中英双语新闻——127 Why men are tied to conventional neckwear

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　　今年11月美国总统大选在即。政客们正忙于竞选拉票。他们的着装有一点很有趣，那就是他们在巡回演说及与选民们见面握手时很少打领带。

 

　　Usually they do this wearing open-necked shirts. Why no ties? Well, it’s less formal and makes them look like regular guys.

 

　　他们不打领带时，通常穿开领衬衫。那么他们为什么不打领带呢？原来，这种着装没那么正式，让他们看起来像普通民众。

 

　　Candidates such as Mitt³ Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich who are vying⁴ for the Republican Party nomination⁵, adopt a casual look when campaigning. Ties are out.

 

　　米特?罗姆尼、里克?桑托勒姆、纽特?金里奇等共和党候选人在竞选拉票中都以非正式的着装出现，没有打领带。

 

　　But when it comes to the big, televised speech or debate then they all revert⁶ to business suit, collar and tie.

 

　　但在重要的电视演讲或辩论中，他们又都穿上了西装和衬衫，系上了领带。

 

　　“To press the flesh and get yourself elected it seems essential to dress down and appear casual, like ordinary voters, rather than buttoned-up or formal,” said David Cannadine, professor of history at Princeton University, US.

 

　　美国普林斯顿大学历史学教授大卫?康南狄表示，“在与选民见面握手时，候选人不穿正装，而改着休闲装，就像普通选民，看起来比较随和，这对候选人是否能够当选似乎是至关重要的。”

 

　　Speaking on the program A Point of View on the BBC Radio 4, he went on: “But to undertake the very different task of running a country, it’s still expected that politicians will wear what is termed as business attire, which means a suit (whether you are a man or woman) and also a tie (if you’re male).

 

　　他在BBC广播电台第四频道《一家观点》节目中说：“但政治家是要担当管理国家重任的人，人们还是希望看到他们穿着所谓的正装——也就是穿西装（男女均如此）打领带（仅限男士）。”

 

　　What are the conventions of wearing a tie?

 

　　打领带有那些规矩呢？

 

　　Some schools and most business organizations have a dress code. It may stipulate⁷ that male employees who meet the public must wear a collar and tie. Why? Because it is thought to give a man a smart appearance. It makes him look respectable, professional, like a banker, businessman or insurance broker⁸.

 

　　部分学校和大多数的商业机构都有着装规定。有些会规定男性员工在接待客户时一定要穿衬衫打领带。为什么呢？因为人们认为这样打扮会使男性看起来更整洁、更体面、更专业，就像银行家，企业家或保险经纪人一样。

 

　　“With an evening coat and a white tie, even a stockbroker⁹ can gain a reputation for being civilized,” said Oscar Wilde, the Irish poet and playwright¹⁰. Of course Wilde was being ironic¹¹. Stockbrokers¹² might be rich, but they were often snubbed by the upper class.

 

　　爱尔兰诗人及剧作家奥斯卡?王尔德曾说：“就连股票经纪人穿上晚礼服打上白领结之后，也会让人感觉彬彬有礼了。”当然，王尔德是在调侃，股票经纪人虽然很有钱，但是一度为上流社会所轻视。

 

　　Fashions in ties change. Kipper ties (broad, colorful ties popular in the West in the 1970s) gave way to narrow strips of material as worn by punk rockers.

 

　　领带的流行趋势也在变化。Kipper领带 (20世纪70年代西方流行一种较宽的，颜色艳丽的领带)被淘汰，人们开始热衷于细领带，就像过去朋克摇滚音乐人戴的那种。

 

　　How you knot your tie may reveal your personality. In From Russia with Love, author Ian Fleming says of secret agent 007: “Bond mistrusted anyone who tied his tie with a Windsor knot (a wide symmetrical triangular¹³ knot). It showed too much vanity. It was often the mark of a cad.”

 

　　打领带的方式也许能够反映你的个性。在007系列《来自俄罗斯的爱》中，作者伊恩?弗莱明曾这样谈论秘密特工007：“只要是将领带打成温莎结（一种宽边对称三角结）的人，一律无法获得邦德的信任。温莎结太过虚荣，通常是行为不端的标志。”

 

　　Police officers in the UK used to wear white shirts and black ties. They looked very dapper. But the tie wasn’t fastened around their necks. It was a clip-on variety so that violent criminals could not drag them around by their ties.

 

　　英国的警察曾经穿白衬衫打黑领带，看上去衣冠楚楚。但其实，这种领带不是系在脖子上的，而是用夹子别在领子上的，这样的话，歹徒就无法拽着警察领带勒住他们的脖子了。

 

　　Times change. Today UK cops wear black T-shirts and stab-proof vests. For many professions the tie is a relic¹⁴ from a bygone age and will not be missed.

 

　　时过境迁，如今的英国警察穿上了黑T恤和防刺背心。对于很多职业来说，领带已经过时，人们也不会再怀念了。

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