英國70%的市民假裝讀過經典名著

If you’ve never quite managed to finish Pride And Prejudice or Jane Eyre, you’re not alone. Some 71 per cent of us claim we’ve read classics in an attempt to seem more cultured, according to a study by Lindeman’s Wine and Book Club。

如果你從未讀完《傲慢與偏見》或《簡·愛》，別擔心，你不是一個人。英國林德曼美酒與圖書俱樂部的一項調查顯示，71%的英國人爲了顯得更有文化，會吹噓自己讀過某些名著。

Most ‘book bluffers’ said they lied about their reading because they did not want to appear stupid. More men were fibbers, with 23 per cent saying they had lied to impress a female, while women said they feared friends’ and colleagues’ judgement。

大部分“吹噓自己讀過名著的人”都說，他們謊稱自己讀過某些書是因爲他們不想顯得無知。男士們比女士們更愛撒謊說自己讀過某些名著，23%的男士聲稱他們撒慌是爲了給女性留下深刻印象，而女士們則說她們撒謊是因爲害怕朋友們和同事們對她們有不好的看法。

Books that had been made into films or TV series were the most lied about as people at least knew the plot. The top five books people claimed to have read were: Pride And Prejudice, The Lord Of The Rings, Jane Eyre, Tess Of The d’Urbervilles and The Hobbit。

人們普遍謊稱自己讀過那些已被拍成電影或電視劇的圖書，因爲至少還知道里面的情節。在人們聲稱讀過的書中，排名前五位的依次是：《傲慢與偏見》、《指環王》、《簡·愛》、《德伯家的苔絲》和《魔戒前傳》。

Less than half of Brits (45 per cent) correctly named Emily Bronte as the author of Wuthering Heights. Many believed it to be Charles Dickens (16 per cent)， Charlotte Bronte (13 per cent)， fictitious character Jane Eyre (12 per cent) and even the singer Kate Bush (4 per cent)。

不到一半的英國人(45%)能準確說出《呼嘯山莊》的作者是艾米莉·勃朗特。有人認爲該書的作者是查爾斯·狄更斯(16%)，有人認爲是夏洛蒂·勃朗特(13%)，也有人認爲是虛構的人物簡·愛(12%)，甚至還有人認爲是歌手凱特·布什(4%)。

When it comes to Jane Eyre, 15 per cent wrongly think it was written by Jane Austen while the Bronte sisters are most commonly credited with writing Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles。

15%的人錯誤地認爲《簡·愛》的作者是簡·奧斯汀，而托馬斯·哈代的《德伯家的苔絲》最容易被人認爲是勃朗特三姐妹寫的。

According to Debrett’s, the authority on etiquette, wanting to appear literary is a peculiarly British trait. David Miller, Director at Debrett’s, said: 'Social etiquette is an important part of being British and we’ve been bound by it for centuries。

按照英國禮儀權威機構德佈雷特出版社的說法，想讓自己看起來精通文學是英國人獨有的特徵。 德佈雷特出版社的主任戴維·米勒說：“社交禮儀是英國人很重要的一部分，幾百年來我們一直受到它的約束。”We can’t help but care about how we’re perceived by others - it’s an intrinsic part of our DNA, which makes the lengths we’ll go to keep face ever more amusing。

“我們總是禁不住關心他人對我們的看法——這是我們DNA中固有的基因，它使得我們總是儘量讓自己顯得更加有趣。”

It’s notable men are most likely to bluff about the books they’ve read in order to win over the fairer sex. However it’s interesting women are most concerned about being judged by their female peers, casting a shadow on modern day notions of sisterhood.'

“很明顯，男士們吹噓自己讀過很多書是爲了贏得女士們的芳心。然而有趣的是，女士們吹噓自己讀過很多書是因爲她們關心女性朋友對她們的評價，這無疑會對現代姐妹觀產生負面影響。”

Four in ten Brits confess they keep works of literature on their bookshelves purely for display purposes. In a bid to keep up appearances, 57 per cent make sure the tomes on view are literary classics - even if they’ve never digested a word of them。

40%的英國人承認，他們把文學作品擺在書架上純粹是做做樣子。爲了面子上好看，57%的英國人家裏都擺放着大部頭的經典文學作品——即使他們從沒看過裏面的一個字。

We’re also keen to impress others while reading on the move, with 23 per cent of us making sure we are seen out and about with the ‘right’ book。

英國人也喜歡在車上看書來給他人留下深刻印象，23%的人出去時都確保隨身帶着“適合”的圖書。

The study was conducted by the Lindeman’s Wine and Book Club which will be holding events at Oxfam bookshops nationwide。

這項研究是由英國林德曼美酒與圖書俱樂部進行的，該俱樂部還將在全國範圍內舉辦樂施會書店活動。