实用双语：白头到老的五大秘诀

 　　对奥兹?奥斯伯恩和雪伦?奥斯伯恩这对夫妻来说，婚姻是一种坚持。对吉米?卡特和罗莎琳?卡特这对夫妻来说，美满婚姻意味着在工作上互不干涉。对多尔?布朗森和路易丝?布朗森这对夫妻来说，银行账户分开是个小诀窍。

　　For Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, it's perseverance¹. For Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, it's maintaining separate work lives. For Doyle and Louise Brunson, having separate bank accounts helps.

　　这三对夫妻中，罗莎琳.卡特是美国前总统的夫人;奥兹?奥斯伯恩是个摇滚歌星，往返于康复中心的次数连他自己都记不清了;多尔?布朗森是个职业扑克选手，对于维系婚姻的秘诀有非常深入的看法。不管怎么说，他们对于婚姻的智慧都来自于几十年婚姻的积累和沉淀。

　　A former first lady, a rock star who's been in and out of rehab more times than he can remember, and a professional poker² player can all offer considerable insight into the mysterious workings of marriage. After all, their wisdom is gleaned³ from decades of conjugal⁴ bliss⁵.

　　当然，婚姻并不总是快乐的，但这几对长期以来一直保持着不离不弃的婚姻关系─而且从一而终。他们都认为自己的婚姻关系是快乐、稳固和彼此支持的。

　　OK, maybe it wasn't always bliss. But each of them has stayed married -- to the same person -- for a very long time. And each considers his or her marriage to be happy, strong and mutually supportive.

　　换句话来说，他们做到了许多人未能做到的事情。

　　In other words, they beat the odds⁶.

　　1. 找到折衷点。

　　“如果每人都能让步75%，两个人就有150%的灵活空间。” 玛琳说道。她丈夫也表示同意：“很多男人会说这是怕老婆的表现，但我不这么看。向妻子妥协，是因为对我而言，她是这世上最重要的。”

　　'If each person can give 75 percent, you've got 150 percent,' says Ms. Critch. Her husband agrees. 'Many men would call that wussy,' he says. 'But I don't because I value her more than anything else in the world.'

　　2. 要有幽默感。

　　1967年的一个晚上，杰琪?伊根和肯?伊根在马萨诸塞州Newton市一家舞蹈俱乐部相识。肯向杰琪索吻，但遭到拒绝。“我还不了解你，” 杰琪对他说，“而且我的吻就像‘乐事薯片’一样，你不可能只想吃一片。”

　　Be funny. On the night in 1967 that Jackie and Ken⁷ Egan met at a dance club in Newton, Mass., he asked her for a kiss. She declined: 'I don't know you,' she told him. 'And my kisses are like Lay's potato chips -- you wouldn't want just one.'

　　“你得从对方恼人的生活习惯中发现一些有趣的地方，这有助于维护双方的感情，”69岁的杰琪说道。

　　'You need to learn to find the humor in each other's annoying habits. It helps you keep the affection,' says Ms. Egan, 69.

1 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

2 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

3 gleaned   

v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗

参考例句：

• These figures have been gleaned from a number of studies. 这些数据是通过多次研究收集得来的。
• A valuable lesson may be gleaned from it by those who have eyes to see. 明眼人可从中记取宝贵的教训。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 conjugal   

adj.婚姻的，婚姻性的

参考例句：

• Conjugal visits are banned,so marriages break down.配偶访问是禁止的，罪犯的婚姻也因此破裂。
• Conjugal fate is something delicate.缘分，其实是一种微妙的东西。

5 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

6 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

7 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.