Real men don't cry. We just get something in our eye
By Nigel Farndale
'Daddy, you're crying,' say my sons. 'No, boys, I'm man-crying. Very useful skill.'
A short walk from my house in Hampshire, on a hill overlooking the heathland（石南灌丛） , is a plaque（斑块，血小板） marking the spot where Richard Pryce Jones deliberately（故意地，谨慎地） crashed his Halifax bomber during the war. He could have parachuted（跳伞） to safety, but that would have meant crashing into the village. The epitaph（碑文，墓志铭） reads: "He died that others might live."
It never fails to move me. Not to tears, you understand. That would be disrespectful. But I do usually manage a lump in the throat（喉咙哽住） and that film of moisture（水分，湿度） over the eyes that men have in their emotional armoury. Gordon Brown demonstrated the non-crying cry beautifully when he made his farewell speech on the steps of Number 10. That catch in the throat. The determination not to weep in public. At that moment, if at no other, he had nobility.
Not everyone can carry it off. I don't think Paul Gascoigne ever quite got the hang of it, for example. But I like to think I have it down to an art, my technique honed（磨光） from years of watching The Railway Children, Sleepless in Seattle and that scene in Dumbo when the mother elephant is locked away. "Daddy!" my sons will say, pointing the accusing finger. "You're crying!"
"Me? Over Dumbo? Ha ha ha. No, boys, what I am doing is man-crying, a sort of non-crying cry. I'll teach you it one day. Very useful."
They are too young to appreciate the nuance（细微差别） yet, but when they are older I will explain that open sobbing（啜泣，哭泣） is associated with being female, and so inappropriate for men. The Charlie Chaplin analogy might be useful here. He once said that the way to act drunk is to imagine yourself a drunk man trying to act sober. The same is true when a man learns the non-crying cry. To be convincing, you must look as if you are trying to avoid tears.
In this respect（在这方面） , it is important for a young man to appreciate the difference between male tears and female. I remember once asking the actress Emilia Fox if she could cry at will, right there and then, over lunch. To my astonishment, she could – from a standing start. Fat tears rolling down her cheeks. When she had finished, she resumed her smiling countenance（面容，表情） .
Those are female tears, and the reason you never hear anyone say: "It's enough to make a grown woman cry." That expression only works when it refers to "grown men" and though that may seem tautological（赘述的） , the "grown" is justified. Not all men are grown. The emotionally incontinent（立即，
Modern logicians think it is tautological.现代的逻辑学家认为它是同义反复的。
10 justified
a.正当的，有理的
参考例句：
She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。
11 worthy
adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的
参考例句：
I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。
12 tuned
adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调
参考例句：
The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 survivor
n.生存者，残存者，幸存者
参考例句：
The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。
14 mound
n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫
参考例句：
The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。
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- 英语美文点亮智慧人生42：A Perfect He
- 英语美文点亮智慧人生43：Cherish as G
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