VOA慢速英语：日本老师开班教你"微笑"

In one of Keiko Kawano's recent classes, more than 10 Tokyo art school students held mirrors to their faces. The students moved the sides of their mouths upward with their fingers. They were practicing how to smile.

在川野惠子(Keiko Kawano)最近的一堂课上，10多名东京艺术学校的学生拿着镜子对着自己的脸。学生们用手指向上推动他们的嘴角。他们在练习如何微笑。

Kawano's services as a smile teacher are seeing increased demand in Japan, where almost everyone wore face coverings such as masks during the pandemic.

川野作为微笑老师的服务在日本的需求越来越大，在疫情期间，几乎每个人都戴着口罩等面罩。

Himawari Yoshida is taking the class as part of a school program that prepares students for the job market. The 20-year-old Yoshida said she needed to work on her smile.

吉田希华(Himawari Yoshida)正在上这门课，这是学校为学生进入就业市场做准备的项目的一部分。20岁的吉田说，她需要练习一下自己的笑容。

I hadn't used my facial muscles much during COVID, so it's good exercise, she said.

她说:“在新冠肺炎期间，我没有经常使用面部肌肉，这门课是很好的锻炼。”

Kawano's company, Egaoiku, which means "smile education,” has customers that include private companies and local governments. An hour-long one-on-one lesson costs $55.

川野的公司名为Egaoiku，意为“微笑教育”，客户包括私营公司和地方政府。一小时的一对一课程收费55美元。

Mask-wearing was normal in Japan even before the pandemic. People wear masks when it is allergy season and around school test times.

即使在大流行之前，戴口罩在日本也是正常的。人们会在过敏季节和学校考试期间戴口罩。

While the government may have lifted its recommendation to wear masks in March, many people have not stopped wearing them. An opinion study by public broadcaster NHK in May showed 55 percent of Japanese say they were wearing masks just as often as two months earlier. Only eight percent said they had stopped wearing masks.

虽然政府可能在3月份取消了戴口罩的建议，但许多人并没有停止戴口罩。公共广播公司NHK在5月份进行的一项民意调查显示，55%的日本人表示，他们戴口罩的频率和两个月前一样高。只有8%的人表示他们已经不再戴口罩。

Around 25 percent of the art school students who took the class kept their masks on during the class. Young people might have become used to life with masks, Kawano said. She noted that women might find it easier to go out without makeup and men can hide that they have not cut their facial hair.

参加该课程的艺术学校学生中，约有25%的人在上课时戴着口罩。川野说，年轻人可能已经习惯了戴口罩的生活。她指出，女性可能会发现不化妆更容易出门，而男性则可以掩饰自己没有刮胡子。

Kawano is a former radio host. She started giving lessons in 2017.

川野曾是一名电台主持人。她从2017年开始授课。

She has also trained 23 others as smiling coaches to spread the method of creating a good smile.

她还培训了23名微笑教练，来传播创造美好微笑的方法。

Her "Hollywood Style Smiling Technique" method includes "crescent eyes," "round cheeks" and shaping the edges of the mouth to show eight teeth in the upper row. Students can try out their technique on a tablet to get scored on their smile.

她的“好莱坞式微笑法”包括“新月眼”、"圆脸颊 "和塑造嘴巴边缘以显示上排的八颗牙齿。学生们可以在平板电脑上尝试他们的技术，以获得他们微笑的分数。

Kawano believes that, culturally, Japanese people may be less likely to smile than Westerners. The difference could be a result of Japan’s sense of security as an island nation and as a state. Reuters news service said Kawano wondered if the threat of guns might cause people to smile more.

川野认为，从文化上讲，日本人可能不如西方人爱笑。这种差异可能是日本作为一个岛国和国家的安全感造成的。路透社报道说，川野想知道枪支的威胁是否会让人们笑得更多。

Culturally, a smile signifies that I'm not holding a gun and I'm not a threat to you, she said.

“从文化上讲，微笑意味着我没有拿着枪，对你没有威胁。”她说。

An increasing number of foreign visitors have been coming to Japan. Kawano said that Japanese people need to communicate with foreigners with more than just their eyes:

越来越多的外国游客来到了日本。川野说，日本人需要用更多的方式与外国人交流，而不仅仅是用眼睛：

She said, "I think there's a growing need for people to smile."

她说:“我认为人们对微笑的需求越来越大。”

I’m John Russell.

约翰·罗素报道。