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.
如果你从未读完《傲慢与偏见》或《简·爱》，别担心，你不是一个人。英国林德曼美酒与图书俱乐部的一项调查显示，71%的英国人为了显得更有文化，会吹嘘自己读过某些名著。
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“吹嘘自己读过名著的人”都说，他们谎称自己读过某些书是因为他们不想显得无知。男士们比女士们更爱撒谎说自己读过某些名著，23%的男士声称他们撒慌是为了给女性留下深刻印象，而女士们则说她们撒谎是因为害怕朋友们和同事们对她们有不好的看法。
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.
人们普遍谎称自己读过那些已被拍成电影或电视剧的图书，因为至少还知道里面的情节。在人们声称读过的书中，排名前五位的依次是：《傲慢与偏见》、《指环王》、《简·爱》、《德伯家的苔丝》和《魔戒前传》。
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).
不到一半的英国人（45%）能准确说出《呼啸山庄》的作者是艾米莉·勃朗特。有人认为该书的作者是查尔斯·狄更斯（16%），有人认为是夏洛蒂·勃朗特（13%），也有人认为是虚构的人物简·爱（12%），甚至还有人认为是歌手凯特·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%的人错误地认为《简·爱》的作者是简·奥斯汀，而托马斯·哈代的《德伯家的苔丝》最容易被人认为是勃朗特三姐妹写的。
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.
按照英国礼仪权威机构德布雷特出版社的说法，想让自己看起来精通文学是英国人独有的特征。 德布雷特出版社的主任戴维·米勒说：“社交礼仪是英国人很重要的一部分，几百年来我们一直受到它的约束。”
'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.
“我们总是禁不住关心他人对我们的看法——这是我们DNA中固有的基因，它使得我们总是尽量让自己显得更加有趣。”
'It’s notable men are most likely to bluffabout 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.'
“很明显，男士们吹嘘自己读过很多书是为了赢得女士们的芳心。然而有趣的是，女士们吹嘘自己读过很多书是因为她们关心女性朋友对她们的评价，这无疑会对现代姐妹观产生负面影响。”
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%的英国人承认，他们把文学作品摆在书架上纯粹是做做样子。为了面子上好看，57%的英国人家里都摆放着大部头的经典文学作品——即使他们从没看过里面的一个字。
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.
英国人也喜欢在车上看书来给他人留下深刻印象，23%的人出去时都确保随身带着“适合”的图书。
The study was conducted by the Lindeman’s Wine and Book Club which will be holding events at Oxfam bookshops nationwide.
这项研究是由英国林德曼美酒与图书俱乐部进行的，该俱乐部还将在全国范围内举办乐施会书店活动。