Do you read to show off?
你读书是为了炫耀吗？
What do you read when you are travelling by train or bus?
旅途中在火车或汽车上你会读哪些书？
What are other passengers reading? Perhaps a woman sitting near you is reading a trashy romantic novel. A man is reading a serious biography about a politician. And there's a student reading an English textbook.
其它旅客会读些什么书呢？也许坐在你旁边的女士正在阅读一本无用的浪漫小说，旁边的男士正在阅读一本关于某个政治家的传记。而还有一名学生则正在看英语教材。
What do their choices say about them? Do you judge them by what they are reading?
他们选择的读物说明了什么呢？你会借此对其身份做出判断吗？
I have got to tell you that your impressions of them are probably completely wrong. The woman reading the romantic novel could be a lawyer. She just wants a light read to take her mind off work.
我不得不说的是，你由此得出的判断有可能全部都是错的。读浪漫小说的这位女士有可能是一名律师，她只是通过阅读这样的作品来放松一下大脑。
The man reading the biography wants you to think that he is an intellectual, but he is just showing off. The student reading the textbook isn't a student at all. She's an English teacher.
那位男士想表现得像一位知识分子，但实际上他只是在作秀罢了。而那位读英语教材的学生其实根本不是学生，而是一名英语老师，。
Publishers know that some people are self-conscious about what they read on public transport and so they put out different versions of a cover. For example, books about Harry Potter have an original cover for young readers and then another more serious version for adults.
出版商们知道有些人对于在公共交通设施阅读的读物有自知之明，所以他们会出版不同的封面。例如，针对年轻读者，哈利波特这本书的封面保持不变，但对于成人读者而言，他们需要更成熟的封面。
So next time you are on a train, look around and see what other people are reading, but don't jump to any conclusions. You will probably be wrong.
所以说，下次坐火车的时候，看看周围的人以及他们在读哪些书，但是别凭此轻率下结论，因为你的结论很有可能是错的。
Here is a situation where you could say, "Don't judge a book by its cover".
这种情况也就是我们所说的“人不可貌相”。
词汇表
trashy
无价值的
a romantic novel
浪漫小说，言情小说
serious
严肃的
a biography
自传
a textbook
课本
a choice
选择
to say about someone
对他们的印象
to judge
判断
an impression
印象
a light read
文笔轻松，欢快的小说
to take one's mind off work
不再思考工作
an intellectual
知识分子
to show off
炫耀
a publisher
出版商
self-conscious
自我意识
a version
版本，说法
a cover
封面
an original
原版、原创
don't jump to any conclusions
不要轻率下结论
don't judge a book by its cover
不要以貌取人