Jesus smiles as he undergoes crucifixion, and some of the Romanesque sculptures,[8] which otherwise have very small mouths, are brightened by surprising smiles.
The nerves that make a natural smile are different from the ones activated when we force a smile, and so the two smiles look different; sometimes neurological patients[9] will be able to do one of the smiles but not the other. 30% of Americans show their canine teeth[10] when they smile, and only 67% turn up the corners of the mouth when they smile. No one really knows why tiny babies smile except that it is a trick calculated[11] to make the adults around them like them; of course it works.
Laughing has been thought to be bad taste; Lord Chesterfield advised his son, “The vulgar often laugh, but never smile; whereas well-bred people often smile, but seldom laugh.”[12] We are smiling more heartily now, and this is because of modern dentistry, which encourages display of healthy teeth, and modern photography, which can catch a spontaneous smile when previously sitters had to keep immobile for long periods of time to make a portrait.[13]
Vocabulary
1. public school: 在英国和威尔士指公学,一种贵族化的私立付费学校,实行寄宿制,常为大学的预科学校。在美国和苏格兰指初等或中等公立学校。
2. Czech: 捷克人(的),捷克语(的);hurtle: 猛投,猛扔;modernity: 现代状态。此处语带调侃:与欧洲发达国家相比,捷克的经济比较落后,句中作者调侃捷克人用fax(传真)一词,希望能让自己显得先进些。
【谈“笑”:论古今中外各个时期的笑】相关文章:
★ 2013年6月英语六级考试备考深度阅读试题模拟与解析(4)
最新
2016-10-18
2016-10-11
2016-10-11
2016-10-08
2016-09-30
2016-09-30