Unspoken Language—Body Language

王宇

Body language is the quiet， secret and most powerful language of all！ It is said that our body movements communicate about 50 percent of what we really mean while words only express 7 percent. So， while your mouth is closed， your body is just saying...

Arms. How you hold your arms shows how open and receptive you are to people you meet. If you keep your arms to the sides of your body or behind your back， this suggests you are not afraid of taking on whatever comes your way. Outgoing people generally use their arms with big movements， while quieter people keep them close to their bodies. If someone upsets you， just cross your arms to show youre unhappy！

Head. When you want to appear confident， keep your head level. If you are a monitor in class， you can also take on this position when you want your words to be taken seriously. However， to be friendly in listening or speaking， you must move your head a little.

Legs. Your legs tend to move around a lot more than normal when you are nervous or telling lies. If you are at interviews， try to keep them still！

Posture. A good posture makes you feel better about yourself. If you are feeling down， you normally dont sit straight， with your shoulders inside. This makes breathing more difficult， which can make you feel nervous or uncomfortable.

Mouth. When you are thinking， you often purse your lips. You might also use this position to hold back an angry comment you dont wish to show. However， it will probably still be noticed， and people will know youre not pleased.

Face. When you lie， you might put on a false face. But that expression would crack briefly，allowing displays of true emotions such as happiness， sadness， disgust and fear to come through.

【難句解析】

1. It is said that our body movements communicate about 50 percent of what we really mean while words only express 7 percent.

释义：据说，我们的肢体语言表达了50%我们所想要传达的意思，而口头语言只表达了7%的意思。

点拨：在此句中，It is said that... 意为“据说……”，it作形式主语，that引导的从句作真正的主语。类似的结构还有：It is reported / believed / thought / known / considered+that-clause，意为“据报道/大家认为/众所周之/人们认为……”。

It is reported that this plant can prevent cancer. 据报道，这种植物可以防治癌症。

2. How you hold your arms shows how open and receptive you are to people you meet.

释义：如何放置你的手臂表明你对会见的人开放和乐于倾听的程度。

点拨：如果how open and receptive you are to people是一个单独的句子，这个句子是感叹句，结构为：how + adj.+主语+系动词。但是在此句中，how open and receptive you are to people作shows的宾语从句，you meet是省去关系代词who， whom或that的定语从句，修饰先行词people。

You dont know how happy they were to see each other. 你不知道他们彼此见面是多么高兴。

Mr. Liu is the person you talked about on the bus. 刘先生就是你们在公共汽车上谈论的那个人。

3. If you are feeling down， you normally dont sit straight， with your shoulders inside.

释义：如果你情绪低落，你通常坐不直，肩膀向内。

点拨：with your shoulders inside是由“with+名词+副词”构成with的复合结构，在句中作状语。

He stood before his teacher with his head down. 他低着头站在老师面前。

4. This makes breathing more difficult， which can make you feel nervous or uncomfortable.

释义：这使得呼吸变得更困难，由此使你感到紧张或不舒服。

点拨：在此句中，this作主语，makes作谓语，breathing作宾语，more difficult作宾语补足语，which引导非限制性定語从句，which指代前面这句话的内容。

The police found him innocent. 警察发现他是无辜的。

He won a winning cup， which made me happy. 他赢得了一个奖杯，这令我很开心！

【阅读链接】

I. Choose the right answer.

1. When someone is keeping his arms behind his back， he tries to tell you that he is ____.

A. outgoing           B. angry                 C. not afraid         D. cool

2. If you want to appear confident， you should ____.

A. move your arms a lot                   B. keep your head level

C. move your head a little                  D. cross your arms

3. Which of the following movements tells someone is nervous？

A. Moving around a lot more than normal.

B. Not sitting straight with the shoulders inwards.

C. Having the lips pursed to hold back an angry comment.

D. Keeping the arms to the sides of the body.

4. What can we infer from the passage？

A. Different people in different countries must have the same understanding of the same body movement.

B. Body language can express more meanings than words do in communication.

C. We cannot communicate with others without words.

D. Its not polite to use body language in formal communication.

II. Fill in the blanks.

1. The whole city ____ ____ （呈现） a holiday appearance.

2. None of them ____ ____ ____ （害怕） difficulties; we are all determined.

3. ____ ____ ____ ____ （据信） health is above wealth.

4. He was lying on the bed ____ ____ ____ ____ （穿着衣服）.

5. ____ ____ （多么可口） these cakes are！

6. He came to my birthday party， ____ I didnt expect at all.