特别广播英语第 107 课：Body Talk 身体语言-2

The Latin American to be "cold" or "distant" because he keeps a greater distance between himself and the person he is speaking to. 相反，拉丁美洲的人经常认为北美洲的人待人都很"冷淡"或"疏远"，因为北美洲人自己总是跟谈话对方之间要保持较大的距离。

Eye contact is one way of measuring the degree of closeness of relationship between two speakers, although there are cultural variations in the meaning of eye contact. 目光的接触是衡量两个谈话人之间关系亲密程度的一个标准，尽管在不同的民族文化中对目光接触的意义有所不同。

In the Middle East, for example, it is considered extremely provocative for a woman to let a man catch her eye, let alone return his gaze. 例如，在中东，如果一位妇女惹得一个男子的注目，就被认为是带有极端的调逗调情的性质，更不用说回眸再去凝视那个男人了。

Social psychologist Michael Argyle observes that there is more eye contact between people who like each other than those who are indifferent or hostile towards each other. 社会心理学家迈克o阿吉尔觉察到对方的次数和时间，要比两个互相冷漠甚至敌视的人互相看对方的次数和时间要多。

And the longer the length of the gaze, the more likely it is that the listener is more interested in the person who is speaking, than the actual topic of conversation. 听讲话的人若是凝视讲话的人的时间越长，越有可能是，听讲话的人对讲话的人本人的举大过于对他所讲的真正的话题的兴趣。

Frequently looking down can indicate submissiveness or embarrassment. Looking away repeatedly may express boredom or dislike. 低头往下看通常都表示顺从或不好意思。反复地扭转头看别处可以表达厌烦或不喜欢。

Women tend to engage in more eye contract than men, especially when talking to other women. 妇女比男人更喜欢用目光接触，特别是在和另外一些妇女谈话时更是这样。

But too steady eye contact can make one feel uneasy at times. Most people become uncomfortable under the intense gaze of a stare. 但有时死死地盯着看人，会使人感到不安。被人家盯着看，这会使大多数人感到不舒服。

One scientist suggests that perhaps one reason that man becomes tense under the force of a stare is in his biological ancestors: in apes, a stare signifies aggressiveness and hostility. 某一位科学家说，人类受到使劲地盯视时会感到紧张，这其中的原因之一就在人类的生活学上的始祖身上：在类人猿中间，瞪着眼睛盯着看，就意味着要侵犯和要敌对。

The person who insistently fixes his eyes on our face is often more successful in arousing our dislike than impressing us with his directness and sincerity. 一个人若是用他的两只眼睛始终不停地直直地看着我们的脸，这样做不但不会给我们留下这个人很直率很真诚的印象，反而会引起我们的反感。