We like to fancy ourselves very polite people, especially when we're out and about in public. But a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Sydney found that people aren't saying "thank you" nearly as much as they think they are when they encounter others out in the world.

我们总觉得自己是彬彬有礼之人，尤其是出门在外的时候。但悉尼大学研究人员开展的一项新研究发现：遇到其他人的时候，人们说'谢谢'的次数并没有他们以为的那么频繁。

From the beginning of our lives, we're taught about what the scientists who led the study call "social reciprocity. It's a fancy way of saying that when we ask people for something - whether it's asking mom to pass the salt at the dinner table or asking a bartender for a glass of water - we expect them to do it for us if we ask nicely. We also assume that we're expressing gratitude¹ for their kindness, whether we say "thanks" or show it in some other way.

生命初期，有人告诉我们什么是开展研究的科学家眼中的"社会互惠"。当我们请求某人某事的时候--不管是吃晚饭的时候让老妈给你递盐，还是向酒保要一杯水--说请都是很礼貌的，我们也希望自己的礼貌能打动他们为我们做这些事。我们还觉得自己会对他们的善意表达感谢，不管是说"谢谢"还是以其它方式表示。

But researchers found that that doesn't always happen, even in the most informal of settings when a quick "thanks" is super easy to throw out there.

但研究员发现：事情并非总是这样，即使在最不正规的场景中，简单的说句"谢谢"是很容易的。

Pretty much every single children's book out there focuses on manners, and most adults consider themselves polite, but researchers found that all over the world, we're receiving favors and not showing very much gratitude in return.

几乎每一本儿童书籍都侧重利益，大多数成年人也认为自己很礼貌，但研究人员发现：全世界范围内，我们会接受帮助，但却没有对别人表达应有的感谢。

The researchers examined worldwide groups of people and found that when asked for something, people will usually comply with the informal request. But those do-gooders only received a "thanks" (or some other form of gratitude) once for every 20 interactions.

研究员研究了全球各地的人群，并发现：请别人帮忙的时候，人们往往会遵循非正式的要求。但这些做好事的人每隔20分钟才会听到一次"谢谢"（或其它形式的感谢）。

The people asked to do simple tasks in the study - like the woman who passes you a napkin at the coffee shop or someone who picks up the scarf you dropped on the street - didn't even really expect a "thank you," or any other sign of appreciation² for that matter. The researchers also found that when someone didn't receive any appreciation for their good deed, they rarely felt angry.

研究中，这些人被要求做一些简单的任务--比如咖啡店给你递纸巾的女士，或是街上捡到你围巾的人--他们甚至都没有想到你会因此说"谢谢你"或有其他的感激表现。研究人员还发现：当人们做好事没得到应有的感谢时，他们也不会生气。

Nick Enfield, the University of Sydney linguist³ who led the study, told The New York Times, "Our basic stance is one of reciprocity. When we ask people to help us, the default is that they will."

悉尼大学语言学家尼克·恩菲尔德带头开展了这项研究，他对《纽约时报》说道，"我们的基本立场是互惠。请别人帮忙时，我们的心里就已经默认了他们会帮忙。"