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Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder

摘要：无论男女，婚姻都是他们一生中做出的最重要的抉择之一。男人选择一个女人，是因为在他眼里她是他理想的妻子。每个男人对“理想”的妻子都有自己的定义。

For years men and women have been getting married. They say their wedding vows which bring them together as one. They promise to love and cherish each other until death do them part.

When a man and a woman get married, it is one of the biggest decisions they will make in life. A man may select a woman because he, in his own eyes, sees her as the just-right wife for him. Every man has his own definition of what the “just-right” wife is. For instance, the millionaire man and the poor man both may define their just-right wife according to her physical qualities.

A millionaire may describe his “just-right” wife as charming, beautiful, sexy, intelligent, and well developed. On the other hand, a poor man may define his “just-right” wife as pleasing, attractive, desirable, knowledgeable, and shapely. Both men describe their just-right wife by the same physical qualities but use different words. The millionaire’s definition of the just-right wife is more elegant, whereas the poor man’s definition is a more common, everyday description.

Although some men define the just-right wife by her physical qualities, other men describe their just-right wife by her athletic qualities. For example, the outdoors man may define his just-right wife as a woman who loves to fish, to camp, to hunt, and to water ski, whereas the inside sportsman may define his just-right wife as a woman who enjoys watching football, basketball, baseball, and wrestling. Both of these men define their just-right wife by her sports qualities but in two different atmospheres.

Still, there are other men who have their definitions of the just-right wife. For instance, consider the fit man and the fat man. The fit man may describe his just-right wife as a woman who gets up every weekday morning at six o’clock and runs two to three miles. After running, she prepares breakfast, washes the dishes, takes the children to school, and then goes to work. After work, she arrives home, washes a couple loads of laundry, goes to exercise class, picks the children up from school on her way home, and then cooks dinner. After dinner, she cleans the kitchen, bathes the children, and puts them to bed.

On the other hand, the fat man defines his just-right wife as a woman who gets up at eight o’clock in the morning, takes the children to McDonald’s for breakfast, and drops them off at school. She then comes back home and lies on the couch watching soap operas all day. The children have to walk home from school in the afternoon. When they arrive at home, she instructs them to clean the house, do the laundry, and fix some hotdogs for dinner. Both men define their just-right wife with qualities that they admire within themselves.

Men from all nationalities also have their definition of the just-right wife. For example, the Italian man describes his woman as a woman who stands six feet one-inch tall with blonde hair and blue eyes, and who is well developed in the upper portion of her body. On the other hand, the French man may describe his ideal woman as a woman who stands only five feet three inches with brown hair and green eyes, and who is moderately built.

Other nationalities, such as the German man and the Spanish man, may define their just-right wife as a woman with style. The German man may describe his just-right wife as a woman who likes to drive expensive sports cars, a woman who visits a different foreign country every month and wears only the most expensive designer clothing, but the Spanish man may define his just-right wife as a woman who enjoys giving dinner parties every weekend, wearing a lot of jewelry, and drinking expensive wines.

In addition to the other men’s definitions of the just-right wife, the bachelor also has a definition. He says that the just-right wife is someone else’s wife. He picks her up in a bar, takes her to his house, and takes her home in the morning. The bachelor has no real definition for the just-right wife. That is why he is still a bachelor.

【中文译文】
情人眼里出西施

世世代代，男女结为夫妻。婚礼上的誓言将他们融为一体。他们发誓相亲相爱，至死不渝。

无论男女，婚姻都是他们一生中做出的最重要的抉择之一。男人选择一个女人，是因为在他眼里她是他理想的妻子。每个男人对“理想”的妻子都有自己的定义。比如, 百万富翁和穷人可能都会根据女人的形体特征描绘他们理想的妻子。

一个阔佬描述“理想”的妻子是迷人、美丽、性感、聪明、身材匀称的女人。而一个穷人心目中的“理想”老婆则是招人喜欢、可爱、动人、懂事明理、有身条儿。两者对他们理想妻子形体特征的描述大体相同，但用词却不一样。阔佬对理想妻子的描述更文雅一些，穷人的描述则是较为通俗的常用语。

虽然形体特征是一些男人用来定义他们眼中理想太太的标准，但也不乏根据运动特征来定义的男人。就拿爱好野外运动的男人来说吧，他们认为理想太太应该是钓鱼、野营、狩猎和滑水运动的爱好者；而爱好场地运动的男人眼中的标准太太或许应该是橄榄球、篮球、棒球和摔跤比赛的忠实观众。运动特征是这两类男人定义理想太太的共同标准，但他们各自的侧重范围却不尽相同。

当然，其他男人也有自己的定义。就说身材适中和体态臃肿的男人吧。身材适中的男人会这样描述他的理想太太：她每个工作日六点起床，晨跑两三英里，然后回家准备早饭，洗完碗盘后送孩子上学，再去上班。下班后先回家洗几桶衣服，接着去健美班，回来顺路接孩子放学，到家后准备晚饭。饭后清理厨房，给孩子洗澡，再安顿他们睡觉。

而肥胖男人则认为理想妻子是早上8点起床，带孩子去麦当劳吃早餐，接着开车送他们到学校。然后回家，歪在沙发上看一天的肥皂剧。下午，孩子们得自己步行回家，到家后，她指挥他们打扫房间，洗衣服，做几个热狗当作晚餐。这两种男人以自己所欣赏的特点作为择偶标准。

不同国家的男人对理想的妻子都有自己的标准。比如意大利男人愿意娶身高6英尺1英寸，金发碧眼，上身很丰满的女人做老婆。而法国男人却认为，身高5英尺3英寸，棕发绿眼，体型匀称适中的女人才是理想妻子。

其他国家的男人，如德国男人和西班牙男人，认为完美的妻子应该是个时尚的女人。在德国男人的眼中，理想的太太应该喜欢驾驶昂贵的跑车，每个月都去不同的国家观光，而且只穿最昂贵的名师设计的时装。而西班牙男人则认为理想的太太喜欢每个周末都举办晚宴聚会，浑身珠光宝气，喝名贵的葡萄酒。

对于理想妻子，除了上述的几种定义以外，单身汉也有自己的一套说法。他认为理想的妻子就是别人的老婆。他在酒吧里和她调情，把她带回他的住处，第二天早上送她回家。由于单身汉对理想的妻子并没有一个真正的标准，这正是他至今仍是个单身汉的原因。