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1. In the spring of this year, a Beijing television channel produced a program called, "Smile". It televised the reaction of people on the street when confronted with a smile from an unknown person, chosen at random. Most people were either surprised or seemed a little worried. A few more enthusiastic people even muttered that the person who smiled was "crazy". The number of people who actually returned the smile could be counted on one hand.
1、这一年春天（in the spring of this year），北京电视台以《微笑》为题作了一档街头调查节目：请一些人在街道上对着遇到的行人微笑，以观察行人的反应(televise vt. 用电视播放；confront with 面临; 直译为：这档节目在屏幕上播放面对来自随机选择的、陌生人的微笑时行人做出的反应)。结果多数人现出惊讶或紧张的表情，更激烈些的（A few more enthusiastic people; enthusiastic adj. 热情的；狂热的；mutter vt. 咕哝；抱怨地说）则骂一声“神经病”。回报以微笑的路人屈指可数(could be counted on one hand一只手就能数过来)。
2. It seems Chinese people don't really like to smile and that's the impression they convey to the world.
2、中国人不太爱笑，这差不多是个国际印象(like to do sth. 喜欢做某事；impression n. 印象；convey to 转达；这是他们传达给这个世界的印象)。
3. What is not understood by outsiders is that smiling in China is a very meaningful and subtle thing. Around 781 BC, there was a monarch called Zhou You Wang, who cared little for ruling his country. Instead, he much preferred to chase women. One of his Ministers gave the Emperor a beautiful woman, whom the Emperor really liked, except for the fact that she would never smile. After trying countless different methods to get her to smile, a Minister came up with an idea. He suggested the Emperor light the twenty or so signal fires which were spread around the capital city to warn people when the country was in danger of war. The Minister thought the fires would summon the Warlords and Dukes to bring their armies to the capital and, when the woman saw the chaos caused by tricking the armies, she would surely laugh.
3、外国人(what is not understood by outsiders 主语从句；outsiders n. 外来者；局外人)不明白，笑在中国是一件内涵颇深的事情(that smiling in China is a very meaningful and subtle thing 表语从句；meaningful adj.有意义的；意味深长的; subtle adj. 微妙的；敏感的)。大概在公元前781年（around 781 BC），一位称作周幽王的君主（monarch n.），酷好美女（prefer to do sth. 更喜欢做某事；chase vt. 追逐），无心国政(who cared little for ruling his country非限制性定语从句；care for 关心)。有大臣（ministers）便将一名美女献给他。周幽王非常喜欢她(由whom引导的非限制性定语从句，whom在从句中做宾语)，但这个美女从未笑过（除了美女从未笑过这件事外；except for 除了…以外）。百般招数无效后(to get her to smile不定式作目的状语)，有一大臣出主意(come up with 想出; 直译为：为博得美女一笑，尝试了无数次不同的方法，一个大臣想出了一个主意)让周幽王点燃烽火(single fires)，京城附近有20多座烽火台（or so 大约），这是为战争时向诸侯求救而建立的信号台（to warn people when the country was in danger of war不定式作目的状语；直译为：以便在国家陷入战斗时向人们做出警告）。大臣认为诸侯（the Warlords and Dukes；warlord n. 军阀; duke n. 公爵）见到烽火就会赶至京城（summon vt. 召唤；召集；直译为：大臣认为烽火将召唤诸侯带着人马抵达京城），美女看到“兵慌马乱”的情形(caused by tricking the armies过去分词做定语，修饰the chaos；可译为：受骗军队所造成的混乱; chaos n. 混乱; trick vt. 欺骗；n. 骗局)，一定会笑出来。
4. The Zhou Emperor tried this idea and, sure enough, it made the beautiful woman laugh. Later, when a real enemy came and the Emperor lit the signal fires, the Generals didn't respond, thinking it was just another trick. Thus, the Emperor and his beautiful woman were both captured. Today, the Chinese refer to this story of Emperor Zhou as, "Signal fires joke with the Generals".
4、周幽王照此办理，果真(sure enough)引得美人一笑(make (sb.) do sth.; make后接不带to的不定式)。只是后来外敌来犯，周幽王的烽火没能把曾受骗的诸侯召来(respond vi.; light-lit-lit vt. 点燃；直译为：后来，真正的敌人来犯而国王点燃烽火台时，诸侯们没有赶来，他们认为这又是另一个骗局)，至使自己命丧敌手（这句话，原文中真没有），那位美女也被敌人掳了去（还是直译吧：因此，国王和他的美人双双被抓）。这一桩君王逗美女一笑的故事，就是今天中国人所知的“烽火戏诸侯”（refer to … as… 把…称作…; joke with开…的玩笑；直译为：中国人把周幽王的这个故事称作“烽火戏诸侯”）。
5. There are four main Chinese classical stories that deal with this problem of smiling. The books are A Dream of Red Mansions, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, and Journey to the West. The main character in A Dream of Red Mansions is a young master, no older than 15 or 16, named Jia Baoyu. When trying to get a servant girl to smile, he prepared a bunch of paper fans for her to rip. When the servant heard the ripping sound, she couldn't contain her happiness and broke into a smile. The mother of the young master took a dislike to the girl and found an excuse to cause her death.
5、中国有四大古典名著（《红楼梦A Dream of Red Mansions；mansion n. 大厦；宅邸》、《三国演义Romance of the Three Kingdoms；romance n. 传奇；冒险故事》、《水浒Water Margin；margin n. 边缘》和《西游记Journey to the West；journey vi. 旅行》)，它们论讲述了微笑这个问题。《红楼梦》中的男主人公（main character）是年龄不过十五六岁（no older than 15 or 16）的王府少爷，名叫贾宝玉（named Jia Baoyu过去分词作定语，修饰a young master）。这少爷为讨婢女的笑脸，备下大堆的纸扇(a bunch of paper fans)给她撕，这女子听到撕扇声(the ripping sound)就乐不可支（contain vt. 包含；偏意：控制）。结果是少爷的母亲看不惯这位婢女的张扬（take a dislike to 讨厌，不喜欢），找了个碴（find an excuse 找个理由），置她于死地（to cause her death 不定式作结果状语）(可怜的晴雯，罪不致死呀，宝玉就是个害人精，哈……)。
6. In the 8th century AD, there was an Emperor named Tang Ming Huang who doted on one of his concubines. A famous poet of the time, Bai Juyi, wrote a poem describing the beauty of this concubine. The poem says, "If she but turned her head and smiled, there were cast a hundred spells, and the powder and paint of the Six Palaces, faded into nothing." However, a tragic ending to the life of this beautiful concubine came about when a few Generals rose up against the Emperor. The Emperor needed a gesture to boost the morale of his loyal soldiers and urge his concubine to provide the gesture by committing suicide.
6、在公元8世纪，有一位被称作唐明皇的皇帝，他对一个妃子宠爱有加（dote on 宠爱，溺爱; concubine n. 妾）。当时著名的诗人白居易在诗中形容这位妃子魅力（describing the beauty of this concubine 现在分词短语做宾语；poet n. 诗人; poem n.诗歌）：“回眸一笑(but conj.但是；偏意：adv. 仅仅，只)百媚生（there were cast a hundred spells; cast n. 投掷物，这里应该指的是“笑容”，个人意见，希望得到求证，或发表不同看法；spell vt. 拼写；偏意：n.魅力），六宫粉黛无颜色”（faded into nothing; fade into 渐渐融入于…）。这个有媚人笑容的妃子的结局更惨（tragic adj. 悲剧的; end to 以…为结尾；come about 发生；产生；出现）：当那些背叛皇帝的军人挑起战乱时，皇帝不得不逼迫她自杀以安抚军心（rise up against 奋起反抗; gesture n. 姿态；boost vt. 促进；增加，提高; morale n. 士气；斗志; urge vt. 力劝；催促；commit suicide 自杀）（后两句直译为：然而，当一些诸侯奋起反抗拼皇帝时，这个美妃的人生悲剧发生了；皇帝需要一个行动来激发忠实于他的将士们的斗志，他不得不逼迫他的妃子自杀，以作为激发士气的行动）。
7. From some of the examples above, it seems the ideal taught is, "Women aren't allowed to smile, and men aren't allowed to demand that they smile." Besides these examples, there are some ancient idioms related to smiling, sun as "Hide a dagger behind a sharp smile" and "put on a false smile." These idoms could refer to the sinister plans of an unexpected enemy or the indiscretion that sometimes occurs in the world. The saying, "smiling adds ten years to your life", sounds good, and is true if one gains a physical or mental benefit.
7、从上面这些旷世之笑中，似乎可以得出“女人不可发笑，男人不可讨笑”的教训（allow to do sht. 允许某人做某事；demand vt. 要求；需要）。此外，还有一些流传久远的，与笑有关（related to smiling过去分词做定语；related to 与…有关的）的成语(idiom n.)——笑里藏刀（dagger n. 匕首，短剑）、皮笑肉不笑（put on 假装；false adj. 错误的；虚伪的；虚假的）——也许道出了人世的险恶和处世的谨慎（sinister adj. 阴险的; unexpected adj. 意外的；想不到的；indiscretion n. 轻率）。“笑一笑，十年少”，这条古训看上去正面了不少，却充满着功利（saying n. 谚语；sound good 听起来不错；physical adj. 身体的；mental adj. 精神的；心理的；直译为：“笑一笑，十年少”这条谚语听上去不错，如果一个人能同时获得身心益处也是不错的一件事儿；嘿嘿，还是我翻得靠谱）。
8. I remember in the 1980s, I interviewed the Vice President of a high class hotel, which was state run, but eventually became a joint-venture between a Chinese and foreign ownership. At the time, everything was in short supply and the foreign guests gave the hotel staff a nickname of "No" because the standard reply to most inquiries was always, "No. We don't have it." The attitude of the hotel staff was usually downbeat and smiles were extremely hard to come by.
8、记得上世纪80年代，我采访过一个星级酒店的副经理，合资前，这是一家国营饭店(which was state run非限制性定语从句，修饰a high class hottel; run 偏意：n.经营；eventually adv. 最后; joint-venture n. 合资企业，合资公司; ownership n. 所有权; 直译为：饭店是由国家经营的，但最后成为了一个中外合资企业)。那个时代（at the time）服务业的人员被外国人称为“没有”——因为当时商品匮乏，要什么都回答“没有”(in short supply 缺乏；供应不足; staff n. 职员，员工; nickname n. 绰号；直译为：那个时候，每件东西都供不应求，因为大多数询问得到的答复都是“没有，我们这里没有这个东西”，因此外国客人送给饭店员工“No”作为绰号)；服务态度也出奇地差，一笑难求(downbeat adj. 悲观的;不强烈的；extremely adv. 非常; hard to come by 难得；直译为：饭店员工的服务态度通常都缺乏热情，微笑是非常难得的事情)。
9. In the course of my interview with the Vice President, we came to the subject of smiling. The Vice President, who came from a military background, resolutely told me, "In my Hotel, we want a 'proletariat' smile and, definitely, don't want a 'capitalist' smile. After all, my employees are people too, why would they want to smile at a guest unless they had reason to?"
9、在我的采访过程中（in the course of 在…的过程中），我就同这位副经理谈到了微笑服务（came to the subject of smiling）。军人出身（military background; military adj. 军人的；n. 军人）的副经理坚定地（resolutely adv.）告诉我：“在我的酒店，只要无产阶级(proletariat n.)的微笑，绝不要资产阶级（capitalist n.）的微笑(definitely adv. 清楚地；明确地)。我们的服务员也是人，无缘无故，为什么要对客人笑？(after all 毕竟; employee n. 职员；雇员; smile at 对...微笑；have reason to do sth. 有理由做某事; unless they had reason to（smile）可译为：除非他们有理由微笑)”
10. Smiling, and not smiling, according to some people, is a form of respect.
10、笑与不笑，在一些人眼里是关乎尊严的大事(a form of 一种…形式；respect n. 尊重；敬意)。
11. David Lamb is a reporter who wrote about the Vietnam War for the L.A. Times, and later wrote a book describing Vietnam's development during times of peace. In his book, he wrote, "During my first encounters with the Vietnamese during a time of peace, what struck me was the smile. Faces aglow, their smiles seemed natural and spontaneous, not a forced, mechanical flash of politeness, but rather an expression straight from the heart. A European businessman told me he had rejected a posting in China for one in Vietnam because in China, people are distant and somber. They frown all the time. In Vietnam, I walk out my door in the morning, and people are smiling. They make you feel welcome. They're approachable. They act as though life's pretty good."
11、曾经报道过越南战争（the Vietnam War）的《洛杉矶时报the L.A. Times》记者大卫·兰姆，在描写越南和平年代(during times of peace)的书中说：“和平时期我遇到的越南人（encounter with 遇到；遭遇），最打动我的就是那种微笑（what struck me名字从句做主语；strike-struck-struck vt. 撞击；罢工；打动）。 那些面孔散发出光芒(aglow adj. 发红的)，那是自然而然流露出来的（spontaneous adj. 自然的），而不是为着礼貌挤出的机械笑容（mechanical adj. 呆板的; politeness n. 有礼貌；优雅），相反地（but rather），它们是直接从心中表达出来的。一个欧洲商人告诉我，他已经拒绝了中国的一个差事来到越南（he had rejected a posting in China for one in Vietnam；reject vt. 拒绝; posting n. 委派; one 指的是another posing），因为中国人冷淡且阴郁（distant and somber；somber adj. 忧郁的）。他们整天眉头不展（frown vi. 皱眉）。在越南，清晨时我走出屋门，人们就在微笑。他们让你感到愉快(make后接不带to的不定式)，他们有亲和力（approachable adj. 亲切的）。他们如此这般，仿佛生活特别美好（act as though 表现得似乎）。”
12. After reading this, it is easy to feel that smiling is a very simple, yet wonderful thing.
12、这番话让人感到，微笑是一件多么单纯而美妙的事情。
13. According to the papers, the director, Zhang Yimou, looked for 10,000 smiling children from around the world to feature in a program for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics. Mr. Zhang deserves to be called a "Maestro of China," because he completely understands how much those smiling faces will impact the world.
13、电影导演张艺谋为了北京奥运会开幕式(for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics; ceremony n. 典礼，仪式)，在全球征集一万张孩子的笑脸，在节目中引起轰动（to feature in a program; 应尊重原文；feature n. 特色；偏意：vi. 起重要作用）。张不愧是中国的大师（deserve to 值得；可译为：张艺谋被称作“中国的大师”当之无愧），他深知（he completely understands），热爱笑脸的中国人对世界将有怎样的意义（impact vt. 影响；撞击；冲击；直译为：如此多的笑脸将影响这个世界）。
