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The 40 or so muscles in the human face can be activated in different combinations to create thousands of expressions.
人类面部有超过40块肌肉，通过触发不同的肌肉群，人们可以做出数以万计的表情。
But do these expressions look the same and communicate the same meaning around the world, regardless of culture? Is one person's smile another's grimace?
但在不同的文化中，这些相同的表情，在世界范围内传达的意思都相同吗？一个人做笑脸会不会也是在做鬼脸呢？
Charles Darwin theorized that emotional expression was a common human feature. But he was in the minority.
查尔斯·达尔文的理论是情绪表达是人类的共同特点。那时他的理论受众并不广。
Until the mid-20th century, many researchers believed that the specific ways we show emotion were learned behaviors that varied across cultures.
直到二十世纪中期，许多研究人员相信我们展示情绪的具体方式是习得性行为，并存在文化差异。
Personality theorist Silvan Tomkins was one of the few to insist otherwise.
人格理论家西尔万·汤姆金斯是为数不多支持这一理论的人。
Tomkins claimed that certain affects -- emotional states and their associated facial expressions -- were universal.
汤姆金斯声称一定的影响--情绪状态和与之相关的面部表情，是普遍适用的。
In the 1960s, psychologist Paul Ekman set about testing this theory
在19世纪60年代，心理学家保罗·埃克曼测试了这个理论，
by examining hundreds of hours of film footage of remote tribes isolated from the modern world.
方法是检查前往与世隔绝的部落拍摄的成百上千小时的录像片段。
Ekman found the native peoples' expressions to be not only familiar, but occurring in precisely the situations he would expect.
埃克曼发现原住民的表情不只熟悉，而且准确出现在他期待的情形下。
Conversely, he ran tests with tribes who had no prior exposure to Western culture.
反过来，他测试了一些完全隔绝于西方文明的部落。
They were able to correctly match photos of different facial expressions with stories designed to trigger particular feelings.
随着触发特定情绪的故事设定，他们能正确选出与之匹配的不同面部表情的照片。
Over the next few decades, further research has corroborated Darwin's idea that some of our most important emotional expressions are in fact universal.
之后的几十年中，后续研究确实了达尔文的想法，即一些重要的情绪表达方式事实上是具有普遍性的。
The degrees of expression appropriate to a given situation can, however, vary greatly across cultures.
然而特定情况下的表情在各种文化中表现很不一样。
For instance, researchers have studied facial expression in people who are born blind,
举个例子，研究者研究了那些天生就失明的人的面部表情，
hypothesizing that if expressions are universal, they would be displayed in the same way as sighted people.
他们的假设是，如果表情是通用的，那么失明的人和正常人的表现方式应该会一样。
In one study, both blind and sighted athletes displayed the same expressions of emotion when winning or losing their matches.
在一项研究中，失明的和非失明的运动员在输掉和赢得比赛时，都会展现出一样的情绪表情。
Further evidence can be found in our evolutionary relatives.
进一步的证据可以在我们的进化亲属身上找到。
Comparisons of facial expression between humans and non-human mammals have found similarities in the structure and movement of facial muscles.
针对人类和其他哺乳动物做面部表情比较，结果发现，面部肌肉的结构和动作有相似性。
Chimpanzee laughter looks different from ours, but uses some of the same muscle movements.
黑猩猩的笑看起来和我们的笑不一样，但用到的是相同的肌肉。
Back in the 60s, Ekman identified six core expressions.
在上世纪60年代，埃克曼定义了6种核心表情。
Anger is accompanied by lowered eyebrows drawn together, tense and narrowed eyes, and tight lips; disgust, by the lips pulled up and the nose crinkling.
伴随着愤怒的表情的是将眉毛下压并挤在一起，眼睛绷紧且瞇起来，嘴唇会紧闭；恶心的表情则是嘴唇向上拉及鼻子皱缩。
In fear, the upper white of the eyes are revealed as the eyebrows raise and the mouth stretches open,
恐惧则是上眼白露出，眉毛高挑，嘴巴张着；
while surprise looks similar, but with rounded eyebrows and relaxed lips.
惊讶看起来与之很相似，差别在眉毛会是圆弧状的，嘴唇会放松。
Sadness is indicated by the inner corners of the eyebrows being drawn inwards and upwards, drooping eyes, and a downturned mouth.
伤心时，眉毛内侧的角落会向内、向上拉，眼睛下垂，嘴巴向下弯。
And of course there's happiness: lips drawn up and back, and raised cheeks causing wrinkling around the eyes.
当然，还有快乐：嘴唇向上、向后拉，因为脸颊提起，造成眼睛有皱纹。
More recently, researchers have proposed additional entries such as contempt, shame, and disapproval,
最近，研究者提出了额外的几个表情，像是鄙视、耻辱以及不赞成，
but opinions vary on how distinct boundaries between these categories can be drawn.
但是在关于如何定义这些表情的观点各不相同。
So if Ekman and other researchers are correct, what makes certain expressions universal?
如果埃克曼和其他研究人员是正确的，是什么使特定的表情普遍呢？
And why are they expressed in these particular ways?
为什么它们都以某一种特殊方式表现呢？
Scientists have a lot of theories rooted in our evolutionary history.
科学家们有许多基于进化史的理论。
One is that certain expressions are important for survival.
其中一项理论是，某些表情对于生存而言是很重要的。
Fear and surprise could signal to others an immediate danger.
恐惧和惊讶的表情能够马上示意其他人有危险发生。
Studies of humans and some other primates have found that
关于人类和其他灵长类动物的研究发现，
we pay more attention to faces that signal threats over neutral faces, particularly when we're already on high alert.
相对于中性的脸孔，我们对于示意威胁的脸孔会更加注意，特别是当我们已经在高度警戒状态时。
Expressions also could help improve group fitness by communicating our internal states to those around us.
表情也能够协助改善群体健康，因为我们会向周围的人传达关于我们内在状态的信息。
Sadness, for example, signals to the group that something's wrong.
比如悲伤就能向群体示意有不对劲的地方。
There's some evidence that expressions might be even more directly linked to our physiology.
有证据显示，表情和我们的生理可能有更直接的关联。
The fear expression, for instance, could directly improve survival in potentially dangerous situations
比如，恐惧的表情在危险的情境中可以直接改善生存的机会，
by letting our eyes absorb more light and our lungs take in more air, preparing us to fight or flee.
通过让我们的眼睛接收更多光，让我们的肺吸入更多的空气，让我们准备好战斗或逃离。
There's still much research to be done in understanding emotional expression, particularly as we learn more about the inner workings of the brain.
关于表情的学习和研究依然有很长的路要走，特别是当我们更加了解大脑内部的运作方式。
But if you ever find yourself among strangers in a strange land, a friendly smile could go a long way.
但是如果你发现自己和陌生人处于一个陌生地方的时候，一个友善的微笑是很有帮助的。
