巴西“女儿国”向全球单身男征婚

 　　It's like the opening gambit of a bad Hollywood romance. A Brazilian town populated only by women has made an appeal for eligible¹ bachelors.

　　一个居住人口全部为女性的巴西小镇在呼唤合适的单身汉们。这看起来有点像一部好莱坞恶俗爱情片的开场剧情。

　　More than 600 women live in the town of Noiva do Cordeiro, south-east Brazil. And most of them are aged² between 20 and 35 years old.

　　在巴西东南部一个小镇上，居住着超过600名女性，而她们绝大多数年龄都在20到35岁之间。

　　Now they have extended an invitation to potential suitors. But don't start packing your bags just yet - any men who go have to understand that this corner of the Brazilian countryside is very much a woman's world.

　　现在，这个小镇向全球单身男性发出邀请。但是各位男士请不要着急，不要立刻就整装出发。因为你要明白，这个小镇完全可以说是一个女人的世界。

　　Some of Noiva de Cordeiro's women are already married and have families, but their husbands - and any sons over 18 - are made to work away from home and only allowed to return at the weekends.

　　这个镇上有些女性已经结婚并拥有自己的家庭，但是他们的丈夫和超过18岁的儿子，都必须到离家很远的地方去工作，只有在周末的时候才能回来与妻子和母亲团聚。

　　It means girl power rules in the rural community, with women in charge of every aspect of life - from farming to town planning and even religion.

　　这意味着这个镇子的方方面面完全是女性在掌权：从农耕到城市规划，甚至还包括宗教信仰。

　　And residents say their town is that much the better for it.

　　居住在这里的女性们都认为这样反而更好。

　　But while none of the residents of Noiva do Cordeiro would have it any other way, it has left them with just one problem.

　　可是，尽管镇上的居民都非常愿意过这种女性主导的生活，她们还是不得不面对唯一的大问题。

　　Nelma Fernandes, 23, admits it's impossible for her neighbours - renowned³ in the region as strikingly beautiful - to find a would-be spouse⁴.

　　镇上居民、23岁的奈尔玛·费尔南德斯坦言，对于她那些因为太美丽而遭嫉妒的女邻居来说，想找到一个准新郎几乎是不可能的事情。

　　The lack of eligible batchelors has now led the community's many single young ladies for make an appeal for interested men - but only those willing to adapt to living in a women's world.

　　由于缺乏合适的单身男子，镇上许多单身年轻女性开始向有意向的男性发出邀请——但条件是他们必须愿意适应这个女儿国的生活方式。

　　In 1940, an evangelical pastor⁵, Anisio Pereira, took one of the women, aged 16, to be his wife and founded a church in the growing community.

　　20世纪40年代，曾经有一位名叫阿尼西奥·佩雷拉的福音派牧师来到此地，当时这个小镇正在成长中，他娶了一位16岁的姑娘作为自己的妻子，并成立了一个教堂。

　　However, he proceeded to impose strict puritanical⁶ rules, banning them from drinking alcohol, listening to music or cutting their hair.

　　但是，他立刻开始为镇上的居民制定严格的清教徒式的生活规范，禁止她们饮酒、听音乐或剪发。

　　When Anisio died in 1995, the women decided⁷ never again to let a man dictate⁸ how they should live. And one of the first things they did was to dismantle⁹ the male-biased organised religion he had set up.

　　当阿尼西奥在1995年去世之后，女镇民们决定，她们再也不会让任何男人指挥自己如何生活了。她们首先采取的措施之一就是解散了他所建立的按照男权规范建立的教堂。

1 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

4 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

5 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

6 puritanical   

adj.极端拘谨的；道德严格的

参考例句：

• He has a puritanical attitude towards sex.他在性问题上主张克制，反对纵欲。
• Puritanical grandfather is very strict with his children.古板严厉的祖父对子女要求非常严格。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？

9 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。