Man-crying 男人的眼泪
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2010-07-27 01:18 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Real men don't cry. We just get something in our eye

By Nigel Farndale

'Daddy, you're crying,' say my sons. 'No, boys, I'm man-crying. Very useful skill.'

A short walk from my house in Hampshire, on a hill overlooking the heathland(石南灌丛) , is a plaque(斑块,血小板) marking the spot where Richard Pryce Jones deliberately1(故意地,谨慎地) crashed his Halifax bomber2 during the war. He could have parachuted(跳伞) to safety, but that would have meant crashing into the village. The epitaph(碑文,墓志铭) reads: "He died that others might live."

It never fails to move me. Not to tears, you understand. That would be disrespectful. But I do usually manage a lump in the throat(喉咙哽住) and that film of moisture(水分,湿度) over the eyes that men have in their emotional armoury. Gordon Brown demonstrated the non-crying cry beautifully when he made his farewell speech on the steps of Number 10. That catch in the throat. The determination not to weep in public. At that moment, if at no other, he had nobility.

Not everyone can carry it off. I don't think Paul Gascoigne ever quite got the hang of it, for example. But I like to think I have it down to an art, my technique honed(磨光) from years of watching The Railway Children, Sleepless3 in Seattle and that scene in Dumbo when the mother elephant is locked away. "Daddy!" my sons will say, pointing the accusing finger. "You're crying!"

"Me? Over Dumbo? Ha ha ha. No, boys, what I am doing is man-crying, a sort of non-crying cry. I'll teach you it one day. Very useful."

They are too young to appreciate the nuance4(细微差别) yet, but when they are older I will explain that open sobbing5(啜泣,哭泣) is associated with being female, and so inappropriate for men. The Charlie Chaplin analogy might be useful here. He once said that the way to act drunk is to imagine yourself a drunk man trying to act sober. The same is true when a man learns the non-crying cry. To be convincing, you must look as if you are trying to avoid tears.

In this respect(在这方面) , it is important for a young man to appreciate the difference between male tears and female. I remember once asking the actress Emilia Fox if she could cry at will, right there and then, over lunch. To my astonishment6, she could – from a standing7 start. Fat tears rolling down her cheeks. When she had finished, she resumed her smiling countenance8(面容,表情) .

Those are female tears, and the reason you never hear anyone say: "It's enough to make a grown woman cry." That expression only works when it refers to "grown men" and though that may seem tautological9(赘述的) , the "grown" is justified10. Not all men are grown. The emotionally incontinent(立即,即刻) exhibitionists who cry when they are kicked off talent shows such as The X Factor are not grown men, for example. Men have to be careful what they cry at, because some subjects are more worthy11 of tears than others. Grief, obviously. But not self-pity. And rarely should a man cry in pain. And never at the death of a princess he didn't know. Those are the rules.

I suspect my colleague Matt Pritchett might be with me on this. One of his cartoons this past week showed a father next to a television tuned12 to the World Cup, explaining to his children that "at some point in the next few weeks, you are going to see me cry". And the day after the last survivor13 of the Great Escape died, he did a cartoon showing a gravestone with a mound14 of tunnelled earth trailing away(逐渐减弱) from it. I seemed to have something in my eye when I saw that, and I expect he had the same something in his eye when he drew it.



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1 deliberately Gulzvq     
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地
参考例句:
  • The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
  • They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。
2 bomber vWwz7     
n.轰炸机,投弹手,投掷炸弹者
参考例句:
  • He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
  • Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。
3 sleepless oiBzGN     
adj.不睡眠的,睡不著的,不休息的
参考例句:
  • The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。
  • One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上,我听说了一个传闻,把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。
4 nuance Xvtyh     
n.(意义、意见、颜色)细微差别
参考例句:
  • These users will easily learn each nuance of the applications they use.这些用户会很快了解他们所使用程序的每一细微差别。
  • I wish I hadn't become so conscious of every little nuance.我希望我不要变得这样去思索一切琐碎之事。
5 sobbing df75b14f92e64fc9e1d7eaf6dcfc083a     
<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的
参考例句:
  • I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
  • Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。
6 astonishment VvjzR     
n.惊奇,惊异
参考例句:
  • They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
  • I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。
7 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
8 countenance iztxc     
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同
参考例句:
  • At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
  • I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地,仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。
9 tautological uqvwM     
adj.重复的;累赘的
参考例句:
  • "Safe" and "reliable" are tautological.稳妥和可靠,意思是重复的。
  • Modern logicians think it is tautological.现代的逻辑学家认为它是同义反复的。
10 justified 7pSzrk     
a.正当的,有理的
参考例句:
  • She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
  • The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。
11 worthy vftwB     
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的
参考例句:
  • I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
  • There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。
12 tuned b40b43fd5af2db4fbfeb4e83856e4876     
adj.调谐的,已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 );调整;(给收音机、电视等)调谐;使协调
参考例句:
  • The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味,老少皆宜。
  • The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 survivor hrIw8     
n.生存者,残存者,幸存者
参考例句:
  • The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
  • There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。
14 mound unCzhy     
n.土墩,堤,小山;v.筑堤,用土堆防卫
参考例句:
  • The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
  • The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。
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