中国的单身人群在寻找另一半

 November 11th has become widely known as "Single's Day" in China. Initially¹ celebrated² in Nanjing universities in the 1990s, the occasion has largely gained in popularity as a result of the internet era and is now a special day for all fashionable, young, single people.

Our reporter Stanley Lee attended a grand gathering³ of single young men and women and probed their opinions about the best way to find a mate.

The search for true love is on everybody’s minds, almost one hundred young men and women gathered at a up-scale restaurant in Beijing seeking the ideal special someone.

Reporter: "These young folks are here on a blind date, hoping to bid farewell to their single lives. And the way to get started is dinner. Each pays their own fee to show they are independent."

But a blind date doesn’t mean blind preparation, it seems the organizer took special care to ensure the people who are invited are on the same page.

The hosts then tried to kick start the atmosphere, which wasn’t a hard task, within minutes the people were chatting away and sparking chemistry.

While not all will agree that being single is a problem, many Chinese do feel some urgency to engage in romantic relationships. That’s part of the reason why other ways of setting singles up is gaining huge popularity. On-line match making and dating is particularly popular for young people but some here believe they’re not enough to build lasting⁴ relationships.

Match making TV programs are also a big hit with viewers across China, this show named "If You Are The One" is said to have some 50 million people watching every episode.

But these highly educated young Chinese do not seem to have an optimistic outlook towards such a phenomenon.

And perhaps it’s these spontaneous, no-strings attached gatherings⁵ that will land you your better half.

1 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

2 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

5 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。