Ladies and Gentlemen

Mark Sherman

lady一詞自帶淑女優(yōu)雅光環(huán)，仿佛被冠以lady之稱，就必須舉止大方得體、言行溫柔嬌弱、禮貌禮節(jié)完備。而現(xiàn)在，雖然lady一詞的使用遠(yuǎn)沒有g(shù)entleman頻繁，但人們?nèi)匀豢倢⑺c善良、優(yōu)秀這些品德聯(lián)系在一起。相比之下，gentleman真的都是紳士嗎？事實(shí)也許并非如此。

Once upon a time (you dressed so fine, threw the bums a dime, etc.1. bum: 流浪漢；dime: 一角硬幣，10美分。)—I’m sorry, but every time I hear or say“Once upon a time,” I can’t help but think of Dylan’s“Like a Rolling Stone”2. “Like a Rolling Stone”: 《像一顆滾動(dòng)的石頭》，是美國(guó)創(chuàng)作歌手鮑勃·迪倫（Bob Dylan）1965年的作品。—we didn’t have to worry about every word we said. For example, words like “l(fā)ady” and “gentleman”were fine. I think “gentleman” still is, but “l(fā)ady” (with the possible exception of Lady Gaga) is often frowned upon by feminists, who see it as disempowering.3. frown upon: 不贊成，反對(duì)；disempowering:失去重要性或影響力的。

The problem is that lady has the implication of ladylike behavior, which implies a certain kind of femininity and delicacy, one that seems to have little place in today’s highly competitive world.4. 問題在于，lady這一稱呼意味著行為舉止要像淑女一般溫柔、嬌弱，而在當(dāng)今這個(gè)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)如此激烈的社會(huì)中，這樣似乎很難立足。implication: 含義，暗示；ladylike: 像淑女一樣的，端莊的；femininity: 溫柔，女性化；delicacy: 嬌弱。Google “l(fā)adylike” and the first thing you get is “appropriate for or typical of a well-bred,decorous woman or girl.”5. well-bred: 有教養(yǎng)的；decorous:有禮貌的，得體的。Who wants to be well-bred and decorous today? Keep in mind that “decorous” means “in keeping with good taste and propriety; polite and restrained.”6. propriety: 禮貌，規(guī)矩；restrained:克制的。

《唐頓莊園》里的紳士和淑女形象

Actually, questions about the use of“l(fā)ady” to mean an adult female have been around for a while. Consider this quote:“The regret has, of late, been made very manifest in polite circles as to the fastdisappearing usage of the old-fashioned and courtly word of ‘lady’…7. of late: 最近，近來；manifest: 明顯的；courtly: 有宮廷氣派的，威嚴(yán)的。Upon this renewal of attention to the word have followed discussions of the perplexing8. perplexing: 復(fù)雜的。question of the proper use of the term ‘lady’ and that of ‘woman.’” That quote is from an article inThe Ladies Home Journal, written in 1895!

Keep in mind that many years ago both “l(fā)adies” and“gentlemen” were used to refer to people of the upper crust9. the upper crust: 上流社會(huì)。.There was a clear classist ring to them, and even though the words later became much more widely applied, I don’t think thatDownton Abbeyflavor has ever fully left them.10. classist: 有階級(jí)偏見的；Downton Abbey:《唐頓莊園》，由英國(guó)ITV電視臺(tái)出品的時(shí)代?。籪lavor: 特點(diǎn)，特色。But while their use became more democratized, it has always carried the implication of politeness and graciousness11. democratized: 民主化的；graciousness: 親切，有禮貌?！猠specially for“l(fā)ady”—as in the old, and not very good, joke:

“Who was that lady I saw you with last night?

“That was no lady, that was my wife.”

While these days I don’t think we’re hearing “l(fā)ady” (and“l(fā)adies”) as much as “gentleman” (and “gentlemen”), when we do hear “l(fā)ady,” it still carries an aura12. aura: 光環(huán)。of goodness. But this association with goodness seems to be much more the case for lady than for gentleman.13. 但是，與gentleman一詞相比，似乎lady更容易與善良、仁慈這樣的品德聯(lián)系在一起。“Gentleman” is still widely used simply as a synonym for “man.” For example, on the local news,often when a witness is referring to a crime, he’ll refer to the perpetrator14. perpetrator: 犯罪者。as a gentleman. He’ll say, “So then this gentleman walked in…”

Yes, then this gentleman walked in and hit the store owner over the head with a gun. That’s a gentleman? I kind of made that one up,but it’s based on numerous times I’ve heard that kind of statement on the news. Here’s an example from not simply an eyewitness, but a victim. This is from a woman, on a local news website in Seattle earlier this year, describing her experience:

“I had this purse on my shoulder like this; however, the zipper15. zipper: 拉鏈。was facing outward. So this gentleman came up from behind me,bumped into16. bump into: 撞上。me really hard once and I didn’t think anything of it because it was really crowded. It was Happy Hour time17. Happy Hour time: 減價(jià)供應(yīng)飲料等的時(shí)間（酒吧間術(shù)語(yǔ)）。so everyone was literally shoulder to shoulder,” Kathy said.

But then Kathy said the man bumped into her again.

“That’s when I noticed his scarf was hovering over my straps so I thought he was trying to get access to the scarf so I leaned forward to let him do that,18. hover: 徘徊，盤旋；strap:（衣裙的）肩帶，吊帶。not knowing at that time he was using that as a cover to stick his hand in my purse and steal my wallet,” Kathy said.

This woman has her wallet stolen, and the guy who stole it is a gentleman? I’ve never committed a crime, so if he’s a gentleman, I must be a super-gentleman!

Actually, given the way men are often talked about today, perhaps Milton Berle’s famous opening line on his incredibly popular early TV show, a line which was ultimately used by lots of comics, was closer to what some(not me!) see as the truth of masculinity.19. Milton Berle: 米爾頓·伯利（1908—2002），美國(guó)電影喜劇演員； comics:漫畫；masculinity: 男子氣概，陽(yáng)剛之氣?！癎ood evening, ladies and germs20. germ: 細(xì)菌，病菌。,” Berle would announce. I actually do remember that from my childhood. What I didn’t recall, but found when I looked up his obituary21. obituary: 訃告。, was that he often followed that line with “I mean ladies and gentlemen. I call you ladies and gentlemen, but you know what you really are.”

Finally, I leave you with this. Why are there ladybugs22. ladybug: 瓢蟲。, no gentleman bugs? To get down to brass tacks23. get down to brass tacks:言歸正傳，開始談?wù)?。here, without gentlemen bugs,how can we even still have ladybugs?