朋友间相互问候时,你会在他们的脸颊上亲吻几下呢?
WHEN greeting your friends, how many kisses do you plant on their cheeks?
在这一点上,腼腆的人与开放的人大相径庭。
It's a puzzle shared by the
socially shy and the outgoing.
是轻轻一吻,还是表现得过分热情亲吻不断?
Whether to do the one-cheek brush, or to go for several kisses and appear over-enthusiastic ?
显然地,英国首相戈登-布朗在这一方面也遇到了难题。
Obviously, this is a problem the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown shares.
摄影师们抓拍到了他的一个相当笨拙的时刻:上个星期在柏林的欧洲领导人峰会上,他在欢迎德国大臣安琪儿-默尔克时的场景。
Photographers caught an
awkward moment when he greeted German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a meeting of European leaders in Berlin last week.
毫无疑问,布朗当时只是想在默尔克的脸颊上行"亲吻礼",但却竟然到了德国领导人的鼻子上。
Brown was no doubt aiming for a
casual kiss on Merkel's cheek, but the kiss instead appeared to fall on the German leader's nose.
那么,怎样亲吻他人才是最为恰当的欢迎方式呢?
So, what is the proper way to kiss others in greeting?
在英国,人们通常互相亲吻对方的脸颊。
In Britain people usually kiss each other once on the cheek.
至于亲吻哪一侧的脸颊并没有惯例。
There are no rules about which cheek to kiss.
在过去,绅士们总是会亲吻女士的手来传达问候,而男士之间握手被公认为是礼貌的。
In the past English gentlemen used to kiss a woman's hand in greeting, but between males a
masculinehandshake was considered good manners.
时至今日,握手的方式被保存了下来,但亲吻手的习惯却被时间所淘汰。
The
handshake has survived time, but kissing the hand has not.
不过,一些正式的英式欢迎礼节还是保留了下来。
Some formal British greetings, however, have survived.
倘若有人能够幸运地被女王接见,这时男士需要向女王鞠躬,而女士则需要行屈膝礼。
When a person is given the honor of meeting the Queen, a man is supposed to bow to her while women are supposed to curtsy.
在法国,规矩就有所不同了。
In France, the rules are different.
人们会亲吻同龄的朋友和家人。
People kiss both friends of the same age as well as their family members.
大多数的法国人会亲吻脸颊两次,一边一下。
Most French give two kisses - one on each cheek.
荷兰人的规矩可谓是最复杂的了。
The Netherlands has the most complicated rules.
荷兰式接吻从开始到结束都要在脸颊的同一侧。
The Dutch kiss begins and ends on the same cheek.
一般来说,三个吻是最好的,但是当你欢迎的是一位长者或是较为亲近的家人时,则需要更多了。
Three kisses are expected, but when greeting an
elderly or close family member, there'll usually be a few more.
需要记住的是:亲吻通常是从右侧的脸颊开始的。
Just remember, the right cheek always comes first.
在意大利亲吻只能用来欢迎非常亲近的朋友或是家人。
Kissing in Italy is only used to greet very close friends or family.
意大利式亲吻的次数是随意选择的,没有明确规定需要先亲吻哪一侧的脸颊,但是会经常撞头。
The number of kisses is optional, and as there are no rules on which cheek to kiss first, there are often clashes.
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