A friend told me recently that people who read in public are perceived as strange. I certainly thought so when I saw a young man the other day with his nose buried in a book. He was alone walking down the street completely oblivious to his surroundings. He looked like the kind of person who does not have many friends and is awkward in social situations. I watched him pass groups of students without acknowledging them. They ignored him too.

最近一个好朋友对我说，中国人在公共场所看书被认为是奇怪的。有一天看到一个小伙子边走路边埋头看书，我也觉得奇怪。他对周围的一切毫无觉察，好像没有多少朋友，是一个在社交中不对劲的人。我看他经过几帮同学，但他不理睬他们，他们也忽视他。

I have seen people like this in other countries as well. They are most comfortable escaping into a story than being social. When I was in junior and senior high school in America we called this kind of person a “nerd”. This is a derogatory term for someone who is intelligent yet socially awkward. A “nerd” is not athletic or attractive and they are usually known for copious reading and hobbies like computers. Computers were not ubiquitous at that time and seemed superfluous. There was a social stigma around this kind of person because successful people did not do such things.

我也在其他国家见过这样的人。他们宁可逃到一个故事里而不想社交。当我在美国上初中和高中时，我们叫这样的人为“纳得”（笨人）。这个贬义词是指一些头脑聪明但在社交上笨拙的人而说的。“纳得”的身体不强壮也没有吸引力，他们往往以阅读广博和玩电脑等爱好而著称。当时电脑不是无处不在而且对我们来说好像不需要。成功的人没有这样的行为，所以这种人蒙受社会的污名。

The ironic part of high school stigmas in the 1980s is that those “nerds” have become successful business leaders today. Their computer skills gave them an edge over everyone else and their reading habits have made them prepared in other ways. Today it is socially acceptable in America for any young person to be interested in computers. It is also acceptable to read avidly in public. It is a social change based on evolving perceptions of what is successful and admirable.

有讽刺意味的是，上世纪８０年代在中学里那些蒙受污名的“纳得们”都成为今日的商务领袖。电脑技能使他们比别人优秀，而读书的习惯同样是其他方面成功的准备。目前在美国，年轻人对电脑感兴趣被社会所接受，在公共场所贪婪地读书也能被接受。这个社会变化随成功和受尊敬的概念演化而动。

When my Chinese friend told me that people who read in public are perceived as strange I did not understand how pervasive this mentality is. Whenever I am in a train station or airport I always have my nose in a book so I have never noticed that most Chinese around me are not doing the same. In western cultures it is considered strange not to have a book when you travel. It is also common to go outside to read in a park or a coffee shop. Public displays of reading much like computers are associated with intelligence and success.

当我的中国朋友向我说在公共场所看书的人被认为是奇怪的时候，我不知道这个心态蔓延的程度。在火车站或机场时我总是埋头看书，所以意识不到周围大多数中国人的不一样。西方文化认为一个人旅行时不带书是奇怪的，而去公园或咖啡店看书也是普遍的。与电脑技能一样，看书的公共表现是与聪明和成功联系到一起的。

Occasionally I see articles in Chinese newspapers about the need to improve reading habits. It seems that there are cultural boundaries that make this task quite difficult because avid reading is not associated with success. It is done in the library or at home and reading in public is a little “nerdy”. Perhaps if this notion was changed the task would be made easier and perhaps that young man I saw would find it easier to make friends.

我偶尔在中国的报纸上看到强化阅读习惯的文章。好像文化的羁绊增加了实现这个目标的难度，因为废寝忘食的读者跟成功还没联系起来。看书是一个在图书馆里或家里做的事情，而在公共场所读书就有那么一点“纳得”劲儿。如果这个概念改变的话，养成读书的习惯更容易些，而我见到的那个小伙子也可能更容易交些朋友。