You probably missed The New York Times photograph that showed a revealing picture of New Yorkers’ rides into work on commuter trains. The photographer stood behind a long series of rows, three seats to a row. In the photo, every window and aisle seat - and not ONE middle seat - is occupied. The train is otherwise crowded; the aisles are jammed with standees - all of them ignoring the available middle seat. Some people are even sitting on the floor.
不久前，纽约时报刊登的一张照片，上面展示的是纽约人乘坐通勤火车的图景。摄影师站在一长溜三人座的座位后拍得这张照片。在照片上，每个窗户和靠走道的座位都有人坐，但没有一个人坐中间那个座位!车厢里真的很挤，就连过道上也站满了人，有些人甚至坐在地板上，可人们好像根本没看见三排座中间的那个座位。
The accompanying story explores why Americans despise center seats, though not mentioning the unavoidable fact that many of us are, shall we say, rather husky.
和照片配图的文章探究了为什么美国人不喜欢坐中间座位。不过文章没有提到一个无可回避的事实，那就是，我们很多人，嗯，块头儿相当大。
It seems that women, in particular, feel uneasy sitting elbow-to-elbow with strangers. And while being jammed into a window seat even farther from the middle aisle can also seem claustrophobic, at least there’s a view.
看来，很多人，特别是女性，对于和陌生人肩并肩坐在一起觉得很不舒服。坐在最里面，虽然有点被囚禁的感觉，但至少还能看看窗外的景色。
For the poor sap in the middle, there’s a real possibility of being squished between the extremely obese, insufferably chatty, overly perfumed or repulsively unbathed. So, before or after a tiring day, a lot of people would rather stand.
而坐在中间，如果被夹在又肥又壮、喋喋不休、香水喷得太多或者不喜欢洗澡的人当中，那就惨了。因此，不管是要开始新的一天，或者在结束了一天的辛劳工作后，很多人情愿站着。One Times reader amplified passengers’ dread of middle seats in a letter to the editor. He wrote, "The chance of being physically squeezed, unwillingly drawn into neighboring cell-phone conversations, entering the ‘smell zone’ of foods eaten onboard, or being subjected to music via the earplugs of excessively loud iPods is just too great to risk."
一位读者在读到这篇文章后，给编辑写了一封信，进一步解释了为什么乘客如此害怕中间的座位。他说：“一旦坐到中间，就有极大的可能性身体会受到挤压，被迫听旁边人的电话交谈、被迫闻人们吃东西的味道，或者被迫听旁边iPod里的音乐，虽然他们戴着耳机，但声音太大了还是可以听到。”
And Americans’ aversion to close contact is even spreading to rail cars and buses with TWO-abreast seating. To keep the seat next to them open, some surly commuters lay down a backpack, purse, or lunch pail next to them; slouch across both seats; or glare menacingly at standing passengers, daring them to sit down.
美国人对近距离身体接触的厌恶甚至扩大到了两人座的地铁和公交车上。为了不让别人坐在自己身旁，一些不友善的乘客会在旁边的座位上放个大背包、手袋或者是午餐袋。有的一人大大咧咧地独占两个座位，还有的会用威胁的眼光盯着旁边站着的乘客，吓得他们不敢坐下来。
Of course, if these seat hogs would pick a train with three-abreast seating and grab a window or aisle seat, the seat next to them would almost surely stay empty the entire trip!
当然，如果这些独霸座位的人坐上有三人座的火车、而且抢到一个靠窗或者靠过道的座位时，他们通常就会从头至尾一人独享三人座椅了。