbrokers   

n.股票经纪人( stockbroker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Stockbrokers never more than now lack enthusiasm for the small client. 证券经济人在面对那些小客户时从未像现在这样缺乏激情。 来自互联网
• Today, I have expensive attorneys, accountants, real estate brokers and stockbrokers. 今天，我雇有身价昂贵的律师、会计师、房地产经纪人以及股票经纪人。 来自互联网

13 triangular   

adj.三角（形）的，三者间的

参考例句：

• It's more or less triangular plot of land.这块地略成三角形。
• One particular triangular relationship became the model of Simone's first novel.一段特殊的三角关系成了西蒙娜第一本小说的原型。

14 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。