8 Be on a good footing 有一个良好的基础

A pleasant relationship with other people, not least those in a superior position, is portrayed as being ‘on a good footing’ with them. There are two thoughts as to where this saying came from. Some say the phrase goes back to a practice of early apprenticeships. It was the custom, on the first day at work, for apprentices to invite all their workmates for drinks. The new apprentice ‘footed the bill’. If proved a generous host, he made friends for keeps. The hospitality would never be forgotten.

与其他人，尤其是和那些身处高位的人有良好的人际关系表明了你和他们“有良好的基础”。对于这个短语是从哪来的，有两种说法。有人说这句话可以追溯到早期学徒的实践。这是一个传统，作为学徒工作的第一天，他要邀请他所有的同事喝饮料。这个新学徒付账。如果大家认为他是一个慷慨的东道主，他就会交到朋友。他的朋友们永远也不会忘记他的盛情款待。

Recalling how much it had cost, it was said the novice gained ‘a good footing’. A second derivation links the phrase with an early and bizarre interpretation of human anatomy, the importance given to the length of one of a person’s digits. At one time, the dimension of the middle toes determined a person’s ‘standing’ in the community. Thus, the measurement of their foot decided their status in the eyes of others. Those whom nature and genes had endowed with large feet were lucky to be ‘on a good footing’. Draw your own conclusions on this one!

当回顾这花销了多少钱时，被说成是初学者得到了“良好的基础”。第二个来历与一个早期的人类解剖学的怪异解释有关，尤其是一个人的足趾的长度。在某一时期，人的中脚趾的长度决定着他在社会中的“地位”。因此，他们脚的尺寸决定着他们在其他人眼中的地位。那些天生具有大脚的人就被幸运的称为“有良好基础”的人。对于这个短语的来历，请读者们自己得出结论吧。