Always buying sneakers? It's the sign of a leader: poll
 

Got a passion for buying sneakers? It could be a good sign, with a poll finding that people who buy three pairs of sneakers or more a year are far more likely to be a leadership type that other people.

Got a passion for buying sneakers? It could be a good sign, with a poll finding that people who buy three pairs of sneakers or more a year are far more likely to be a leadership type than other people.

Mindset Media, a media company that examines personality traits of different consumers, found that people who buy more than three pairs of sneakers a year are 61 percent more likely to have the qualities of a modern leader.

These qualities were defined as having ideas and vision, and a style with others that is both inclusive and decisive.

The survey of 7,500 people found multi-sneaker buyers were 50 percent more likely to be very assertive and 47 percent more likely to be spontaneous.

Lauren Arvonio, a spokeswoman for Mindset Media, said sneaker buyers were more likely to fly by the seat of their pants

"It is often said you can tell a lot about a person by the shoes they wear, and now we have some hard data to back that up," Arvonio told reporters.

"What is interesting is that these personality traits held true across the board, regardless of age, income, or gender."

Previous Mindset Media surveys found that people who pay their credit card bills off each month were more likely to be "highly deliberate," thinking through their actions, but also less modest than others, likely to brag about their habits.

Hybrid car owners were found to be 78 percent more likely to be highly creative than other people and less dogmatic.

(Agencies)

总爱买运动鞋？这可能是个好“兆头”，因为一项民意调查发现，一年买三双或三双以上运动鞋的人具有领导潜质的可能性要大得多。

专门研究不同消费者性格特征的“思维”媒体公司发现，一年买三双以上运动鞋的人具有现代领导者品质的几率要高出61%。

所谓“现代领导者品质”指的是远见卓识、能够包容他人，并且行事坚决果断。

该项对7500人开展的调查发现，一年购买多双运动鞋的人很有主见的几率比其他人高出50%，性格直率的几率高出47%。

“思维”媒体公司的女发言人劳伦•阿芙尼奥说，爱买运动鞋的人在毫无头绪的情况下，更倾向于自己想办法解决问题。

阿芙尼奥在接受记者的采访时说：“人们常说，穿鞋能反映一个人的性格，现在我们有了可以支持这一说法的确凿数据。”

“有意思的是，这些性格特征与年龄、收入和性别等因素无关，在全世界都如此。”

“思维”媒体公司之前的调查发现，每月还清信用卡帐单的人更加“从容谨慎”，凡事考虑周全，但同时他们不够谦逊，爱炫耀。

调查发现，拥有混合动力车的人不爱遵循教条，他们拥有非凡创造力的几率比其他人高78%。

Vocabulary:  

fly by the seat of their pants: 在没有客观依据、茫无头绪的情况下摸索行事

Fly by the seat of the pants:

该短语源于飞机的航行。

航空事业如今这样发达的一个原因是有了无线电导航系统，但是过去在没有无线电航空信标、雷达和空中交通管制人员的时候，飞行员是怎么寻找航线的呢？他是观看地面上的铁路轨道、河流和其它陆地标记来决定航线和航向的。但是如果他穿入云层或者雨区，地面上的东西被云雾遮挡什么都看不清了，那又怎么办呢？这时飞行员就只得根据自己的直感来猜测他座下的飞机该是在什么方位了。由此而产生了这个习惯用语: fly by the seat of one's pants。

大家也许早就知道pants是裤子，而seat在这儿是指裤子接触座位的部分。也就是裤子的臀部。飞行员的裤子当然不能为他的航向提供指点，fly by the seat of one's pants其实是说他在茫无依据的情况下只得凭直觉猜测他座下的飞机该往哪儿开。这个习惯用语如今被用作比喻意义。我们来看个例子。这是个美国企业家在说他去越南开办企业的经历。

例句：When I set up business in Vietnam I had to fly by the seat of my pants. I didn't know anybody, couldn't speak the language and had to learn the local business situation in a hurry.

他说：他在越南开办企业的时候，既不认识任何人，也不会说越南话，还得在短促的时间里了解当地的商业形势。（来源：原版英语网）