【一起听英语】笑容感染力

笑容会富有感染力，让人感觉心情愉悦，是这样吗？

Yvonne: Welcome to 6 Minute English! I’m Yvonne Archer¹ and joining me today is Kate.

Hello, Kate!

Kate: Hello, Yvonne!

Yvonne: Now Kate, you’ve got a shy but pretty smile, I'd say. Are you happy with it?

Kate: Oh, thank you very much. Yes, I am happy with it. But Yvonne, you've got a

fantastic, big smile.

Yvonne: Oh thanks, but according to recent research, simply having a pretty or a big smile

isn't good enough any more. But before we find out more, here's today's question:

Kate, we’ve all become really used to the smiley face, for example, in e-mails. But

when did the very first smiley face appear?

 

a: In the early 1960s

b: in the early 1970s or

c: in the late 1970s

 

Kate: Well, I think the smiley face is a sort of iconic image and I can imagine it being

around in the hippy era. So, I'm going to say a) – the 1960s.

 

Yvonne: As usual, we'll find out whether you're right later on. Now, here are three sayings

about how powerful a smile can be from the BBC's Jonny Hogg. Which is your

favourite? 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

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Jonny Hogg

Peace begins with a smile…A smile is the universal welcome…Life is short, but a smile only

takes a second.

Yvonne: Kate, what did you think of the saying: "peace begins with a smile"?

Kate: I really like that saying and I think it's true. I think if everybody smiled more,

there'd be less war and aggravation² and fighting.

Yvonne: So what about: "a smile is the universal welcome"

Kate: I like that one too. I think it's a universal sign – it's a signal. Everybody

understands a smile, no matter what language you speak.

Yvonne: And what about "life is short, but a smile only takes a second"? I think that's my

favourite.

Kate: Yes, I like that one too. I think it's very important to smile because it's free and it's

easy to do and it makes everyone feel better.

Yvonne: But which was your favourite? You liked them all, Kate!

Kate: I think I agree with you; I like the last one – life is short, but a smile only takes a

second.

Yvonne: Yes, you can never be too busy to smile at someone really.

Kate: Exactly!

Yvonne: But it’s really important to give the right type of smile - as the Go Group recently

found out. The company is based in Scotland and helps other businesses. Now

here’s the BBC’s Jonny Hogg with a description of three different types of smile

that the company says they are not good. So, this can be useful information for job

interviews. But why are the following, bad smiles? 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

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Jonny Hogg

The first is 'The Enthusiast³' - very wide, all teeth showing, possible evidence that you can

have too much of a good thing. Then there is the 'Big Freeze' - a fixed⁴ grin⁵ that looks

practised and fake⁶. Finally comes 'The Robot', a small thin smile lacking in warmth.

Yvonne: Oh dear, I think my smile is ‘the enthusiast’ – it’s very wide with lots of teeth

showing. So why is it possible that my smile isn’t good, Kate?

Kate: Well, he said that someone who’s an enthusiast is extremely eager, really

interested and perhaps even excited about what they do – or on a job interview,

about the job they want.

Yvonne: Yes, that’s me – I love what I do!

Kate: Yes, but the research shows that your smile might be ‘possible evidence’ – that it

might be proof, that you're a little too enthusiastic for some people - and that’s not

always good apparently⁷.

Yvonne: It can be annoying, I suppose. Now, what about ‘the big freeze’ and ‘the robot’

smiles? They both seem cold and unwelcoming, don’t you think?

Kate: Well yes – both ‘the big freeze’ and the ‘the robot’ are cold – they’re ‘lacking in

warmth’ he said, and so they don’t welcome people. And as we heard, ‘the big

freeze’ doesn’t look real or natural - so it looks ‘fake’ and looks like the person has

worked on it carefully – like they’ve ‘practised’ it.

Yvonne: And everyone probably gets the same smile, every time, in every situation. So ‘the

big freeze’ is a fixed smile. Now ‘the robot’ is obviously mechanical – without any

real feelings.

Kate: Yes, robots can’t think, can they? So that smile is given automatically⁸ – and it’s

the opposite to your smile, Yvonne. It’s thin and small. 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

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Yvonne: Well, I’ve been given ‘the big freeze’ and ‘the robot’ smile in shops from

unenthusiastic people who don’t really like their jobs.

 

Kate: Yes, so have I. And I always get it from air hostesses on airplanes because they

have to smile all day at so many people. I don't blame them at all.

Yvonne: That's true – they definitely have a fixed smile. OK, those were three examples of

bad smiles. But what makes a really good one? Here's more from the BBC's Jonny

Hogg:

Jonny Hogg

The group also warns about smiling too quickly, saying it can make you look insincere. The best

smile, they say, is slower and floods naturally across the whole face.

Yvonne: So Kate, how can we give the best type of smile?

 

Kate: Well, according to the research, the best type of smile comes slowly rather than

quickly so that it looks sincere – genuine or real. And the best smile floods

naturally across the face. So don’t force yourself to smile and don’t just smile with

your mouth.

Yvonne: No! So a smile should cover the entire face. Well, there’s certainly a lot to think

about – and I think it would be really difficult for me to change my natural smile.

Kate: And I don't think you should either. You've got such a nice smile.

Yvonne: Oh, thank you. Anyway, it’s time for the answer to today’s question. Kate, when

did you say the very first smiley face appeared?

 

Kate: I said the early 1960s.

Yvonne: And you were absolutely right!

Kate: Oh good! 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

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Yvonne: It was 1963. Well that's all for today’s 6 Minute English; we hope we made

you smile. 

1 archer   

n.射手，弓箭手

参考例句：

• The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
• The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

2 aggravation   

n.烦恼，恼火

参考例句：

• She stirred in aggravation as she said this. 她说这句话，激动得过分。
• Can't stand the aggravation, all day I get aggravation. You know how it is." 我整天都碰到令人发火的事，你可想而知这是什么滋味。” 来自教父部分

3 enthusiast   

n.热心人，热衷者

参考例句：

• He is an enthusiast about politics.他是个热衷于政治的人。
• He was an enthusiast and loved to evoke enthusiasm in others.他是一个激情昂扬的人，也热中于唤起他人心中的激情。

4 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

5 grin   

n./vi.露齿而笑，咧嘴一笑

参考例句：

• I know she is joking because she has a big grin on her face.我知道她是在开玩笑。因为她满脸笑容。
• She came out of his office with a big grin on her face.她笑容满面地走出他的办公室。

6 fake   

vt.伪造，造假，假装；n.假货，赝品

参考例句：

• He can tell a fake from the original.他能分辨出赝品和真品。
• You can easily fake up an excuse to avoid going out with him.你可以很容易地编造一个借口而不与他一同外出。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 automatically   

adv.不加思索地，无意识地，自动地

参考例句：

• The machine cycles automatically.这台机器自动循环运转。
• She had automatically labelled the boys as troublemakers.她不假思索地认定这些男孩子是捣蛋鬼。