第1459期:Looking for the perfect partner

I'm sure we all remember a time when we fell in love. 

我敢肯定，我们都记得我们坠入爱河的时刻。

For some it was a gradual realisation that the person you knew was actually amazing.

对一些人来说，逐渐意识到你认识的人实际上很了不起。 

For others, it was love at first sight – an instant lightning-bolt moment that you knew you'd met your perfect match.

对于其他人来说，这是一见钟情——一个瞬间的闪电时刻，你知道你已经遇到了你的完美伴侣。

What is it that makes someone instantly love someone? 

是什么让一个人瞬间爱上一个人？

Physical attraction is an obvious answer but there are other reasons that can create affection for someone; compatibility, personality and a good sense of humour to name just a few.

身体上的吸引力是一个显而易见的答案，但还有其他原因可以让你对某人产生好感；兼容性，个性和良好的幽默感仅举几例。

But according to one expert, there is a more scientific explanation. 

但据一位专家称，有更科学的解释。

Dr Anna Machin, an Evolutionary Anthropologist at the University of Oxford says men look for signs of fertility and good health in a partner "and the major indicator of that in women is the waist-hip ratio… the absolute ideal." 

牛津大学进化人类学家 Anna Machin 博士说，男性在伴侣身上寻找生育能力和身体健康的迹象，“而女性的主要指标是腰臀比……绝对理想。”

This is believed to be 0.7 which is "really your classic hourglass figure."

这被认为是 0.7，这是“真正的经典沙漏身材”。 

And what do women look for in men? Well other experts have discovered they look for men who are taller, with broad shoulders and a relatively narrow waist – so a 'V' shaped torso.

女人在男人身上寻找什么？好吧，其他专家发现他们寻找更高、肩膀宽、腰部相对较窄的男人——所以是“V”形躯干。

If you're worried your figure isn't the perfect shape, there could be other factors that will cause someone to fall head over heels in love with you – people also use their sense of smell to sniff out their ideal mate. 

如果你担心你的身材不是完美的形状，可能还有其他因素会导致某人爱上你——人们也会用他们的嗅觉来嗅出他们理想的伴侣。

Apparently, we can detect whether people are genetically different to us by the way they smell.

显然，我们可以通过人们闻到的方式来检测人们在基因上是否与我们不同。

Even if a potential partner's smell is a passion-killer, their facial expressions might make you infatuated with them. 

即使潜在伴侣的气味是激情杀手，他们的面部表情也可能让你着迷。

According to Professor David Perrett, at the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at St Andrews University, "we can change our faces by interacting with others and doing so in a pleasant manner, and that will aid our attractiveness and make others interested in us."

根据圣安德鲁斯大学心理学与神经科学学院的大卫·佩雷特教授的说法，“我们可以通过与他人互动并以愉快的方式来改变我们的面孔，这将有助于我们的吸引力，并让其他人对我们感兴趣。”

So it's good to know there are many reasons why we might be smitten with someone, but there is a problem; will the feeling be mutual and if it is, how long will it last? Nothing is guaranteed and, we know from Shakespeare, the course of true love never ran smoothly!

所以很高兴知道我们可能会被某人迷住的原因有很多，但是有一个问题；这种感觉会是相互的吗？如果是，会持续多久？没有什么是可以保证的，我们从莎士比亚那里知道，真爱的过程从来都不是一帆风顺的！

词汇表

fell in love 坠入爱河，相爱了
love at first sight 一见钟情
lightning-bolt moment 电闪雷鸣的一刻，突然间
perfect match 完美的另一半，天生绝配
physical attraction 身体、外表吸引力
affection 喜爱，爱慕之情
a good sense of humour 有很好的幽默感
waist-hip ratio 腰臀比
hourglass figure 蜂腰体形，沙漏形身材
torso 躯干，身躯
to fall head over heels in love 坠入爱河，爱得神魂颠倒
mate （名词）配偶
a passion-killer （俗语）激情杀手，令人丧失激情的事物
infatuated 迷恋的，着迷的
smitten 着了迷的，突然爱上的
mutual 相互的，彼此共同的
the course of true love never ran smoothly 真爱之路永远充满坎坷