You might think you have the figure of Marilyn Monroe but according to research the truth is likely to be far more prosaic¹.

你可能以为你是玛丽莲·梦露的身材，不过据一项调查显示，现实可能没你想象的那么好。

A study found nine in ten women didn’t know their body shape – with many mistakenly believing they have a wasp² waist and hourglass curves.

调查显示，十分之九的女性不知道自己的体型，很多人误以为自己有蜂腰和沙漏曲线。

In fact, the majority have a straight up and down figure, known rather unflatteringly, as ‘the rectangle’. Rectangles – who include Kim Cattrall and Nicole Kidman – have bust³, hips⁴ and shoulders of the same width. They also have no waist to speak of.

实际上，大多数女性是笔直体型，说句大实话，就是矩形身材。矩形身材的代表女性包括金·凯特罗尔和妮可·基德曼，这种身材的特点是胸、臀部和肩部一样宽，没有腰可言。

Some 240 women had body scans to obtain their measurements and proportions. These were then used to identify their body type. Options included hourglass, rectangle, pear and triangle – a woman with a big belly and hips.

有240名女性接受身体扫描以获得体型测量和比例，这些数据就用来判别他们的体型。基本体型分为沙漏型、矩形、梨型和三角形（即即肚子和臀部较大）。

The scans revealed 63 per cent of the women to be rectangular, with waists getting bigger and their curves becoming less defined with age.

扫描结果显示63%的女性是矩形身材，他们的腰部越来越粗，腰部曲线随着年龄增长日趋减少。

Just 38 per cent of 18- to 35-year-olds had the rectangular proportions but 80 per cent of those aged 56-plus met the criteria⁵. Similarly, 30 per cent of young women had an hourglass shape, but the figure fell to 4 per cent in older women.

在18-35岁人群中，只有38%的女性是矩形身材，而在56岁以上人群中，有80%的人符合此标准。同样地，30%的年轻女性符合沙漏型身材标准，而在年老女性中，只有4%的人符合此标准。

The results, said shopping website isme.com, were even more telling when women were asked to pick their own shape. Whether they're an hourglass, rectangle, triangle (a leaner version of a pear), bottom hourglass, inverted⁶ triangle or top hourglass - only one in ten women can identify their own body shape.

据购物网站isme.com的调查，当女性被要求选出自己的体型时，对比结果更生动。无论他们是沙漏型、矩形、三角形（梨形身材的瘦弱版）、下半身沙漏型（肩部较窄，下身较宽）、倒三角型和上半身沙漏型（上身较大，臀部较小），只有十分之一的女性能准确选出来。

On top of this, a quarter don’t believe their figure fits in with any of these traditional body shapes.

此外，四分之一的女性认为自己不属于上述传统身材中的任意一种。

A common frustration⁷ for women when buying clothes to fit their shape was spending money on adjusting a garment to get a more appropriate fit, according to nearly half (42 per cent) of those questioned.

根据调查，有近一半（42%）的人需要花钱在改衣服上，以便使它更合身。

On the back of this, 63 per cent of those surveyed also stated they would like more help and advice from retailers⁹ when shopping to fit their size and shape.

另外，63%的受访女性表示在店里买衣服时会向店员寻求帮助和建议，以便买到合适的尺寸和版型。

The report goes on to reveal that women are out of touch with their true shape because of the body’s tendency to change and shift with age.

这份报告也显示女性对自己的真实身材不甚了解，因为体型会随着年龄不断变化。

A spokesperson for Manchester Metropolitan¹⁰ University, who carried out the survey with isme.com, said: 'The research so far has shown that a woman’s body size, shape and posture¹¹ can change - sometimes substantially - as a result of the ageing process.

一位与isme.com网站合作此调查的曼彻斯特城市大学发言人说道：“这项调查已经证明女性的身材有时会随着年龄有很大程度的变化。”

'The study confirmed this, and also highlighted that shape change occurs not only into terms of posture and body shape but also in terms of circumferential¹² measurement differences between the front and back of the body in the waist region.'

“这项调查证实并强调了形体变化不仅表现在姿态和身体形状上，也表现在腰部前后测量的不同上。”

Carol Vorderman, ambassador for isme.com, added: 'It's no surprise that women's body shapes change so dramatically as they get older, with motherhood and a slowing metabolism¹³ taking its toll¹⁴.

isme.com的代表Carol Vorderman补充道：“随着成为母亲和新陈代谢缓慢的损害，女性年老以后体型变化巨大并不意外。”

'My body shape has changed a lot over the years but the key is understanding what styles your body suits and then finding clothes that fit properly.'

“我的体型这么些年来变化巨大，但关键是找到适合你体型的穿衣风格，然后挑选合适的衣服。”

'Size is just a number and varies from retailer⁸ to retailer, it's important that shape is the main consideration when choosing items for your wardrobe.'

“衣服尺寸只是一个号码，而且不同的店里并不一样，所以购买衣服时体型时是最主要的考虑因素。”

ed that Gates had been her mystery gift giver, writing “I want to start by giving a HUGE THANK YOU to Mr. Bill Gates for an amazing gift and secret santa experience. Bill—you ROCK (can I call you Bill?! I feel like we’re friends now!).”

在一篇题为“注意：比尔·盖茨没有找你，是因为他找到我了”的帖子中，一位名叫蕾切尔的Reddit用户透露，盖茨是她神秘的礼物派送者，并写道，“首先，我非常感谢比尔·盖茨先生给我带来这么棒的礼物和神秘圣诞老人的经历。比尔——你好厉害（我能喊你比尔吗？！我想我们现在是朋友吧！）。”

She goes on to describe Gates’ gift—which could have come from a particularly thoughtful uncle—of a stuffed cow, along with a donation in her name to the non-profit Heifer International

她继续形容盖茨的这份礼物——本该是来自一位特别体贴的叔叔——填充奶牛玩偶，和以她的名义向非盈利组织国际小母牛组织（Heifer International）捐赠一头小牛（该组织贫困地区的家庭免费提供家畜）。该礼物中还包括一本《国家地理：一生必游的500经典路线》（National Geographic¹⁵ Journeys of a Lifetime）。

Gates exposed his identity in a note explaining the donation, and included a picture of himself (above) holding the stuffed bovine¹⁶ and the note as confirmation¹⁷. For anyone thinking this was a cheap gift from the country’s wealthiest man, the donation of one heifer to a family in need rings in at $500—well above the gift ceiling of your standard Secret Santa.

盖茨在一张解释这份圣诞礼物的便签中表明了自己的身份，并包括一张他拿着礼物和卡片的照片作为证明。有些人会认为，美国首富的这份礼物太廉价了，但是要知道，向一个贫困家庭捐赠一头小母牛相当于500美元——这可比你最昂贵的圣诞礼物都值钱多了。

Reddit Gifts is an annual gift exchange started in 2009 to connect “Redditors” around the world. Users enter their home address and information such as likes and dislikes, and Reddit matches gifters and recipients¹⁸ at random¹⁹. After participants receive a gift, they’re encouraged to return to Reddit and post a public thank you.

Reddit Gifts是一年一度的礼物交换活动，始于2009年，旨在将全球的“Redditors”联系起来。用户们输入他们的家庭住址和个人喜好，Reddit会随机对礼物赠送者和接收人进行配对，并鼓励他们在收到礼物之后回到网站发一封公开的感谢信。

Rachel says in her post that it wasn’t until she saw the photo of Gates that she knew who had sent her loot, but she had an inkling it was somebody special when she received a notification email that said her gift was being overnighted and weighed in at 7 pounds.

蕾切尔在她的帖子中写道，直到她看到盖茨的照片，她才知道送她礼物的神秘人是谁。但她事前她收到过一封通知邮件，告诉她有一份7磅重的礼物正连夜送达，因此她隐隐感觉到今年的圣诞老人会是个特别的人物。

Gates has become an enthusiastic²⁰ Reddit user over the past year, participating in an Ask Me Anything thread in the spring and posting thoughts and questions periodically, such as “How much of the Earth are humans consuming?”, using the handle “thisisbillgates.”

在过去一年，盖茨已经成为Reddit热情的用户，他不仅在今年春天参与该网站组织的“Ask Me Anything”问答活动，还定期以我是“我是比尔·盖茨”的句柄发表想法和问题，诸如，“地球有多少正在被人类消耗着？”

A Gates spokesman told GeekWire he joined the gift exchange in part to raise awareness²¹ for Heifer International.

盖茨的一位发言人告诉GeekWire说，他参与礼物交换活动，在某种程度上是为了提高对国际小母牛组织的意识。

Gates hasn’t posted a response to Rachel’s public thank you just yet, but whoever drew the name “Bill Gates” from Reddit’s virtual hat better come up with something extra thoughtful for the man who truly has everything.

盖茨尚未对蕾切尔的公开感谢做出回复，不过，无论是谁在Reddit的抽签游戏中抽中“比尔·盖茨”的名字，都想不到一个真正拥有一切的人会想得这么周到。