经济学人:离婚法案 过错游戏(1)

 　　Britain

　　英国

　　Divorce Law: Blame Game

　　离婚法案：过错游戏

　　The absence of no-fault divorce in England and Wales looks updated.

　　英格兰及威尔士无过错离婚的缺失亟待解决。

　　People stay in loveless marriages for many reasons: anxiety about the impact of splitting up on their children; financial dependency on a spouse¹; fear of loneliness.

　　人之所以待在一段无爱的婚姻里，原因有很多：担心离婚对子女造成的影响，对配偶的经济依赖，还有对孤独的恐惧。

　　Tini Owens is stuck in hers because a judge refused to give her a divorce.

　　Tini Owens困在自己的婚姻里，因为法官拒绝判她离婚。

　　离婚法案1.jpeg

　　She said that her husband's treatment of her, including scolding her in front of their housekeeper² and ignoring her over a meal, amounted to unreasonable³ behaviour, grounds for divorce.

　　她说正是因为丈夫的粗暴对待，包括当着管家的面责骂她，吃饭时从头到尾忽视她，以及种种不可理喻的行为，成了她离婚的理由。

　　The judge, however, disagreed, saying they were “minor altercations…to be expected in a marriage”.

　　然而法官不同意，说他们是“小打小闹——这在一段婚姻中是预料得到的”。

　　Since her husband has refused to consent to the break-up, she must wait five years.

　　因为丈夫拒绝同意离婚，她必须再等五年。

　　Ms Owens has asked the Court of Appeal to overturn the ruling.

　　Owens女士提起上诉，要求法院撤销判决。

　　Her position would be simpler if England and Wales did not insist on blame being part of divorce.

　　如果英格兰和威尔士不再坚持过错是离婚不可缺少的因素，那么她的处境会简单得多。

　　As well as unreasonable behaviour, marital⁴ breakdown⁵ can be demonstrated by evidence of adultery or desertion.

　　除了不合理行为，出轨和遗弃也可以证明婚姻的破裂。

　　The alternative is at least two years' separation.

　　前提是双方至少分居两年。

　　But the notion of fault is often little more than a charade⁶.

　　但是过错的概念和做戏并无差别。

　　Kerstin Beyer, a family lawyer, cites a case where the “unreasonable” behaviour involved the wife pursuing an “independent social life”.

　　家庭律师Kerstin Beyer有案例为证，即”不合理”行为涉及妻子追求”独立的社会生活”。

　　Insisting that somebody must be to blame makes an already difficult process harder.

　　坚持离婚必须以至少一方有错为前提，使得已经艰难的程序更加艰难。

　　This week Lord Wilson, a Supreme⁷ Court judge, added his voice to those calling for “no-fault” divorce.

　　本周最高法院法官威尔森先生对呼吁无过错离婚的人表示支持。

　　Others in favour include Sir James Munby, president of the family division of the High Court, Lady Hale, another Supreme Court justice, most of those working in family law and organisations such as Relate, a charity that provides relationship counselling.

　　其他赞成的人还有高等法院家事庭主席James Munby先生，和另一位最高法院法官Hale女士，他们中的大多数和婚姻家庭法打交道，并在一些相关组织工作，比如Relate——一个提供情感咨询的慈善机构。

　　1.splitting up 分裂；离婚

　　例句:Her parents are rumoured⁸ to be on the verge⁹ of splitting up.

　　据说她的父母快要离婚了。

　　2.social life 社交生活

　　例句:My social life and business life are closely tied.

　　我的社交生活和工作联系紧密。

　　3.unreasonable behaviour 不合理行为

　　例句:While you are in litigious mood, divorce her for unreasonable behaviour.

　　诉讼的同时，你以行为不可理喻为由同她离婚。

　　4.grounds for ...的理由；...的依据

　　例句:In the interview he gave some grounds for optimism.

　　他接受采访时阐述了持乐观态度的理由。

1 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？

2 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

3 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

4 marital   

adj.婚姻的，夫妻的

参考例句：

• Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
• I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。

5 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

6 charade   

n.用动作等表演文字意义的字谜游戏

参考例句：

• You must not refine too much upon this charade.你切不可过分推敲这个字谜。
• His poems,despite their dignity and felicity,have an air of charade.他的诗篇虽然庄严巧妙，却有猜迷之嫌。

7 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

8 rumoured   

adj.谣传的；传说的；风

参考例句：

• It has been so rumoured here. 此间已有传闻。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• It began to be rumoured that the jury would be out a long while. 有人传说陪审团要退场很久。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

9 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。