4. Good manners

  禮貌

This goes without saying. But it's not limited to table manners.

這一點不言而喻，但這并不只是指餐桌禮儀。

Snarliness towards waiters, children, and anyone outside the charmed circle of you and your date is a bad sign of things to come.

怒罵服務生、孩子、交際圈之外的人或者約會對象，不好的事情就會發生。

Selective good manners actually suggest that those manners are not deeply ingrained and may soon melt away.

選擇性禮貌事實上暗示著它們并未深入人心，也許很快就會消失殆盡。

5. Over-exuberance

  感情過于熱烈

Pushy does not mean keen. It means pushy.

一意孤行就是它的字面意思，而非熱切的渴望。

First date pushiness is the sign of someone who doesn't respect boundaries and will end up pushing you into emotional corners.

第一次約會時表現出的一意孤行可以看作是不尊重他人底線的表現，這會破壞感情進一步發展的可能。

6. Good behaviour

  良好的行為舉止

Many a woman who has overlooked a little first date leering - at other women - has lived to rue the day.

許多女性曾在第一次約會時忽略了約會對象對其他女性暗送秋波的細節，事后想起都會為此而懊悔。

You have standards for how you would dress and behave on a first date. Your date should, too.

對于第一次約會時的穿著和舉止，你應該要有自己的一套標準。你的約會對象也應如此。

If your date's behaviour violates your standards in any way that's a clear sign that you could be in for a rough ride.

如果約會時的行為舉止與自定的標準不同，那么你將會踏上一條曲折的感情之路。

7. Docility

  性情溫順

You want your date to be sensitive and responsive to your wishes.

你理想中的約會對象應該是一個能察覺到你愿望并幫你實現它的人。

Choosing your meal for you, unasked, or making decisions for you without consulting you is a clear sign of wanting to be top dog.

一個人沒有詢問你意見就幫你點菜的，或是沒有同你商量就擅自幫你做決定，很明顯，他想成為你們關系中的主導者。

Do you want to be reduced to playing Bottom Dog?

難道你想淪為感情中的弱者嗎？

8. Playfulness

  能給你帶來快樂

You want someone not just to have fun with, but someone who's fun to be around.

你不僅希望可以同約會對象相處愉快，還希望他能給周圍的人帶來快樂。

That doesn't necessarily mean someone who acts like a kid - what long-term kids are actually looking for is second mummies. You want someone who you feel comfortable enough around to be silly with.

但這并不意味著約會對象的行為舉止要表現得像個孩子。一個像孩子一樣總長不大的人實際上是要為自己再找一個媽媽。你理想中的伴侶應該是一個能讓你覺得舒心的人，即使你和他在一起時像個傻瓜。

9. Beware rogue breeders

  當心周圍瘋狂的約會發起者

If you've been single for a while, friends may take it upon themselves to set you up with 'lovely dates'.

如果你處于感情空窗期有一段時間，你的朋友們可能會為你策劃一場美好的約會，主動肩負起給你介紹對象的重任。

Just because they find that date 'lovely' in the context in which they know them doesn't mean you will.

她們認為一場約會是美好的，并不代表對你而言也是一樣的。

You wouldn't buy a house just on the say-so of Mrs Bloggs three doors down.

你不會因為住在離你三戶遠的布洛格斯太太（MrsBloggs）隨口說的一句話，就買下一座房子。

You always have to do your own due diligence.

所以，你要認真地考慮問題。

10. Leave the paperwork at home

  丟掉幻想

Women are terrible at playing 'Fantasy Future' - they go on a first date and, provided the man isn't an obvious freak or psychopathic monster, they get busy imagining their future life with that person.

女性在幻想美好方面往往很不成功。她們在第一次約會時，只要男性不是一個情緒反復無常的怪人或是精神失常的怪物，接下來，她們開始忙于沉浸在和約會對象未來生活的幻想中。

A first date is not designed to be a marriage contract., it's simply the start of getting to know another person.

第一次約會并不是要制定一份結婚條約，而是雙方相互了解的開始。

If you find yourself fantasising about that happy future, take a cold shower, or speak to a grounded friend.

如果你發覺自己開始沉浸在對未來的美好幻想之中，趕緊去洗個冷水澡或是找一位好友聊一聊。

Vocabulary:

parallel: 相似之處

chequered: 多變的

knack: 訣竅

unsavoury: 令人討厭的

demanding: 苛刻的

aphrodisiac: 催情藥

pedigree: 血統

alpha male: 大男子主義者

incessant: 不斷的

rocket science: 復雜的事

snarliness: 怒吼

ingrained: 根深蒂固的

exuberance: 感情洋溢

pushy: 一意孤行的

leering: 媚眼，秋波

rue: 后悔

top dog: 獲勝者

Bottom Dog: 失敗者

rogue: 兇猛的

grounded: 注重實際的

（中國日報網英語點津 祝興媛）