Friendliness is my nature. This is such a deep instinct[本能] that Im always the one saying hello when I pass people in public. In Vienna, when you say hello to strangers, sometimes they cross the street. In Istanbul, sometimes they follow you off the train. In Hastings, Nebraska, they say hello back. In each new place, it may be hit or miss[隨意的].
Sitting in a big Chevy truck on the open roads[鄉(xiāng)村道路] in Kansas, I delight in[因……高興] the expansive[廣闊的] skies and the tidy rows for planting. And I uncover[揭示] many a mute[無聲的] hello. I am on the receiving end of acknowledgement[感謝], greetings, and well wishes from oncoming traffic. The “farm finger”—either the pointer finger or sometimes the first two fingers—raised in a quick salute[致意] to other trucks. The farmers offer a gesture of hello, sometimes accompanied[伴隨] with an automatic[自動(dòng)的] and barely[幾乎不能] visible[看得見的] nod of the head. I hear the nod is for someone you know, and“the point” is for general good will. I was told these are automatic.
Because here, well, we HELLO.
友善是我的天性。這種本能如此之深,以至于在公眾場合和別人擦肩而過時(shí),我常常是主動(dòng)打招呼的那個(gè)人。在維也納,當(dāng)你和陌生人打招呼時(shí),他們有時(shí)候會(huì)走到路的對(duì)面;在伊斯坦布爾,他們有時(shí)候會(huì)跟著你下火車;在(美國)內(nèi)布拉斯加州的黑斯廷斯,他們會(huì)說“你好”來回應(yīng)你。在每一個(gè)新地方,反應(yīng)可以是各式各樣的。
我坐在一輛龐大的雪佛蘭卡車上,在堪薩斯州的鄉(xiāng)村道路上馳騁。廣闊的天空和一排排整齊的植物讓我歡喜。我還發(fā)現(xiàn)了很多無聲的問候。我從迎面而來的車上接收到了感謝、問候和祝福。人們會(huì)舉起“農(nóng)場手指”(食指,有時(shí)候也可以是前兩根手指),迅速地向其他卡車致意。農(nóng)夫們會(huì)做出打招呼的手勢(shì),有時(shí)還會(huì)無意識(shí)地點(diǎn)一下頭,幾乎看不見的那種。我聽說點(diǎn)頭這個(gè)動(dòng)作是對(duì)認(rèn)識(shí)的人做的,而手指那個(gè)動(dòng)作則表達(dá)一種普遍的善意,它們都是自發(fā)的。
因?yàn)樵谶@里,我們就是會(huì)打招呼。