经济学人216:婚姻市场 女性仍然最想嫁给有钱的男人

 　　The marriage market

　　婚姻市场

　　Got to have a J.O.B.

　　必须要有一份工作

　　Women still most want to marry men with money

　　女性仍然最想嫁给有钱的男人

　　JANE AUSTEN'S characters took it for granted that men with money made more eligible¹ mates. “A man like that is hard to find, but I can't get him off my mind,” lamented² the female vocalists of ABBA. A new study from the Pew Research Centre, a think-tank, finds that little has changed. Fully³ 78% of American women who have never been married say it is “very important” that their future spouse⁴ has a “steady job”. By comparison, only 46% of men mind much what their future spouse does for a living.

　　简·奥斯丁笔下的人物想当然地认为越是有钱的男人越适合做伴侣。“这样的男人是很难找到的，但是我无法将他们踢除出我的脑海。”ABBA中的一位女歌手这样说道。智囊团尤皮研究中心的一项新研究显示，女性在这方面的思想几乎没有改变。未婚美国女性中，有78%的人认为未来配偶拥有“一份稳定的工作”是“十分重要的。”相比之下，只有46%的男性介意他们未来的配偶以什么为生。

　　婚姻.jpg

　　Wrenching⁵ changes in the labour market, combined with these ancient preferences, have shaken up the marriage market. Women are much more likely to have jobs than they were half a century ago; men, somewhat less so. Women today find it easier to cope without a male breadwinner. At the same time, many find the pool of potential husbands less appealing.

　　劳动市场的痛苦的变化以及一些古老的偏好动摇了婚姻市场。相比于半个世纪之前，女性更有机会参加工作，而男性却稍稍减少了一点。现在的女性发现即使没有男性养家，生活也很容易对付。同时，许多女性发现潜在丈夫没有那么大的吸引力了。

　　In 1960 young, never-married women were spoilt for choice. For every 100 of them aged⁶ 25-34, there were 139 young, never-married men with jobs vying⁷ for their attention. In 2012 there were just 91. For some groups, the gap is much bigger. Young never-married black women outnumber young never-married black men with jobs by a startling two-to-one (see chart). This helps explain why although African-Americans are more likely than other races to say they value marriage, only 26% of black women are actually married, compared with 51% of whites.

　　在1960年，年轻、未婚的女性是有极大的选择余地的。每100位25到34岁的女性，就有139位年轻、未婚且有工作的男性争抢着吸引她们的注意。而到了2012年，只有91位这样的男性了。对于某些群体，这样的差距可能更大。年轻未婚的黑人女性与年轻未婚且有工作的黑人男性的比例竟高达惊人的2:1。这就解释了为什么尽管非裔美国人强调他们比其他种族更在乎婚姻，然而相比于白人女性51%的结婚率，黑人女性只有26%。

　　The raw ratio of bachelors to bachelorettes varies with age. There are 118 unmarried 25-year-old men for every 100 single women, since women are more likely to marry older partners. Around the age of 40, the ratio is roughly even. From then on, the surplus of men turns into a deficit⁸: by the age of 64 there are only 62 unmarried men, with or without jobs, for every 100 unmarried women.

　　单身的男女比例随着年龄的不同而变化。每100位单身女性就有118位未婚的单身男性，因为女性更愿意嫁给年长的男性。到了40岁左右，这个比例更加明显了。从那个年龄段开始，盈余的男性变成了赤字：到了64岁，每100位未婚女性，只有62位未婚男性，且不管他们是否有工作。

　　Overall 20% of Americans 25 or older, the highest share ever, have never said “I do.” That is partly because they are marrying later. Kim Parker, one of the study's authors, reckons that kids are more cautious these days, whereas lovebirds of yore “used to leap into the unknown together.”

　　总体来说，美国25岁以及以上的人，有20%从来没有说过“我愿意”，这一比例创下了历史最高。部分原因是他们晚婚。研究中心的一位作者金姆·帕克说，如今的孩子们更加谨慎了，而昔日的情侣则是选择“一起走向未知的世界。”

　　But some Americans are never marrying at all, either because they prefer not to, or because they can't find the right person. Pew predicts that by 2030 28% of American men who were aged between 25-34 in 2010—and 23% of women—will never have tied the knot. In 1980 only 6% of 45-54 year olds had never been hitched⁹. For men with not much education, the picture is especially grim. Among young American adults with a high school certificate or less, there are 174 never-married men for every 100 never-married women. The difference largely reflects the difficulty poorly-educated men have finding work.

　　但是有些美国人却一生都不结婚，有的是因为自己不愿意，而有的则是因为找不到合适的对象。皮尤研究中心预测，2010年25-34岁的男性到了2030年有28%仍然未婚，而女性则有23%。在1980年，45-54的年龄段中，只有6%的人未婚。对于那些没有受过多少教育的男性来说，情况尤为严峻。对于那些只有高中或以下学历的未婚女性来说，每100位就有174位未婚男性。这样的差异很大程度上反映了低教育程度的男性找工作十分困难。

　　Men and women with college degrees are still highly likely to wed¹⁰ and stay that way. But the cost of college can delay the day when young people feel they can afford an engagement ring, let alone a family. A third cited their finances as the reason they were not yet hitched, compared with just 20% of those over 35. As one Eminem fan at a recent music festival inAtlantaromantically put it “I'm just trying to sort things one at a time. I've got a girlfriend but I've also got college debt.”

　　拥有大学学历的男性和女性然然很有可能结婚并保持下去。但是上大学的费用会推迟他们的婚期直到年轻人认为自己可以负担得起一枚订婚戒指，更不用说是一个家庭。超过35岁的人有20%是因为财政紧张而没有结婚，而他们则有三分之一是出于这个原因。就像在最近亚特兰大的一个音乐节上，埃米纳姆的一个粉丝浪漫地说：“我只是想一次性解决问题，我有女朋友，可我也有大学债务。”

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 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

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 wrenching   

n.修截苗根，苗木铲根（铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土）v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的现在分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛

参考例句：

• China has been through a wrenching series of changes and experiments. 中国经历了一系列艰苦的变革和试验。 来自辞典例句
• A cold gust swept across her exposed breast, wrenching her back to reality. 一股寒气打击她的敞开的胸膛，把她从梦幻的境地中带了回来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

6 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。

7 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

8 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

9 hitched   

（免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上

参考例句：

• They hitched a ride in a truck. 他们搭乘了一辆路过的货车。
• We hitched a ride in a truck yesterday. 我们昨天顺便搭乘了一辆卡车。

10 wed   

v.娶，嫁，与…结婚

参考例句：

• The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
• The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。