时差N小时:猜测别人的年龄是不礼貌的行为

Dear Annie: May I say something about people whomake assumptions about someone's age? My 18-year-old daughter is on the petite side. She is 4-foot-11 and weighs 95 pounds. On several occasions, wehave been invited to dinner at a restaurant andasked by our host if we would need a child's menu.

亲爱的安妮：我能谈谈那些猜测别人年龄的人吗?我有个18岁的女儿，她身材娇小。她高4英尺11英寸，重95磅。我们去别人家做客时，主人有时会问我们是否需要儿童菜单。

I usually respond by giving them a quizzical look, and saying, "No. Why do you ask?"Sometimes, however, the question brings my daughter to tears. If someone wants a child'smenu, they will ask for one. If it turns out you accidentally hand an adult menu to a child, theworst that can happen is that the young person will be pleased to be mistaken for someoneolder. — Shorty's Mom

通常我的反应以探寻的眼光看着对方，然后说“不，你为什么会这么问?”然而有时候，这样的询问会惹哭我的女儿。如果有人需要儿童菜单，他们会自己去要。就算偶然错把成人菜单交给儿童，最坏的结果也是孩子们很高兴被人误认为是年级比较大的人。——矮子的妈妈。

Dear Mom: Granted, no one should make assumptions about another's age, regardless of howold, but your daughter needs to toughen up. She is going to be confronted with this for the restof her life and should find ways to deal with it instead of bursting into tears. (The good news is,when she is 50, people will assume she is 20 years younger.)

亲爱的妈妈：诚然，任何人都不能随意猜测别人的年龄，无论多少岁也不能。但是你的女儿需要坚强起来。她以后的生命中都要面对这个问题，所以她应该想办法处理这件事，而不是以泪洗面。(不过好消息是，到她50岁时，人们会认为她只有20来岁。)