经济学人:离婚法案 过错游戏(2)

 　　In 1996 the government tried to introduce no-fault divorce, but the legislation was repealed¹ in 2001 after requirements on the parties to attend “information meetings” to encourage reconciliation² proved unworkable.

　　1996年政府尝试引入无过错离婚，在当事双方参加“信息会议”以鼓励和解的要求行不通后，2001年政府废除了这项法案。

　　In 2015 Richard Bacon, a Conservative MP, introduced a private members' bill proposing no-fault divorce with a year's cooling-off period, but it failed to get a second reading.

　　2015年保守党议员Richard Bacon提出一项私人成员法案——建议夫妻双方经过一年的冷静期后可以离婚，但是这项议案没有通过。

　　离婚法案.jpeg

　　There has always been a sensitivity around the notion of undermining marriage, says Nigel Lowe, an emeritus³ professor of law at Cardiff University who is also a member of the Commission on European Family Law, a group of academics.

　　卡迪夫大学的法学荣誉退休教授，兼学术组织欧洲家庭法委员会成员，Nigel Lowe说人们一直对蓄意破坏婚姻的概念很敏感。

　　This is clear in debates over same-sex and civil unions.

　　这在同性和民事结合的辩论中已经清晰表露。

　　Opponents of no-fault divorce worry that it might make ending marriage too easy.

　　无过错离婚的反对者担心，它可能会使离婚太过容易。

　　Other countries, such as America, the Netherlands and even largely Catholic Spain allow couples to divorce without allocating⁴ blame.

　　在其他国家比如美国，荷兰，甚至在大部分人信天主教的西班牙，都允许伴侣无过错离婚。

　　The evidence from elsewhere suggests that fears of a spike⁵ in divorces may be overblown.

　　来自其他地区的证据表明，对离婚率猛增的恐惧被夸大了。

　　Scotland, England's closest neighbour geographically⁶ and jurisdictionally, introduced no-fault divorce in 2006.

　　苏格兰——英格兰地理和法律上最亲密的邻居，在2006年引入无过错离婚法。

　　In the next two years the divorce rate rose, perhaps as some previously⁷ made to wait hurried through their split.

　　在那之后的两年，离婚率升高，可能是由于在等待离婚的过程中迫不及待地分开。

　　But then it continued to fall.

　　但是之后离婚率继续下降。

　　If both parties want to break up, Mr Lowe asks, why should it be in the state's interest to hold up the process?

　　Lowe先生质问道：“如果双方都想要离婚，为什么将事情拖着会符合国家利益？”

　　Sorting out the division of assets and arranging for the custody⁸ and future care of children are always the hardest aspects of ending any marriage.

　　财产分配，安排抚养权和儿童未来的照料事宜，总是结束婚姻时最困难的部分。

　　Eliminating questions of who is to blame for the split would allow those involved to focus on dealing⁹ with these.

　　排除谁该为婚姻破裂负责的问题，能使双方集中精力处理这些事宜。

　　1.cooling-off period 冷静期

　　例句:There should be a seven-day cooling-off period between a strike ballot¹⁰ and industrial action.

　　在举行罢工投票表决和采取劳工行动之间应当有7天的冷静期。

　　2.focus on 专注于

　　例句:The talks will focus on economic development of the region.

　　会谈将着重讨论该地区的经济发展。

　　3.dealing with 处理

　　例句:We came up against a great deal of resistance in dealing with the case.

　　办这个案子的过程中，我们遇到了很多阻力。

　　4.break up 破碎；分手

　　例句:Civil war could come if the country breaks up.

　　如果国家分裂就会爆发内战。

1 repealed   

撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Labour Party repealed the Act. 工党废除了那项法令。
• The legislature repealed the unpopular Rent Act. 立法机关废除了不得人心的租借法案。

2 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

3 emeritus   

adj.名誉退休的

参考例句：

• "Perhaps I can introduce Mr.Lake Kirby,an emeritus professor from Washington University?"请允许我介绍华盛顿大学名誉教授莱克柯尔比先生。
• He will continue as chairman emeritus.他将会继续担任荣誉主席。

4 allocating   

分配，分派( allocate的现在分词 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• Administrative practice generally follows the judicial model in allocating burdens of proof. 在分配举证责任方面，行政实践通常遵循司法模式。
• A cyclical multiplexing technique, allocating resources in fixed-time slices. 以固定的时间片分配资源的循环复用技术。

5 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

6 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分

7 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

8 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。