The“V”Sign
The palm-forward“V”sign, formed by raising and spreading the first two fingers1 ,has three different meanings in American culture.The most popular meaning of the“V”sign was invented in 1941 by a Belgian, Victor De Lavalaye. Wanting a symbol for resistance to the Nazi2 occupation, he came up with the single letter“V”, which stood not only for his own first name3, but also for English victory, Flemish virijheid, and French victoire. The symbolism of the sign spread very quickly, and Winston Churchill4 used it constantly in public appearance. Thus throughout the 1940 s and 1950 s, the gesture meant simply“victory”.The second meaning came in the 1960 s. Because of its military implication, Americanantiwar protestors used the sign sarcastically against the arms, so that it became known as the“ peace sign”. In the 1970s, the“V”sign , which had lost its military implication, was a common greeting among freedom lovers, acid heads5, political radicals, and ultimately, young people in general. 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”, which resembles“ horns”, behind friends’heads in group snapshots. The are unknowingly reproducing something that southern Europeans would find highly offensive. This mischief, called“horns of the Devil”, is a variant of the European“ horns”gesture, which is obscene. Here the“V”sign means“Your wife has been cheating on you ”or, when placed behind another’s head,“His wife has been cheating on him”. In the United States, the gesture is typically given with the palm facing the viewer. The British use both this version and an older, palm-backward version; the latter is obscene in American culture, and corresponds to the American“ finger”6 . Churchill got some surprised stares in 1941 when, evidently unaware of the vulgar usage, he gave the palm-backward“V”to British troops. In England today you could have to be a social hermit not to understand the distinction. Astonishingly, however, Margaret Thatcher7 repeated Churchill’s error after her victory in the 1979 election.
閱讀自測
Ⅰ. Fill in the blanks with proper words :
American children______________________ ( 開玩笑地) put“V”, which______________________ ( 類似)“ horns”,
behind friends’heads in group ______________________( 快照) . They are______________________ ( 無意中地) reproducing
something that southern Europeans would find highly______________________ ( 無禮的) .
This mischief, called“ horns of the Devil”, is a ______________________( 變體) of the European
“ horns”gesture, which is______________________ ( 淫穢的) .
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______________________.
參考答案
1. jokingly / resembles / snapshots / unknowingly / offensive / variant / obscene
2. 1. hope that something will happen the way you want2. 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
以上是小編整理的考研動態信息，陜西文都考研會每天為大家更新詳細的考試資訊，預祝每位考生取得好成績，更多考研熱點相關內容鎖定文都考研動態欄目，如有更多疑問，請及時咨詢在線老師。
（免責聲明：本站所提供的內容均來源于網友提供或網絡搜集，由本站編輯整理，僅供個人研究、交流學習使用，不涉及商業盈利目的。如涉及版權問題，請聯系本站管理員予以更改或刪除。）
029-68569100
精品直播課
