When you spot someone you fancy across a crowded room, mustering up the courage to go over to them is only half the battle - what will you say once you’re there?

　　当你在拥挤的房间里发现了一个你喜欢的人，你鼓起勇气走到她们那里，其实这只是战斗的一半—关键是你到了那里之后你应该说些什么?

　　A line that makes one person swoon might make another cringe, so it’s a minefield really.

　　事实上感受是双方的，如果你打招呼的方式自己都感觉不好的话，对方也会很尴尬，因此如果搭讪的技巧不对，那么你自己很可能就会陷入雷区。

　　However, researchers from China claim to have discovered what to say to give yourself the best chance of wooing the object of your affections: use a metaphor.

　　然而，来自中国的研究人员声称，他们已经发现了让自己最容易获得情感对象的方法:采用比喻的方式。

　　According to scientists from the University of Electronic Science and Technology in China, women prefer men who use metaphorical language to compliment them.

　　据中国电子科技大学的科学家说，女性更喜欢被男人用隐喻性的语言来恭维她们。

　　They claim that compliments like “Your eyes are morning dew” or “Your smile is a naughty goblin” are better received than literal expressions like “Your lips are so sexy.”

　　他们声称，像“你的眼睛就像晨露”或“你的微笑是就像淘气的小仙女”这样的恭维，比那种“你的嘴唇如此性感”之类的文字表达更受欢迎。

　　Because every woman wants to be likened to a goblin.

　　因为每个女人都想被比作小仙女。

　　And they concluded the same when men complimented women’s possessions, so it’s apparently better to say “Your garden is a sea of flowers” than “Your door is very strong.”

　　当男人赞美女人的财产时，他们的结论是一样的，所以说“你的花园是鲜花的海洋”比“你的门很坚固”更好。

　　“The findings confirm our hypotheses that in a courtship situation where compliments serve as a sexual display of mate quality, women show a preference for metaphors, particularly novel ones, in verbal structure,” the researchers wrote.

　　研究人员写道:“研究结果证实了我们的假设，即在求爱的情况下，赞美是对配偶质量的一种性展示，女性更倾向于隐喻，尤其是小说中言辞结构的隐喻。”

　　Apparently using metaphors implies men are creative and intelligent. And not just a bit poncey and weird.

　　显然，使用隐喻意味着男人富有创造力和智慧，而不只是有点轻狂放荡和和奇奇怪怪。

　　They also hypothesised that women prefer to be complimented on their appearance than possessions and were proven correct. The researchers didn’t assess whether a woman might possibly prefer to be complimented on her intelligence, quick wit or hilarious sense of humour.

　　他们还假设，与财产相比，女人更喜欢被别人恭维她们的长相，而且被证明是正确的。研究人员没有评估一个女人是否可能更喜欢被别人称赞她的智慧、机智或幽默感。

　　It’s important to note that the study size was small - just 116 women took part - and may only reflect Chinese culture:

　　值得注意的是，这项研究规模很小—只有116名女性参加—可能只是反映了中国文化:

　　“The fact that Pragma (practical) and Storge (friendship-based) love style attitudes constituted 59.65 per cent and 45.61 per cent of the participants in our study may reflect both the participants’ sex and Chinese culture,” the researchers said.

　　研究人员说:“事实上，在我们研究的参与者中，实用主义和友谊式的爱情态度分别占比59.65%和45.61%，这可能反映了参与者的性认知和中国文化。”

　　“This finding is consistent with the report that Chinese women, relative to their western counterparts, view love as a companionship and place marriage over love.”

　　“这一发现与一种说法一致，即中国女性相对于西方女性，她们认为爱情是一种陪伴，因此把婚姻置于爱情之上。”

　　In order to reach their conclusions, 116 female Chinese students were shown a series of pictures of men and asked to rate them.

　　为了得出结论，研究人员给这116名中国女学生一系列的男人照片，并要求对他们进行评价。

　　The pictures were sometimes shown with compliments that the men would supposedly say when visiting their new girlfriend’s house (they were randomly assigned).

　　这些照片有有的会配有恭维的话语，比如有的男人会写什么时候拜访新女友的家(他们是随机分配的)。

　　But if metaphorical chat-up lines are supposedly signifiers of intelligence, men should be wary of using clichés like “Do you have a map? Because I just keep on getting lost in your eyes,” “Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?” and “Your legs must be tired because you’ve been running through my mind all night.”

　　但如果隐喻性的搭讪被认为是智力的象征，那么男性应该谨慎使用“你有地图吗?”因为我已经迷失在你的眼睛里，”“你从天堂掉下来时疼吗?”“你的腿一定累了，因为你整晚都在我脑子里跑。”

　　You’ll likely be met with an eye-roll at best and a drink in your face at worst.

　　因为此时你得到最好的结果也是对方给你翻白眼，最糟糕的可能是对方把喝的泼在你的脸上。