Statuses are marvelous human inventions that enable us to get along with one another and to determine where we “fit” in society. As we go about our everyday lives, we mentally attempt to place people in terms of their statuses. For example, we must judge whether the person in the library is a reader or a librarian, whether the telephone caller is a friend or a salesman, whether the unfamiliar person on our property is thief or a meter reader, and so on.
地位是了不起的人类发明，使我们能够彼此相处，并决定我们在社会中的“位置”。当我们在日常生活中，我们在心理上试图根据人们的地位来定位他们。例如，我们必须判断图书馆里的人是读者还是图书管理员，打电话的人是朋友还是推销员，我们家里不熟悉的人是小偷还是抄表员，等等。
The statuses we assume often vary with the people we encounter, and change throughout life. Most of us can, at very high speed, assume the statuses that various situations require. Much of social interaction consists of identifying and selecting among appropriate statuses and allowing other people to assume their statuses in relation to us. This means that we fit our actions to those of other people based on a constant mental process of appraisal and interpretation. Although some of us find the task more difficult than others, most of us perform it rather effortlessly.
我们所处的地位往往因我们遇到的人而异，并在一生中发生变化。我们大多数人都可以以非常快的速度假设各种情况所需的地位。许多社会互动包括识别和选择合适的地位，并允许其他人假设他们与我们相关的地位。这意味着我们在不断的评估和解释的心理过程中使自己的行为与其他人的行为相适应。尽管我们中的一些人发现这项任务比其他任务更难，但我们中的大多数人都能毫不费力地完成。
A status has been compared to ready-made clothes. Within certain limits, the buyer can choose style and fabric. But an American is not free to choose the costume of a Chinese peasant or that of a Hindu prince. We must choose from among the clothing presented by our society. Furthermore, our choice is limited to a size that will fit, as well as by our pocketbook. Having made a choice within these limits we can have certain alterations made, but apart from minor adjustments, we tend to be limited to what the stores have on their racks. Statuses too come ready made, and the range of choice among them is limited.
地位被比作现成的衣服。在一定范围内，买家可以选择款式和面料。但美国人不能自由选择中国农民或印度教王子的服装。我们必须从我们社会提供的服装中进行选择。此外，我们的选择仅限于适合的尺寸，以及我们的钱包。在这些限制范围内做出选择后，我们可以进行某些更改，但除了小的调整外，我们往往只限于商店货架上的东西。地位也是现成的，它们之间的选择范围有限。
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