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The“V”Sign
The palm-forward“V”sign, formed by raising andspreading the first two
fingers1 ,has three differentmeanings in American culture.The most
popularmeaning of the“V”sign was invented in 1941 by aBelgian, Victor De
Lavalaye. Wanting a symbol forresistance to the Nazi2 occupation, he came upwith
the single letter“V”, which stood not only for hisown first name3, but also for
English victory, Flemish virijheid, and French victoire. Thesymbolism of the
sign spread very quickly, and Winston Churchill4 used it constantly in
publicappearance. Thus throughout the 1940 s and 1950 s, the gesture meant
simply“victory”.Thesecond meaning came in the 1960 s. Because of its military
implication, Americanantiwarprotestors used the sign sarcastically against the
arms, so that it became known as the“ peacesign”. In the 1970s, the“V”sign ,
which had lost its military implication, was a commongreeting among freedom
lovers, acid heads5, political radicals, and ultimately, young people ingeneral.
So by about the middle of the 1970s, it ceased to give clue to the user’s
philosophy.The third meaning is the oldest and least common. American children
jokingly put “V”, whichresembles“ horns”, behind friends’heads in group
snapshots. The are unknowingly reproducingsomething that southern Europeans
would find highly offensive. This mischief, called“horns ofthe Devil”, is a
variant of the European“ horns”gesture, which is obscene. Here
the“V”signmeans“Your wife has been cheating on you ”or, when placed behind
another’s head,“His wifehas been cheating on him”. In the United States, the
gesture is typically given with the palmfacing the viewer. The British use both
this version and an older, palm-backward version; thelatter is obscene in
American culture, and corresponds to the American“ finger”6 . Churchill gotsome
surprised stares in 1941 when, evidently unaware of the vulgar usage, he gave
thepalm-backward“V”to British troops. In England today you could have to be a
social hermit notto understand the distinction. Astonishingly, however, Margaret
Thatcher7 repeatedChurchill’s error after her victory in the 1979 election.
阅读自测
Ⅰ. Fill in the blanks with proper words :
American children______________________ ( 开玩笑地)
put“V”,which______________________ ( 类似)“ horns”,
behind friends’heads in group ______________________( 快照) .
Theyare______________________ ( 无意中地) reproducing
something that southern Europeans would find highly______________________ (
无礼的) .
This mischief, called“ horns of the Devil”, is a ______________________(
变体) of theEuropean
“ horns”gesture, which is______________________ ( 淫秽的) .
Ⅱ. Exp lain the fo llowing phras es in bold typ e in yo ur own words :
1. If you kee p yo ur fin ge rs crossed , you ______________________.
2. If you are all fin ge rs a nd thumbs , you ______________________ .
3. If you ha ve a finger in every pie , you______________________ .
4. If you thumb a lift, you______________________.
参考答案
1. jokingly / resembles / snapshots / unknowingly /offensive / variant /
obscene
2. 1. hope that something will happen the way youwant2. are clumsy or
awkward with your hands
3. are involved in everything that is happening
4. try to get a free ride in a motor vehicle ; hitchhike |
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发表于 2016-12-4 13:30:13