To see what patterns of behavior most Americans consider "normal", I asked an ad agency--whose researchers are experts in uncovering consumer buying habits and motivation--to tell me how Americans wash their hair, go to bed, change a tire. In some instances,  the results are entirely predictable; in others, downright surprising.

    為了了解什么是大多數美國人眼中的“正常”行為，我詢問了一家廣告代理公司。那里的研究人員是揭示消費者消費習慣和動機的專家。他們告訴了我美國人洗頭，就寢和換胎時的習慣。這些習慣中，有些結果是能預測到的，而另一些則完全出人意料。
 
    Four times as many men as women hug their spouse first thing when they walk in the door after work. When no one's around, men are also more likely to drink straight from a carton or bottle. And they're more likely to salt food without tasting it first.

    下班走到家門口的時候，第一件事便是擁抱配偶的男人要比女人多出3倍。旁邊沒人的時候，男人更樂意拿來軟包裝或者瓶子直接對嘴喝。他們也更習慣于不先嘗一嘗食物就加鹽。
 
    There are some other glaring male/female differences. Who'd have guessed women are more likely to squeeze the toothpaste tube from the middle--or worse, from the top!

    男女之間還有其他一些明顯的不同。有誰能想到女人比男人更可能從牙膏管中段——甚至更糟，從牙膏管頂端擠牙膏！
 
    Although both men and women swear an average of 16 times a day (much more if we have kids), courtesy lives in America. Most men let women get off the elevator before them. When it comes to opening the car door for the opposite sex--a sign of chivalry--a full 70% of men usually do. And most people acknowledge a sneeze: only 13% remain mute. (Most folks prefer "God bless you.")

    盡管男人女人每天都會罵人16次（如果有孩子的話頻率更高），但美國人還是很有禮貌的。大多數男人會讓女士先出電梯。70%的男人也常常為女士開車門，他們將之看作一種騎士行為。多數人聽到別人打噴嚏時會做出反應，只有13%的人保持沉默。（多數人會說上依據“上帝保佑”之類的話表示對打噴嚏的人的關心。）
 
    It's on the road where we really demonstrate good manners. If upset with another driver, 54% of us do nothing. Less-popular responses: shouting dirty words (17%), making angry gestures (16%), and the rest: flashing our lights.

    行車路上實在是我們展示禮貌的場合。當另一個司機令人心煩的時候，54%的人選擇什么也不做。另一些人中，爆粗口的占17%，做生氣手勢的占16%，其余的人則通過按閃車燈表示憤怒。
 
    When it comes to changing a tire, we're fairly self-reliant. More than a third of female road warriors would tackle it themselves, although 6% of female drivers with a flat confess they'd simply stand there and "look pathetic and hope someone would help." But before chests are puffed out thish manly pride, consider this: twice as many men as women hail a cab for a trip of less than two blocks.

    換輪胎的時候，人們表現得相當自立。1/3還要多的女人會如女勇士般自己換胎，但也有6%的女人就那么坦然地立在那兒，裝得可憐兮兮的，希望有人來幫忙。但在你挺胸昂首、充滿了男人的自豪感之前，先看看這個事實：為了短短不到兩個街區的路程就打車的人中，男性是女性的兩倍。
 
    We're lazy in other areas too. 90% of us use an alarm clock to wake up in the morning. Most of us rarely change our answering-machine message, and almost a quarter of us slip into our shoes without untying them. And while more than one out of then shop for Christmas year-round, 22% of men and 9% of women putting off until the last day or two.

    人們其他時候也表現出懶惰。90%的人早上需要鬧鐘才能起床。大多數人幾乎從不更換電話留言的信息。幾乎1/4的人不解鞋帶就匆忙把腳往里伸。一成多的人整年購物時都會想著圣誕禮物，而22%的男人和9%的女人知道圣誕前一兩天才想起買禮物。
 
    Americans are compulsive about cleanliness. Almost half of us change the toweles daily or after every shower. On the other hand, 21% of us don't make the bed every day--and 5% admit they never do!

    美國人喜好清潔。超過半數的人每天或者浴后都會更換毛巾。但是，卻有21%的人每天睡前或起身后不整理床鋪，甚至有5%的人承認他們從未這么做過！
 
    There's a lot of diversity out there. So, whatever you prefer, remember there's always someone else on this planet just like you.

    人們日常的生活習慣具有多樣性。不過無論你有何習慣，地球上總能找到一個和你習慣相同的人。