讀孫子兵法學英文／喜怒不形於色【2011.06.03 03:30 am經濟日報╱朱文章】

喜怒不形於色 wear a poker face

孫子說：「佯北勿從，餌兵勿食」，要人不被小勝沖昏頭，而為敵人拖刀計（Parthian shot）所乘。老兵久經沙場，見多識廣，要他因為小利上當，並不容易。但對一般人，要他在旗開得勝之際，卻不乘勝追擊，這倒很難。

進退如何拿捏？五代十國的馮道「累朝不離將相、三公、三師之位」，為官40多年，靠得就是從蛛絲馬跡判定大局走勢，有「讀心」功夫加持，隨時預備（in the works），能見風轉舵，難怪可以當政壇不倒翁（Vicar of Bray）。
政壇之路既長且辛，天真爛漫，胸無城府者（be footloose and fancy-free），稍加撩撥，就容易強出頭而發難（casting the first stone），到處結怨而不自知，多半因此快速隕落。此乃因為他們目無餘子，忘了自己也有同樣的缺點（a beam in one's eye），黔驢之技被人看穿，就會被當成箭靶遭致攻擊。

讀心術對賭徒尤其重要，因為稍露出些微不尋常，就會被人抓到小辮子迎面痛擊（run square into it），破壞原有布局，甚至賠上最後老本（bottom dollar）。

2010年歐洲撲克巡迴賽義大利站賽冠軍得主奧莉維亞‧柏瑞，一路過關斬將，抱回獎金（cash in her chips）新台幣5,200萬元。柏瑞在牌桌上只有撲克臉孔（poker face），讓人完全猜不透她的牌路，年僅25歲的美麗佳人，竟然有個綽號叫「鐵娘子」，這是因為任誰也猜不透她芳心的緣故。

例："Former CEO complained in his Parthian shot that the board paid far more attention to politics than policy."「前執行長臨走前使出回馬槍，說董事會只會耍政治手腕，不在乎政策內容。」"Minister Feng always has a new plan in the works during every regime change."「馮道總能事先規劃，安渡每回政權轉移。」

"Feng really was behaving like the Vicar of Bray, for he changed his affiliations with each change of government."「馮道最擅長見風轉舵，每當改朝換代，他也馬上換個腦袋，繼續擔任高官。」

"Jane believes her hand is good now that she is footloose and fancy-free."「阿珍一手好牌，頓時喜形於色。」"She's always criticizing her colleagues, casting the first stone no matter what the circumstances."「她喜歡挑剔，不管場合，動輒搶先斥責同僚。」

"Nobody with a beam in his eye can see things clearly. He is dangerously low on discernment."「看不見自己缺點的人，眼力最差。」

"Olivia decided to run square into it after she scrutinized the way her competitor tipped his hand."「奧莉薇雅從對手小動作研判對策，決定攤牌。」
"He spent his bottom dollar on some new clothes to wear for his job interview."「他把剩餘的錢添購新裝，準備好好面試。」"I decided to cash in my chips to get some money to go back to school."「我決定獲利了結，回學校唸書。」

"All presidents keep secrets, but over a 72-hour span leading to Bin Laden's death, Obama's capacity to keep a poker face was tested as never before."「總統都懂得動心忍性，但狙殺賓拉登前72小時，歐巴馬總統臉上完全看不出跡象，真是工夫到家了。」（作者任教於陸軍官校）