Realize the Concept of Surplus Male and Female 認(rèn)識(shí)剩男剩女的概念
1 中國主要城市:剩女成為問題
The Xinhua News Agency has a headline news story on the problem of "excess women" in China's major cities, who were born in the 1970's and are unable to find suitable partners for marriage.
"31 years old Li Lingling is hurrying to register for participation in a marriage introduction group arranged by a dating website before 26 August. She hopes to be able to find her future husband through this event."
"According to the Chinese calendar, August 26 this year is the date of the traditional 'double Seven Festival'. Many young people in China, however, have made this date China's very own Valentine's Day."
"'I don't want to spend that day alone. I long for romance, and hope to be able to find a suitable partner, as well as marry as soon as possible', says Li Lingling. Because the 31 year-old has not yet married, she must endure nagging from her father and mother on a daily basis, as well as the excessive 'concern' of her friends."
"After graduating from university at the age of 24, Li Lingling has been constantly searching for the person with whom she can share the rest of her life. 'I've reached the appropriate age for marriage, she have been unable to find the appropriate man', she laughs. 'I have acquired the title within my circle of friends of being the 'Excess Woman.'"
"In today's China's, 'excess women' like Li Lingling have become a widespread social phenomenon. They were born in the 1970's, and according to tradition are already considered 'old maids.' Most 'excess women' had advanced educations, are intelligent, capable, have high incomes and possess appearances beyond reproach."
2 關(guān)于剩男剩女的表達(dá)方式
spinster or gold miss 剩女
well-educated 高學(xué)歷
high-income 高收入
high IQ 高智商
3S lady-Single ?。▎紊恚?br />
seventie (大多數(shù)生于上世紀(jì)七十年代)
stuck (被卡住了)
housebound man/lady 宅男宅女
soul mate 閨蜜
social circle 社交圈子
singles' Day 11月11日的光棍節(jié)
primary 25-27歲為初級(jí)剩女
middle 28-29歲為中級(jí)剩女
advanced 30-34歲為高級(jí)剩女
extra grade 到了35歲往上,那就是特級(jí)剩女
剩男剩女正在以幾何級(jí)數(shù)增長,他們被稱為這個(gè)時(shí)代的"情剩",意為在通往婚姻的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)中,被剩下了。不管是主動(dòng)的還是被動(dòng)的,被"剩下"多少有些尷尬,也最終成為了話題。
這是時(shí)代與制度的合謀。在一個(gè)工業(yè)化日漸繁榮、城市化急劇變遷的時(shí)代里,單身者尤其是女性獲得了經(jīng)濟(jì)、知識(shí)以及各項(xiàng)社會(huì)權(quán)利的大躍進(jìn),人與人之間或人與家庭之間的依附關(guān)系日漸疏離。這是單身的資格。
When you are young your standards are set very high, however, as you age, you will have to lower your standards a bit and a bit and a bit.
當(dāng)你還年輕的時(shí)候,你的擇偶標(biāo)準(zhǔn)定得很高,但是隨著年紀(jì)的增長,你不得不一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)把標(biāo)準(zhǔn)降低。
Because there is no love experience, the skills with the opposite sex are lacked. On the other hand, the degree of understanding of the opposite sex is also very low.
因?yàn)闆]有戀愛經(jīng)驗(yàn),故而缺乏跟異性交往的技巧。同時(shí),這類女人對(duì)異性的了解度也相當(dāng)?shù)汀?br />
Is it false to be the fascinating and brilliant "remainder"?
漂亮有才的"剩女",難道是一種錯(cuò)?
One of our reasons for staying single is that you can afford to wait for your true soul mate (if one even exists) to pop into the picture.
單身理由之一,你可以等待,直到真正的心靈伴侶出現(xiàn)(如果存在的話)。
You can take the time to casually wade through the barracudainfested waters of the dating pool and set your hook for the prize catch.
面對(duì)遍布荊棘的婚姻之路,你可以耐下性子,放長線,釣大魚。
You're single-a heat-seeking bachelor, committed to no one in particular, able to party like John Belushi and sleep until noon with no one underfoot to tell you to do otherwise. It's a great life, and why shouldn't it be?
假設(shè)你是單身--一個(gè)熱衷艷遇的單身漢,那么你既不需要向誰負(fù)責(zé),又可以像John Belushi那樣狂歡,還可以一覺睡到自然醒,太陽照到屁股也沒人管。多美妙的生活啊,難道不是么?
It's sad to say, but too many guys get hitched for the wrong reasons, like they've reached a certain age, all of their friends are getting married, and they haven't been successful at dating and this woman is the first to show interest.
很遺憾的是,有太多人因?yàn)殄e(cuò)誤的原因選擇結(jié)婚。比如說,到了某個(gè)年齡,或是朋友們都結(jié)了婚,又或是情場(chǎng)屢屢失意后終于碰上一個(gè)對(duì)自己表現(xiàn)出興趣的女人。
Our No. 2 reason for staying single is that you can enjoy the opportunity of building your career without draining the tons of energy a permanent relationship entails.
單身理由之二,你可以盡情打拼事業(yè),無需為婚姻心力交瘁。
You remain free to put in long hours, work on the weekends or do whatever else you have to do to be successful.
你可以投入大把時(shí)間,在周末工作,或是做那些可以讓你有所成就的事情。
This is especially true if you're working in any kind of timedemanding field, such as medicine, law or entrepreneurship.
尤其當(dāng)你的工作很費(fèi)時(shí)間,例如從醫(yī)、從事法律工作或是做企業(yè)家,這一條就更加重要。
A woman's experience could be turbulent, but the woman's state of mind absolutely must be simple.
女人的經(jīng)歷可以滄桑,但女人的心態(tài)絕對(duì)要保有純真。
The more obedient daughters are, the more often there is no perfect life, especially the marital problems. The more the parents involve in the children, the greater the chances of unhappiness are.
越是聽話的女兒,往往越?jīng)]有完滿的人生,尤其是婚姻問題。父母參與越多,下一代不幸福的幾率越大。
Marriage isn't love but the combination of other conditions. Though it's sharp, it's true.
婚姻不單單意味著愛情,它是各種條件加減乘除后的產(chǎn)物。這話聽起來挺薄情,但事實(shí)的確如此。
When you're single, the world is your oyster.
如果你是單身,那么整個(gè)世界盡在掌握。
You can pick up and go anywhere you want, do anything you want, any time you want.
不論何時(shí)何地,你可以從心所欲。
No one is in the background nagging at you to do chores, go shopping, or "grow up".
沒人催著你干家務(wù)或去逛街,也沒人要你"別耍孩子氣"。
You're absolutely free to hang out with your buddies, party until dawn and find plenty of time for your personal interests and hobbies.
你可以盡情和弟兄們出去狂歡至天明,留出足夠的時(shí)間從事興趣愛好。
Best of all, you have the luxury of being all by yourself, if you feel like it.
最妙的是,你可以做你喜歡的自己。
Staying single means not being forced into buying a 10,000-megawatt diamond ring (so your finace can impress her friends with the huge price tag) or any of the other bloodsucking financial drains that marriage entails, for that matter.
堅(jiān)持單身,意味著你不必硬著頭皮去買天價(jià)鉆石(以便你的未婚妻在朋友面前炫耀),也免得被婚姻慢慢榨干血汗錢。
By staying single, you're not legally or financially obligated to anyone but yourself.
堅(jiān)持單身,在金錢和法律方面你只需對(duì)自己負(fù)責(zé)。
But once you John Hancock the dotted line on that marriage contract, she has you by the balls forever.
而一旦在那張白紙上簽下黑字,她這輩子就都靠你養(yǎng)了。
Another reason for staying single is that being alone means peace and quiet.
另一個(gè)單身理由是,你可以享受到寧靜。
And, of course, there are no fights.
此外,沒有爆發(fā)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的危險(xiǎn)。
Nancy: more and more Chinese are marrying foreigners.
南希:越來越多的中國人嫁給了外國人。
Sara: That's true. But I have a low opinion of those women who go out with foreigners.
薩拉:是啊,但是我挺鄙視那些和外國人在一起的女人的。
Nancy: Oh, why?
南希:?。繛槭裁窗。?br />
Sara: I think some Chinese women marry foreigners for money while others just want to live abroad. There is no true love between them.
薩拉:我覺得有些人嫁給外國人是為了錢,有些人是為了去國外定居,反正他們之間沒有真愛。
Nancy: I wouldn't say that's totally true. I've met many happy intercultural couples.
南希:也不全是吧。我見過很多幸福的跨國夫妻。
Sara: Well, then why aren't there many East-West couples where the man is a Chinese and the woman is a Westerner?
薩拉:那為什么沒有多少夫妻,男方是中國人,女方是西方人的呢?
Nancy: I guess it's because the Chinese women are more attractive to Western men.
南希:可能是因?yàn)橹袊藢?duì)西方男人更有吸引力吧。
Sara: Or because they are less attractive to Chinese men.
薩拉:或者這些女人對(duì)中國男人沒那么有吸引力吧。
Nancy: What do you mean?
南希:怎么說?
Sara: You know, usually the woman is in her thirties and she is a left girl.
薩拉:這些女人大約三十多歲,是剩女。
Nancy: A left girl? What's that?
南希:剩女?什么意思???
Sara: They're called that because they're left behind on the shelf. They're also known by their three H's-high diploma, high salary, and high degree.
薩拉:這么說,因?yàn)樗麄兪莿e人挑剩下的。她們有三高:高文憑,高工資,高學(xué)位。
Nancy: And they're also known as the three S's-single, stuck, and born in the seventies.
南希:還有人說她們有三難:單身,高不成低不就,出生在70年代后。
Sara: Definitely! So most of these women go for Western men.
薩拉:的確!所以這些人就把目標(biāo)轉(zhuǎn)向了西方人。
Nancy: You have a point here, but I believe some mixed marriages are based on true love.
南希:也許吧。但有些跨國婚姻還是有真愛的。
Sara: That' for sure but very few.
薩拉:那是,不過很少。