英國(guó)人幽默篇一：雅思閱讀材料之英國(guó)人最幽默

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雅思閱讀材料之英國(guó)人最幽默

出國(guó)英語(yǔ)考試有哪些 雅思6.5是什么水平 雅思閱讀評(píng)分標(biāo)準(zhǔn) 托福閱讀評(píng)分標(biāo)準(zhǔn) 雅思和托福的區(qū)別

Britons are the funniest people

Britons are just the funniest people...or at least that's what top businessmen said in a survey about European humour.

Some 34 percent of respondents to the latest UPS Europe Business Monitor said the British have the sharpest wit, while only three percent backed German claims for the accolade.

Even in Germany, only one in ten executives said their countrymen cracked them up -- compared with 47 percent who sided with Britain, the survey showed.

The poll of 1,450 executives in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Britain showed that most nationalities liked their local humour best. German, French and Dutch bosses were the exceptions.

Some 66 percent of Spanish backed their own wit, followed by 59 percent of British, and 58 percent of Italians.

Second-placed overall in the laughter probe was Italy with 18 percent of votes, followed by Spain with 15 percent.

Only one in four French respondents considered their home country to be the funniest, while 34 percent of them favoured Britain and 16 percent Belgium. None voted for Germany.

Germany also struggled to pick up points away from home -- apart from three percent of British votes, and one percent apiece from the Netherlands and Italy, the country drew a blank.

Executives also voted on humour levels in Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and Austria, with the latter pair barely raising a smirk outside of Germany.

英國(guó)人最風(fēng)趣……這至少在一項(xiàng)由商界精英參加的、有關(guān)歐洲人幽默的調(diào)查中得到了證明。

此項(xiàng)由最新一期《UPS歐洲商業(yè)觀察》公布的調(diào)查表明，約34%的受訪者認(rèn)為英國(guó)人最風(fēng)趣幽默，而只有3%的人認(rèn)為德國(guó)人可獲此“殊榮”。

調(diào)查表明，在德國(guó)，只有十分之一的主管說他們的同胞很幽默，而認(rèn)為英國(guó)人具有幽默感的人則達(dá)到了47%。

這項(xiàng)由比利時(shí)、法國(guó)、德國(guó)、意大利、荷蘭、西班牙和英國(guó)共1450名公司主管參加的調(diào)查表明，大多數(shù)受訪者最欣賞自己本國(guó)的幽默。但德國(guó)、法國(guó)、荷蘭的老板們則不這么認(rèn)為。

約66%的西班牙人欣賞自己本國(guó)的幽默，英國(guó)和意大利的這一比例分別為59%和58%。

在這項(xiàng)幽默感調(diào)查中，意大利以18%的得票率位居第二，西班牙則以15%的得票緊隨其后。

只有四分之一的法國(guó)人認(rèn)為本國(guó)人最具幽默感，而分別有34%和16%的法國(guó)人認(rèn)為英國(guó)人和比利時(shí)人最幽默。德國(guó)的得票率則為0。

在別國(guó)人眼中，德國(guó)人簡(jiǎn)直是不茍言笑。除了來(lái)自英國(guó)3%、荷蘭和意大利各1% 的投票外，幾乎沒有別國(guó)人認(rèn)為德國(guó)人有幽默感。

此外，主管們還對(duì)愛爾蘭、丹麥、瑞典和奧地利人的幽默感進(jìn)行了投票，除德國(guó)外，其它國(guó)家人都認(rèn)為瑞典人和奧地利人沒有什么幽默感。

以上就是智課教育雅思頻道為大家整理的雅思閱讀材料之英國(guó)人最幽默，希望對(duì)大家有幫助，更多資訊、資料請(qǐng)?jiān)L問智課教育雅思閱讀頻道

英國(guó)人幽默篇二：英國(guó)人的謹(jǐn)慎和禮貌

It seems to many people that the British are extremely polite and difficult to make friends with. Hopefully the following passage will help you to have a better understanding of the British character.

在許多人看來(lái)，英國(guó)人極為禮貌，同他們交朋友很難。但愿下列文字能夠幫助你更好地了解英國(guó)人的性格特點(diǎn)。

To other Europeans, the best known quality of the British is "reserve". A reserved person is one who does not talk very much to strangers, does not show much emotion, and seldom gets excited. It is difficult to get to know a reserved person; he never tells you anything about himself, and you may work with him for years without ever knowing where he lives, how many children he has, and what his interests are. English people tend to be like that. If they are making a journey by bus, they will do their best to find an empty seat; if by train, an empty compartment. If they have to share the compartment with a stranger, they may travel many miles without starting a conversation. If a conversation does start, personal questions like "How old are you?" or even "What is your name?" are not easily asked. Questions like "Where did you buy your watch?" or "What is your salary?" are almost impossible. Similarly, conversation in Britain is in general quiet and restrained and loud speech is considered ill-bred.

對(duì)于其他歐洲人來(lái)說，英國(guó)人最著名的特點(diǎn)是“謹(jǐn)慎”。一個(gè)謹(jǐn)慎的人不太會(huì)和陌生人聊天，不會(huì)流露出太多的情感，并且很少會(huì)興奮。要了解一個(gè)謹(jǐn)慎的人并非易事；他從不告訴你有關(guān)他自己的任何事，也許你和他工作了幾年，卻連他住在哪兒，有幾個(gè)孩子，興趣是什么，都不知道。英國(guó)人就有類似的傾向。如果乘公共汽車去旅行，他們會(huì)盡量找一個(gè)沒人坐的位子；如果是乘火車，他們會(huì)找一個(gè)沒人的 單間。如果他們不得不與陌生人共用一個(gè)單間時(shí)，那么即使火車駛出了很多英里，他們也不會(huì)開口交談。一旦談起來(lái)的話，他們不會(huì)輕易問及像“你幾歲？”或者甚至“你叫什么名字？”等私人問題。像“你的手表是在哪兒買的？”或者“你的收入是多少？”這樣的問題幾乎不可想象。同樣，在英國(guó)，人們交談時(shí)一般聲音都很輕、很有節(jié)制，大聲談話會(huì)被視為沒有教養(yǎng)。

This unwillingness to communicate with others is an unfortunate quality in

some ways, since it tends to give the impression of coldness, and it is true that the English (except perhaps in the North) are not noted for their generosity and hospitality. On the other hand, they are perfectly human behind their barrier of reserve, and may be quite pleased when a friendly stranger or foreigner succeeds for a time in breaking the barrier down.

在某種程度上，不愿意與他人交流是一種不幸的品質(zhì)，因?yàn)樗�可能�?huì)給人造成態(tài)度冷淡的印象。而事實(shí)上，英國(guó)人（也許除了北方人）并不以慷慨和好客而著稱。而另一方面，雖然謹(jǐn)慎使他們不易與人溝通,但他們內(nèi)心還是很有人情味的。如果一個(gè)陌生人或外國(guó)人友善地將這種隔閡打破那么一會(huì)兒，他們可能會(huì)滿心歡喜。

Closely related to English reserve is English modesty. Within their hearts, the English are perhaps no less conceited than anybody else, but in their relations with others they value at least a show of modesty. Self-praise is felt to be ill-bred. If a person is, let us say, very good at tennis, and someone asks him if he is a good player, he will seldom reply "Yes," because people will think him conceited. He will probably give an answer like, "I'm not bad," or "Well, I'm very keen on tennis." This self-deprecation is typically English, and, mixed with their reserve, it often produces a sort of general air of indifference which appears to foreigners difficult to understand and even irritating.

與英國(guó)人的謹(jǐn)慎緊密相連的品質(zhì)是英國(guó)式的謙遜。在內(nèi)心深處，英國(guó)人可能比任何人都高傲，但是當(dāng)他們與別人相處時(shí)，他們十分看重謙遜的品質(zhì)，至少要表現(xiàn)出謙虛的樣子。自我標(biāo)榜會(huì)被認(rèn)為沒有教養(yǎng)。讓我們假設(shè)，有一個(gè)人非常擅長(zhǎng)打網(wǎng)球，但如果有人問他是否是個(gè)優(yōu)秀選手時(shí)，他很少會(huì)說“是”，不然，人們會(huì)認(rèn)為他很高傲。他可能會(huì)作出類似這樣的回答，“不算太差，”或者“嗯，我非常喜歡網(wǎng)球�！边@樣的自我貶低是典型的英國(guó)式的。而且當(dāng)這一品質(zhì)與他們的謹(jǐn)慎混合在一起時(shí)，常常形成一種漠然的氣氛，這在外國(guó)人看來(lái)難于理解，甚至令人惱火。

The famous English sense of humor is similar. Its starting point is self-

deprecation, and its great enemy is conceit. Its ideal is the ability to laugh at oneself － at one's own faults, one's own failures and embarrassments, even at one's own ideals. The criticism, "He has no sense of humor," is very

commonly heard in Britain, where humor is so highly prized. A sense of humor is an attitude to life rather than the mere ability to laugh at jokes. This attitude is never cruel or disrespectful or malicious. The English do not laugh at a cripple or a madman, a tragedy or an honorable failure. Sympathy or admiration for artistic skill are felt to be stronger than laughter.

著名的英國(guó)人的幽默感也是大同小異。它的出發(fā)點(diǎn)是自我貶低，它的最大對(duì)手是高傲，它的理想境界是自嘲的能力——嘲笑自己的錯(cuò)誤、自己的失敗和窘境，甚至自己的理想。在英國(guó)，人們非�？粗赜哪�感，常常能聽到“他一點(diǎn)幽默感都沒有”這樣的批評(píng)。幽默感是一種對(duì)生活的態(tài)度而并非僅僅是開玩笑的能力。這種態(tài)度決非殘酷、不敬或是懷有惡意的。英國(guó)人不會(huì)嘲笑一個(gè)跛子或者瘋子，也不會(huì)嘲笑一個(gè)悲劇或者一次可敬的失敗。同情心或者對(duì)藝術(shù)技巧的崇敬比嘲笑的份量重得多。

Like a sense of humor, sportsmanship is an English ideal which not all Englishmen live up to. It must be realized that sport in its modern form is almost entirely a British invention. Boxing, association football, tennis and cricket were all first organized and given rules in Britain. Rules are the essence of sport, and sportsmanship is the ability to practise a sport in obedience to its rules, while also showing generosity to one's opponent and good temper in defeat. Moreover, sportsmanship as an ideal is applied to life in general. One of the most elementary rules of life is "never hit a man when he's down" － in other words, never take advantage of another person's misfortune. English school-boys often show this sense of sportsmanship to a surprisingly high degree in their relations with each other.

同幽默感一樣，運(yùn)動(dòng)員精神是英國(guó)式的理想，這一點(diǎn)并非所有的英國(guó)人都做得到。必須認(rèn)識(shí)到，現(xiàn)代形式的運(yùn)動(dòng)幾乎都是英國(guó)人發(fā)明的。拳擊、英式足球、網(wǎng)球以及板球都是在英國(guó)首次組織并且制定出規(guī)則的。規(guī)則是運(yùn)動(dòng)的精髓，運(yùn)動(dòng)員精神是指按照規(guī)則從事體育運(yùn)動(dòng)的能力，同時(shí)也表現(xiàn)在對(duì)對(duì)手的慷慨大度，以及失敗后的良好心態(tài)。此外，運(yùn)動(dòng)員精神作為一種理想模式也普遍適用于日常生活。其中最基本的生活規(guī)則之一就是“不打跌倒的人”。換言之，就是不要利用別人的不幸。英國(guó)的男孩子常常在相互交往中把這種運(yùn)動(dòng)員精神表現(xiàn)得淋漓盡致。

Another feature in Britain is politeness. On the whole British habits of

politeness are very informal. All politeness is based on the elementary rule of showing consideration for others, and acknowledging the consideration they show to you. "Excuse me" is used as an advance apology for troubling

somebody, as when passing in front of him or interrupting his conversation, or when putting a question to a stranger. "Sorry" expresses regret for an

accidental disturbance or breach of manners. It also takes the place of "no" when you cannot agree to a request or an implied request like "May I borrow your pen?" or "Do you know the time?" or "Have you any size seven shoes?" "Pardon?" is the polite way of asking somebody to repeat what he has said. In Britain, except at school, "please" is no longer used in asking permission to speak, and the phrase "No, please", so common abroad, would sound most unusual in Britain itself. "Yes, please" is the commonest use of the word, and is the opposite of "No, thank you" when replying to an offer. A bare yes or no is considered very rude in this case. Similarly, a polite request does not begin with "I want" or "I think", but with a phrase like "Will (or Would, Can, Could) you please...?" or "Would you mind...?" When the request is granted, and at any time when you are receiving something, however obviously you are entitled to it, you are always expected to say "Thank you".

英國(guó)人的另一特點(diǎn)就是禮貌�？偟膩�(lái)說，英國(guó)式的禮貌習(xí)慣都不很正式。所有的禮貌都是建立在這樣的基本原則之上：為別人著想，同時(shí)也認(rèn)可別人對(duì)你的關(guān)心。在麻煩別人時(shí)，如：從某人前面經(jīng)過，或者打斷某人的談話，或者向陌生人請(qǐng)教問題時(shí)，要先說“對(duì)不起”，為給對(duì)方帶來(lái)的不便預(yù)先道歉�！氨�歉”一詞表示對(duì)意外打擾或者違反禮儀的歉意。如果有人提出或者暗示某個(gè)要求，如：“我可以借你的鋼筆嗎嘛？”或者“現(xiàn)在幾點(diǎn)了？”或者“還有七碼的鞋 嗎？”，而你無(wú)法滿足這種要求時(shí)，也要說“抱歉”而不是“不”。“請(qǐng)?jiān)�諒？”是用�?lái)要求別人重復(fù)所說內(nèi)容時(shí)的禮貌說法。在英國(guó)，除了在學(xué)校，人們?cè)谡?qǐng)求發(fā)言時(shí)，不再用“請(qǐng)”這個(gè)詞。在國(guó)外非常普遍的詞組“不，請(qǐng)”，在英國(guó)本土聽起來(lái)卻會(huì)很別扭�！昂玫模�請(qǐng)”，是最常用的說法，它與人們拒絕幫助時(shí)通常所說的：“不，謝謝”的意思正好相反。單單一個(gè)是或不是在這種情況下被視為非常無(wú)禮。同樣，禮貌的要求不會(huì)以“我想”或者“我認(rèn)為”開頭，而是用“你能不能……？”或者“你是否介意……？”這樣的措辭。當(dāng)你的要求被滿足，當(dāng)你收到某一物品時(shí)，不管你怎樣受之

無(wú)愧，你永遠(yuǎn)應(yīng)當(dāng)說聲“謝謝”。

British people do not readily ask each other to do anything that would involve real inconvenience: they prefer to wait for such service to be offered, rather than ask for it. If they do ask, then the request is accompanied by an implied apology like, "I don't really like asking you, but..." or, "I know the trouble I'm causing you, but would you mind...?" and so on. Similarly it is often polite to refuse an offer of service by means of such a reply as, "Oh! please don't bother," followed by an explanation of why you can do without it. In fact,

without being conscious of it, British people sometimes make offers purely out of politeness, not really expecting them to be accepted, and offers of this kind are refused with the same politeness.

如果事情確實(shí)很麻煩，英國(guó)人一般不會(huì)要求別人去做：他們情愿等待有人提供這樣的服務(wù)，而不會(huì)主動(dòng)提出要求。如果他們確實(shí)提出要求，那么要求中會(huì)含有歉意，例如：“我不是真的想麻煩你，但是……？”或者“我清楚我給你帶來(lái)的麻煩，但是如果你不介意……？”等等。同樣，在拒絕別人的服務(wù)時(shí)，禮貌的說法往往是這樣：“哦！請(qǐng)別費(fèi)心 ，”接著解釋你為什么自己能夠處理。實(shí)際上，人們沒有意識(shí)到，英國(guó)人常常是出于禮貌而提供幫助，他們并不真的希望自己的提議被接受；當(dāng)然，這樣的提議也會(huì)以同樣的禮貌被婉言謝絕。

If you are invited into a person's home, there are other questions to consider. For instance, what time should you arrive? If it is a social occasion, not a

business one, it is not polite to arrive early. Your hostess will be preparing for you, and will be most embarrassed if you arrive before she is quite ready. Ten minutes late is excellent. Half an hour late is excessive and requires apologies. Then too, the British are rather particular about table manners. The main thing is: to sit up straight, copy everyone else, gaily asking what to do if you are not sure, and keep the conversation going. What time should you leave? There are no rules, but it is most impolite to stay too late, as it implies a lack of consideration for your hosts. If it is simply an invitation to an evening meal and conversation, you will probably take your leave between ten and eleven o'clock. If you have been asked

to stay for several days, you will conform as far

英國(guó)人幽默篇三：英國(guó)人性格

quality of the British, and in particular of the English, is “reserved.” A reserved person is one who does not talk very much to strangers, does not show much emotion, and seldom gets excited. It is difficult to get to know a reserved person: he never tells you anything about himself, and you may work with him for years without ever knowing where he lives, how many children he has, and what his interests are. English people tend to be like that. 在其他的歐洲人看來(lái)，英國(guó)人，尤其是英格蘭人的最明顯的特點(diǎn)是“沉默寡言”。一個(gè)沉默寡言的人不大同陌生人說話，情感不大外露，也很少激動(dòng)。要想了解一個(gè)沉默寡言的人很困難：他從不談及他的身世，即使你與他工作數(shù)年，也許你不知道他家住在哪里，有幾個(gè)子女，有些什么興趣愛好。英國(guó)人往往就是這樣。

If they are making a journey by bus they will do their best to find an empty seat; if by train, an empty compartment. If they have to share the compartment with a stranger, they may travel many miles without starting a conversation. If a conversation does start, personal questions like “How old are you?” or even “What is your name?” are not easily asked. 乘公共汽車旅行時(shí)，他們會(huì)盡量找到一個(gè)空座位；乘火車旅行時(shí)，他們會(huì)盡量找到一個(gè)空隔間。如果他們不得不與他人共坐一個(gè)隔間，火車開了數(shù)英里也許還不見他們開口說話。即使打開了話匣子，他們也不輕易問起“你多大了？”或者“你貴姓？”之類的個(gè)人問題。

This reluctance to communicate with others is an unfortunate quality in some ways since it tends to give the impression of coldness, and it is true that the English (except perhaps in the North) are not noted for their generosity and hospitality. On the other hands, they are perfectly human behind their barrier of reserve, and may be quite pleased when a friendly strange or foreigner succeeds for a time in breaking the barrier down. We may also mention at this point that the people of the North and West, especially the Welsh, are much less reserved than those of the South and East.

從某些方面來(lái)說，這種不愿與人交往的特點(diǎn)是件令人遺憾的事情，因?yàn)檫@往往給人以冷漠的印象。除了北方人以外，英國(guó)人從不以他們的慷慨大方和熱情好客而著稱。另一方面，雖然他們表面上沉默寡言，但內(nèi)心還是很有人情味。當(dāng)友善的陌生人或外國(guó)人打破沉默時(shí)，他們也許會(huì)感到很高興。說到這里，也許我們應(yīng)該提一句，英國(guó)的北部和西部的人，特別是威爾士人，遠(yuǎn)不象南部和東部的人那樣緘默。

Closely related to English reserve is English modesty. Within their hearts, the English are perhaps no less conceited than anybody else, but in their relations with others they value at least a show of modesty. Self-praise is felt to be impolite. If a person is, let us say, very good at tennis and someone asks him if he is a good player, he will seldom reply “Yes,” because people will think him conceited. He will probably give an answer like, “I’m not bad,” or “I think I’m very good,” or “Well, I’m very keen on tennis.” (i.e. I’m very fond of it.) even if he had managed to reach the finals in last year’s local championships, he would say it in such a way as to suggest that it was only due to a piece of good luck.

與英國(guó)人的緘默密切相關(guān)的是英國(guó)人的謙虛。在英國(guó)人的內(nèi)心，他們的自負(fù)不亞于任何其他的民族。但在與別人交往時(shí)，他們注重謙虛，起碼要表現(xiàn)出一種謙虛的姿態(tài)。自夸被認(rèn)為是不禮貌的。比如說，一個(gè)人網(wǎng)球打得很好，當(dāng)有人問他是不是一個(gè)網(wǎng)球好手時(shí)，他很少會(huì)回

答說“是”，因?yàn)槿绻�他回答“是”，人們�?huì)認(rèn)為他很自負(fù)。他很可能會(huì)這樣回答：“還不錯(cuò)。”或者“我覺得我還行�！被蛘摺班�，我挺喜歡打網(wǎng)球�！� 即使他在去年當(dāng)?shù)氐木W(wǎng)球錦標(biāo)賽上打入了決賽，他也許會(huì)說只是碰上了好運(yùn)氣。

The famous English sense of humor is similar. Its starting-point is self-dispraise, and its great enemy is conceit. Its object is the ability to laugh at oneself---at one’s own faults, one’s own failure, even at one’s own ideals. The criticism, “He has no sense of humor” is very commonly heard in Britain, where humor is highly prized. A sense of humor is an attitude to life rather than the mere ability to laugh at jokes. This attitude is never cruel or disrespectful or malicious. The English do not laugh at a cripple of a madman, or a tragedy or an honorable failure.

著名的英國(guó)式幽默感也與此相似。其出發(fā)點(diǎn)是自貶，其大敵是自負(fù)。其目的是能夠自嘲——嘲笑自己的錯(cuò)誤，自己的失敗，甚至自己的理想。在英國(guó)，幽默感受到高度重視，經(jīng)常聽到“他沒有幽默感”這樣的評(píng)論。幽默感是對(duì)生活的一種態(tài)度，而不僅僅是一聽到笑話就能夠開懷大笑。這種態(tài)度決不是冷酷，決不是無(wú)禮，決不是惡毒。英國(guó)人從不嘲笑殘疾人或精神病人，也從不會(huì)對(duì)一件悲慘的或雖敗猶榮的事情幸災(zāi)樂禍。

Since reserve, a show of modesty and a sense of humor are part of his own nature, the typical Englishman tends to expect them in others. He secretly looks down on more

excitable nations, and likes to think of himself as more reliable than they. He doesn’t trust big promises and open shows of feelings, especially if they are expressed in flowery language. He doesn’t trust self-praise of any kind. This applies not only to what other people may tell him about themselves orally, but to the letters they may write to him. To those who are fond of flowery expressions, the Englishman may appear uncomfortably cold.

因?yàn)槌聊�寡言、謙虛的表現(xiàn)和幽默感是英國(guó)人天生性格的組成部分，典型的英國(guó)人總是期望別人也具有這種品質(zhì)。他從心里看不起那些容易激動(dòng)的民族，總是認(rèn)為他們沒有自己可靠。他不相信信誓旦旦的諾言，也不相信感情的直接外露，尤其不相信用華麗的語(yǔ)言做出的承諾和表達(dá)的感情。他對(duì)任何的自夸之詞都不相信，不管是人們口頭告訴的，還是寫信書面表達(dá)的。在那些喜歡用華麗辭藻的人看來(lái)，英國(guó)人可能顯得冷漠，讓人感到很不舒服。

Finally, sportsmanship. Like a sense of humor, this is an English ideal which not all

Englishmen live up to. It must be realized that sport in this modern form is almost entirely a British invention. Boxing, rugby, football, hockey, tennis and cricket were all first

organized and given rules in Britain. Rules are the essence of sport, and sportsmanship is the ability to practice a sport according to its rules, while also showing generosity to one’s opponent and good temper in defeat. The high pressure of modern international sport makes these ideals difficult to keep, but they are at least highly valued in Britain and are certainly achieved there more commonly than among more excitable peoples. Moreover, sportsmanship as an ideal is applied to life in general this is proved by the number of sporting terms used in ordinary speech. Everybody talks of “fair play” and “playing the game” or “playing fair.” Borrowed from boxing, “straight from the shoulder” is used to

describe a well-aimed, strong criticism and “below the belt” is used to describe an unfair one. One of the most elementary rules of life is “never hit a man when he’s down”---in other words, never take advantage of a person’s misfortune. English schoolboys often show this sense of sportsmanship to a surprisingly high degree in their relations with each other.

最后再說說體育運(yùn)動(dòng)風(fēng)范。就象幽默感一樣，這也是英國(guó)人的理想，盡管不是每個(gè)英國(guó)人都能做到這一點(diǎn)。我們應(yīng)該認(rèn)識(shí)到，現(xiàn)代形式的體育運(yùn)動(dòng)幾乎都是英國(guó)人的發(fā)明。拳擊、橄欖球、足球、曲棍球、網(wǎng)球和板球都是源于英國(guó)，并且首先在英國(guó)制訂出比賽規(guī)則。比賽規(guī)則反映了體育運(yùn)動(dòng)的本質(zhì)，具有體育運(yùn)動(dòng)風(fēng)范就是能夠按照體育運(yùn)動(dòng)規(guī)則進(jìn)行比賽，同時(shí)又能對(duì)對(duì)手寬大為懷，失敗時(shí)也能心平氣和。現(xiàn)代國(guó)際體育運(yùn)動(dòng)的巨大壓力使得這些理想目標(biāo)很難保持，但在英國(guó)這些理想目標(biāo)至少還能得到高度的重視，而且與那些容易激動(dòng)的民族相比，英國(guó)人在達(dá)到這些理想目標(biāo)方面做得更好。此外，體育運(yùn)動(dòng)風(fēng)范作為理想準(zhǔn)則也適用于日常生活。這一點(diǎn)可以通過日常會(huì)話中用到的許多體育用語(yǔ)得到證實(shí)。每個(gè)人都會(huì)談到“公平比賽”、“遵守規(guī)則”或者“公平競(jìng)爭(zhēng)”。成語(yǔ)“直接出擊”起源于拳擊運(yùn)動(dòng)，用來(lái)表示一針見血而又措辭嚴(yán)厲的批評(píng)。“擊打?qū)Ψ窖鼛б韵碌牟糠帧眲t用來(lái)表示不公正的批評(píng)。生活的基本規(guī)則之一是“決不打已經(jīng)倒在地上的人”，也就是說，決不乘人之危。在英國(guó)，這種體育運(yùn)動(dòng)風(fēng)范常常在中小學(xué)的男生相處時(shí)高度地表現(xiàn)出來(lái)。

由于地理、歷史、文化等方面的原因,世界上的各個(gè)民族形成了不同于其他民族的性格特點(diǎn)。英國(guó)人也不例外,經(jīng)過了幾千年的社會(huì)變遷,他們形成了自己獨(dú)特的思維和行為方式,有著與其它國(guó)家人民不同的品質(zhì)和特點(diǎn)。概括起來(lái),大致有以下幾種性格特點(diǎn):

1. 大部分英國(guó)人具有與他人格格不入的孤傲特質(zhì)。孤傲(exclusiveness)是英國(guó)人最明顯的性格特征,他們不愿意和別人多說話,從來(lái)不談?wù)撟约?感情不外露,更不會(huì)喜形于色。其它國(guó)家的人很難了解英國(guó)人的內(nèi)心世界。英國(guó)人為什么具有孤傲的性格特征呢?原因有二。第一,英國(guó)是一個(gè)島國(guó),英吉利海峽(English Channel)割斷了它和外部世界的聯(lián)系,英國(guó)人甚至不把自己看作是歐洲人。第二,英國(guó)人對(duì)本民族的歷史感到非常驕傲和自豪。其中,詹姆斯欽定本圣經(jīng)(King James Authorized Version of the Bible)和莎士比亞的戲劇對(duì)西方及世界文化產(chǎn)生了巨大的影響。英國(guó)議會(huì)(Parliament)是歐洲最古老的議會(huì),英國(guó)是世界上第一個(gè)完成工業(yè)革命(Industrial Revolution)的國(guó)家。特殊的地理位置和與眾不同的祖國(guó)文明史使得英國(guó)人形成了現(xiàn)在的性格特點(diǎn)。

2. 大部分英國(guó)人有守舊而又不愿接受新生事物的保守思想。英國(guó)人的保守

(conservativeness)為世人所知,英國(guó)人卻認(rèn)為他們的做事方式是最好的,最合理的。有人說,英國(guó)人需要20至40年的時(shí)間才能接受美國(guó)目前的新生事物,此話雖然有一點(diǎn)夸張,但也不無(wú)道理。英國(guó)人直到現(xiàn)在也沒有采用世界通用的米制(metric system),仍然使用英里(mile),直到

1971年才將貨幣單位改為十進(jìn)制(decimal system)。英國(guó)是世界上為數(shù)較少的保持君主制(monarchy)的國(guó)家之一,其保守性可見一斑。當(dāng)美國(guó)人發(fā)明中央空調(diào)(central heating)的時(shí)候,英國(guó)人以對(duì)身體有害為由拒絕接受這種新生事物,繼續(xù)使用壁爐(fireplace)和電爐(electric stove)。

3. 大部分英國(guó)人具有講究文明用語(yǔ)和禮貌的好習(xí)慣。英國(guó)人總是為別人著想,他們不會(huì)要求別人做不愿意做的事情。如果他們不得不要求別人做什么事的時(shí)候,說得非常客氣,諸如: "I know the trouble I am causing you, but would you mind。。。? " 或 "I don't really like to ask you, but。。。"等等。在日常生活中,如果要麻煩別人,通常說excuse me,如果無(wú)意識(shí)地干擾了別人,要說sorry。要求別人重復(fù),一般不說what,而是說pardon或sorry。please和thank you是經(jīng)常掛在嘴邊的用語(yǔ)。在公共場(chǎng)所人們不會(huì)大聲喊叫,他們認(rèn)為那是不文明的行為。

4. 酷愛獨(dú)居和個(gè)人自由的天性。也許是由于缺乏空間的緣故,英國(guó)人喜歡獨(dú)居(privacy)和個(gè)人自由(individualism)。在英國(guó),人們恪守著這樣一句名言:My home is my castle。 The wind can come in, but the Kings and Queens and human beings can never come in

without my permission。當(dāng)英國(guó)人搬到新家,他會(huì)在自己的房屋周圍樹起籬笆(fence),以便和鄰居隔開。

5. 大部分英國(guó)人具有感情不外露的冷淡和緘默性格。英國(guó)人一般不會(huì)向別人展示自己的內(nèi)心世界,當(dāng)他們高興時(shí)不會(huì)喜形于色,當(dāng)他們悲傷時(shí)也不會(huì)愁容滿面,這一特點(diǎn)在上層社會(huì)中非常明顯。在早晨上班乘坐的地鐵中人們彼此不說話,只是在看自己的報(bào)紙,車內(nèi)鴉雀無(wú)聲,偶爾能聽到下車的人因?yàn)椴恍⌒牟鹊絼e人腳時(shí)說sorry的聲音。下車后,人們只是走各自的路,彼此不會(huì)交談。另外,即使在一起工作多年的同事也不知道對(duì)方的家庭住址、家庭成員、興趣愛好等情況,因?yàn)樗麄儚牟徽務(wù)撨@些事情。

6. 大部分英國(guó)人具有自我嘲笑的幽默。英國(guó)人很幽默,不過都是一些自我嘲弄的幽默。他們喜歡嘲笑自己的錯(cuò)誤、自己的缺點(diǎn)、自己的尷尬境地等。英國(guó)人的這種生活態(tài)度是多年來(lái)形成的,對(duì)別人并沒有什么惡意。

相關(guān)熱詞搜索：英國(guó)人 幽默 英國(guó)人幽默性格英文 英國(guó)人的幽默小故事