善意玩笑的重要性：英語精讀講義

It may not seem like it,

也許表面看不出來，

but teasing done with affection and skill 文法

但充滿愛意和技巧的打趣，

is a profound human accomplishment.

是一種深刻的人類成就。

There is a nasty teasing, of course,

當然，也有一種惡意的嘲弄，

in which we pick away at a sore spot in someone's life. 慣用語

專戳別人生活中的痛處。

But here,

但在這裡，

we're talking of the affectionate version,

我們談論的是充滿愛意的版本，

something generous and loving,

它是慷慨而充滿關愛的，

which feels good to be on the receiving end of. 慣用語

讓人被這樣打趣時也感覺很好。

It can be lovely to be teased when, for example,

有時被打趣是很美好的，比如，

you're a teenager and in a grumpy sullen mood

當你還是個處於鬱悶暴躁情緒中的青少年時，

and your kindly dad nicknames you Hamlet, 文化背景

你善良的爸爸給你起了個綽號叫哈姆雷特，

Shakespeare's Danish prince of gloom.

莎士比亞筆下那位憂鬱的丹麥王子。

Or when you're 45 and pretty serious in business

或者當你45歲、在商界非常嚴肅認真時，

and your old university friends come around 片語動詞

你的大學老友來訪，

and call you by that name they made up for you when you aged 19, 片語動詞

用你19歲時他們給你起的名字叫你，

the night you failed dismally trying to pick up a German girl who was in town. 片語動詞

就在那天晚上，你極其悲慘地搭訕城裡的一位德國女孩失敗了。

All of us get a bit unbalanced in one way or another, 片語搭配

我們所有人都在某一方面會有些失衡，

too serious, too gloomy, too jokey. 文法

太嚴肅、太憂鬱、太愛開玩笑。

And so, we all benefit from being tugged back towards a healthier mean. 慣用語

因此，我們都會從被拉回到更健康的中庸狀態中受益。

The good teaser latches onto and responds to our distinctive imbalances 片語動詞

優秀的打趣者能抓住並回應我們獨特的失衡，

and gets compassionately constructive about trying to change us,

並充滿同情心地、建設性地試圖改變我們，

not by delivering a stern lesson, 文法

不是透過嚴厲的教訓，

but by helping us to notice our excesses and laugh at them.

而是幫助我們注意到自己的過度行為並一笑置之。

We sense the teaser trying to give us a useful little shove 慣用語

我們感覺到打趣者在試著輕輕推我們一把，

in a good and secretly welcome direction,

把我們推向一個好的、我們在心裡其實很歡迎的方向，

and therefore we know that at its affectionate best,

所以我們知道，處於最好、最有愛意的狀態時，

teasing is at once sweet and constructive. 片語搭配

打趣既是甜蜜的，也是有建設性的。

The English literary critic Cyril Connolly once famously said,

英國文學評論家西里爾·康諾利曾有一句名言：

"Imprisoned in every fat man is a thin man 講解

“在每一個胖子體內，都囚禁著一個瘦子，

wildly signaling to be let out."

正拼命發信號想被放出來。”

It's a general idea with multiple variants.

這是一個有著多種變體的普遍概念。

Inside the fussy, over-formal individual,

在愛挑剔、過度拘謹的人內心，

there's a more relaxed person looking for an opening. 慣用語

有一個更放鬆的人在尋找出口。

There's an ambitious, eager self

也有一個野心勃勃、充滿渴望的自我

quietly despairing within the lazy man.

在懶漢體內靜靜地絕望。

The gloomy, disenchanted cynic

陰鬱、幻想破滅的憤世嫉俗者，

harbors a more cheery, sunny sub-self in need of more recognition. 片語搭配

心裡藏著一個更快樂、更陽光，需要更多認可的潛藏自我。

The teasing remark speaks over the head of one's dominant personality 慣用語

打趣的話語越過一個人的主導人格，

to the subordinated side of the self

對著那個處於從屬地位的自我說話，

whom it helps to release and relax.

幫助它釋放和放鬆。

There's a moment in the line of beauty,

比如在小說《美麗曲線》中，

a novel by Alan Hollinghurst set in the 1980s,

這是艾倫·霍林赫斯特以20世紀80年代為背景的一部作品，

in which Nick, the charming young central character,

魅力十足的年輕主人公尼克

is invited to a grand party

受邀參加一場盛大的派對，

where he meets the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

在那裡遇到了英國首相瑪格麗特·柴契爾。

Everyone is slightly terrified of her,

每個人都有點怕她，

but Nick warmly and teasingly suggests

但尼克熱情地、帶著打趣的口吻建議，

that she might like to dance to a pop song. 語氣意圖

她也許想隨著一首流行歌曲跳舞。

The other guests are horrified.

其他客人都驚呆了。

She's meant to be obsessed by stringent economic reform and hard-nosed politics. 講解

她應該沉迷於嚴格的經濟改革和強硬的政治。

But, after a brief inner struggle,

但是，經過短暫的內心掙扎，

she replies with a smile,

她微笑著回答，

"You know, I'd like that very much."

“你知道嗎，我非常樂意。”

Perhaps, if in reality, 文法

也許，如果在現實中，

there'd been more people to tease her,

有更多的人去打趣她，

the pop-loving, dancing side of Mrs. Thatcher

柴契爾夫人喜愛流行樂、愛跳舞的那一面，

might have played a greater role in national affairs

也許會在國家事務中發揮更大的作用，

and history would have been different.

歷史也會因此不同。

When we enjoy being warmly teased,

當我們喜歡被熱情打趣時，

it's because the teasing remark emerges from a genuine insight into who we are. 片語搭配

是因為打趣的話語源於對我們真實身分的深刻洞察。

This person has studied us

這個人研究過我們，

and put their finger on a struggle that's going on in us. 慣用語

並指出了我們內心正在進行的鬥爭。

They've taken the part of a nice 慣用語

他們站在了我們很好

but currently under-supported side of who we are.

但目前並未得到充分支持的那一面。

It's pleasing because

這很令人高興，因為

normally others don't see much past the front we put on for the world. 慣用語

通常別人看不到我們向世界展示的偽裝背後的情感。

Typically, the world just thinks of us as 片語搭配

通常情況下，世人只會認為我們是

gloomy or stern or intellectual or obsessed by fashion.

陰鬱的、嚴厲的、理性的，或者沉迷於時尚的。

The teaser does us the favor of recognizing 片語搭配

打趣者幫了我們一個忙，他們認識到

that the dominant front isn't telling the whole story. 慣用語

主導的表象並不能說明一切。

They're kind enough and perceptive enough 文法

他們足夠善良，也足夠敏銳，

to see past the surface. 慣用語

能夠透過表面看到本質。

Perhaps the most instructive question we can ask,

也許我們能問的最有啟發性的問題，

the one that teaches us most about the value of affectionate teasing

也是那個最能教會我們愛的打趣價值的問題，

is simply,

僅僅是，

"What do I need to be teased about?" 文法

“我需要在哪些方面被打趣？”