经济学人310:社会的改变 弱男子

 　　Social change

　　社会的改变

　　The weaker sex

　　弱男子

　　Blue-collar men in rich countries are in trouble. They must learn to adapt

　　在发达国家的蓝领男性群体正处于困境中，他们必须学会适应。

　　AT FIRST glance the patriarchy appears to be thriving. More than 90% of presidents and prime ministers are male, as are nearly all big corporate¹ bosses. Men dominate finance, technology, films, sports, music and even stand-up comedy. In much of the world they still enjoysocial and legal privileges simply because they have a Y chromosome². So it might seem odd to worry about the plight³ of men.

　　父系社会现在咋一看似乎正兴盛。超过90%的国家总统总理，和几乎所有大型公司的大boss都是男性。男性统治着经济，科技，企业，体育，音乐，甚至连说相声的都基本是男的。在大多数国家里男人仅仅因为拥有一条Y染色体便享有在社会和法律上的特权，这样看来，担心男性的“悲催命运”般的困境似乎是在杞人忧天。

　　社会的改变.jpg

　　Yet there is plenty of cause for concern. Men cluster at the bottom as well as the top. They are far more likely than women to be jailed, estranged⁴ from their children, or to kill themselves. They earn fewer university degrees than women. Boys in the developed world are 50% more likely to flunk⁵ basic maths, reading and science entirely⁶.

　　但有却又大量的原由让人不得不担心。男性群体从渣男到精英男，他们在被关进监狱啊，被他们的孩子疏远嫌弃啊，或者自杀率啊都远远大于女性，却在取得更多的大学学位上败给了女性。在发达国家中，有50%左右的男孩会在基础数学，阅读和科学学科上挂掉。

　　One group in particular is suffering. Poorly educated men in rich countries have had difficulty coping with the enormous changes in the labour market and the home over the past half-century. As technology and trade have devalued brawn⁷, less-educated men have struggled to find a role in the workplace. Women, on the other hand, are surging into expanding sectors⁸ such as health care and education, helped by their superior skills. As education has become more important, boys have also fallen behind girls in school (except at the very top). Men who lose jobs in manufacturing often never work again. And men without work find it hard to attract a permanent mate. The result, for low-skilled men, is a poisonous combination of no job, no family and no prospects⁹.

　　在男性群体中又有一类人尤其遭罪。在过去的半个世纪里，发达国家里的受教育程度低的男性已经非常难应对发生了巨变的劳工市场和家庭。现代技术革新和贸易已经使原先的靠劳力形式的肌肉男的价值直线下降，缺少教育的男性，不得不在职场中苦苦挣扎，才能博得一席之地。相反的，女性却依靠着自身出众的技能，在像医疗卫生和教育这样的领域里大放异彩。教育已经变成更重要的事情，而男孩却学校里被女孩甩在了身后（尖端领域学科除外）。从工厂失业的男性常从此不再去工作。而没有工作的男性会发现去吸引永久的伴侣是件非常难的事。由此导致低技术的男性被无工作，无家庭，无前景的“三无”剧毒环环围住。

　　From nuclear families to fissile ones

　　从核心家庭到易碎家庭

　　Those on the political left tend to focus on economics. Shrinking job opportunities for men, they say, are entrenching¹⁰ poverty and destroying families. In America pay for men with only a high-school certificate fell by 21% in real terms between 1979 and 2013; for women with similar qualifications it rose by 3%. Around a fifth of working-age American men with only a high-school diploma have no job.

　　支持左翼 的人倾向于专注于经济，他们认为减少男性工作的机会会加剧贫穷，并，并摧毁家庭。在美国，只有高中学历的男性的实际收入，从1979年到2013年减低了21%，而同等学历的女性，在此期间的实际收入却提高了3%。约有5分之一的只有高中学历的处在工作适龄的男性，处在失业中。

　　Those on the right worry about the collapse¹¹ of the family. The vast majority of women would prefer to have a partner who does his bit both financially and domestically. But they would rather do without one than team up with a layabout, which may be all that is on offer: American men without jobs spend only half as much time on housework and caring for others as do women in the same situation, and much more time watching television.

　　支持右翼的人担心着家庭的崩溃。绝大多数的女性倾向于和愿兼顾家里财政收入职能和家务劳动职能的男性成为两口子。她们宁愿单身也不愿随便和一个游手好闲的卢瑟勉强过一辈子，而这是有依据的：美国失业男性仅仅只付出同等条件下失业女性的一半的时间来做家务事和照顾彼此的生活，这些男人会花更多的时间来看电视。

　　Hence the unravelling¹² of working-class families. The two-parent family, still the norm among the elite¹³, is vanishing among the poor. In rich countries the proportion of births outside marriage has trebled since 1980, to 33%. In some areas where traditional manufacturing has collapsed¹⁴, it has reached 70% or more. Children raised in broken homes learn less at school, are more likely to drop out and earn less later on than children from intact ones. They are also not very good at forming stable families of their own.

　　因此工人阶级的家庭变的更易解体。双亲家庭这种形式还是精英阶层的标配，而这种家庭形式却在穷人中正在消失。在发达国家，非婚生子占新生儿的比重比1980年高出了3倍，已经达到了33%。而在一些传统制造业崩坏的地区，这一比例达到70%甚至更高。生活在破碎家庭里的孩子比起一般家庭的孩子而言，在学校里会学的更少，更可能辍学和收入较低。同时，因为不善于处理家庭问题，他们自己日后的家庭也趋于不稳定（简言之单亲家庭的孩子长大后更易于组成新的单亲家庭）。

　　These two sides often talk past each other. But their explanations are not contradictory¹⁵: both economics and social change are to blame, and the two causes reinforce each other. Moreover, these problems are likely to get worse. Technology will disrupt more industries, creating benefits for society but rendering¹⁶ workers who fail to update their skills redundant¹⁷. The OECD, a think-tank, predicts that the absolute number of single-parent households will continue to rise in nearly all rich countries. Boys who grow up without fathers are more likely to have trouble forming lasting¹⁸ relationships, creating a cycle of male dysfunction.

　　这两种政治倾向的讨论话题往往会相互交叉重叠。但二者的观点却并不矛盾：经济状况和社会这二者的变革都是造成此类现状的原因，而这二者还互为因果，形成恶性循环。此外，这些问题可能变得更糟。科技将瓦解更多的行业，为社会创造更多的价值，但也将使更多的无法升级自身技能的劳动者失业。 经济合作与发展组织里的一个诸葛天团预测单亲家庭的比例定会继续在所有发达国家中上升。在没有父性角色的家庭长大的男孩，将更可能不能处理好长久关系（如夫妻关系）以至于形成新的单亲家庭，由此形成一个男性功能紊乱的死循环。

　　Tinker, tailor, soldier, hairdresser

　　锅匠，裁缝，士兵和美发师

　　What can be done? Part of the solution lies in a change in cultural attitudes. Over the past generation, middle-class men have learned that they need to help with child care, and have changed their behaviour. Working-class men need to catch up. Women have learned that they can be surgeons and physicists¹⁹ without losing their femininity. Men need to understand that traditional manual jobs are not coming back, and that they can be nurses or hairdressers without losing their masculinity.

　　那么问题来了，我们能做什么呢？其一在于改变文化态度。在过去的一代，中产阶层的男士知晓了他们需要帮忙照看小孩，并由此改变了他们的行为。工人阶层的男士们需要加紧脚步赶上来了。女士知晓了她们可以成为外科医师和物理学家而不失其女性魅力。男人们需要明白传统的体力工作一去不复返，他们可以成为护士或美发师而不失其男性霸气侧漏之美。

　　Policymakers also need to lend a hand, because foolish laws are making the problem worse. America reduces the supply of marriageable men by locking up millions of young males for non-violent offences and then making it hard for them to find work when they get out (in Georgia, for example, felons²⁰ are barred from feeding pigs, fighting fires or working in funeral homes). A number of rich countries discourage poor people from marrying or cohabiting by cutting their benefits if they do.

　　政府决策人也需搭把手，因为愚蠢的法令会令问题变得更糟。美国减少了对被关押的以百万数计的非暴力犯罪的处于适婚年龄的年轻男子的支持，并在他们出狱后找工作这种事上还要制绊脚石造（以乔治亚州为例，罪犯被禁止从事养猪，救火或在殡葬馆工作）。在一些发达国家，为了阻止穷人结婚或者同居这一目的，通过如果他们这么干的话就砍掉他们的福利这种手段来达到。

　　Even more important than scrapping²¹ foolish policies is retooling²² the educational system, which was designed in an age when most men worked with their muscles. Politicians need to recognise that boys'underachievement is a serious problem, and set about fixing it. Some sensible policies that are good for everybody are particularly good for boys. Early-childhood education provides boys with more structure and a better chance of developing verbal and social skills. Countries with successful vocational systems such as Germany have done a better job than Anglo-Saxon countries of motivating non-academic boys and guiding them into jobs, but policymakers need to reinvent vocational education for an age when trainees²³ are more likely to get jobs in hospitals than factories.

　　不过比起废弃愚蠢的政策，改革设计于大多数男人都是用肌肉（而非脑）工作的年代的教育系统显得更为重要。政治家门应该意识到男孩们的学习成绩不良师一个很严峻的问题，并应立足于改善之。一些明智的政策是为每个人都好，特别是对男孩。早期儿童教育会提供男孩们更系统并更能更好的发展他们的口语能力和社会技能。有着成功的职业教育系统的国家如德国，在鼓励男孩去学术化，重职业化，并指导他们工作上，已经做的比起盎格鲁-撒克逊国家而言要好的多了。但政策制定者应将恢复职业教育的重心放在使受训者更倾向于日后在医院工作而不是在工厂工作这种时代要求上。

　　More generally, schools need to become more boy-friendly. They should recognise that boys like to rush around more than girls do: it’s better to give them lots of organised sports and energy-eating games than to dose them with Ritalin or tell them off for fidgeting. They need to provide more male role models: employing more male teachers in primary schools will both supply boys with a male to whom they can relate and demonstrate that men can be teachers as well as firefighters.

　　更广泛而言，学校需要变得更亲男孩化一些。他们应该意识到男孩比起女孩而言就是会更可能到处闯祸：比起给他们吃药或告诫他们不要乱动而言，最好还是提供给他们一些有组织的运动和耗费精力的游戏。他们需要男性榜样角色：在小学阶段，雇佣更多的男性教师，这不但可以给男孩子提供他们可以认同的男性角色，还可以为男人可以像成为消防员一样的成为教师提供实证。

　　The growing equality of the sexes is one of the biggest achievements of the post-war era: people have greater opportunities than ever before to achieve their ambitions regardless of their gender²⁴. But some men have failed to cope with this new world. It is time to give them a hand.

　　男女越来越平等是战后我们取得的重大成就之一：比起以前，现今人们不论性别都可以拥有更好的机会去实现他们的梦想。但是一些男士未能适应这个新的世界，是时候对他们伸出援手了。

　　1.learn to 得知；学会

　　例句:Eventually, you'll learn to cry that on the inside.

　　终有一天，你会学会让泪往心里流。

　　2.appear to 似乎；好像

　　例句:By all accounts, Rodger would appear to be a fine fellow.

　　据说，罗杰是个好小伙。

　　3.plenty of 许多；大量的

　　例句:There were plenty of servants to wait on her.

　　有很多仆人服侍她。

　　4.likely to 倾向于；可能要

　　例句:The fires are likely to permanently²⁵ deforest the land.

　　这些火灾很可能会彻底毁掉这片土地上的森林。

1 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

2 chromosome   

n.染色体

参考例句：

• Chromosome material with exhibits of such behaviour is called heterochromatin.表现这种现象的染色体物质叫做异染色质。
• A segment of the chromosome may become lost,resulting in a deletion.染色体的一个片段可能会丢失，结果产生染色体的缺失。

3 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

4 estranged   

adj.疏远的，分离的

参考例句：

• He became estranged from his family after the argument.那场争吵后他便与家人疏远了。
• The argument estranged him from his brother.争吵使他同他的兄弟之间的关系疏远了。

5 flunk   

v.(考试)不及格(=fail)

参考例句：

• I will flunk him if my student doesn't learn the material in the course.如果我的学生没有掌握课程的内容，我就会让他不及格。
• If you flunk finals,you don't get the chance to do them again.如果你没通过期末考试，就没有机会再考一次了。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 brawn   

n.体力

参考例句：

• In this job you need both brains and brawn.做这份工作既劳神又费力。
• They relied on brains rather than brawn.他们靠的是脑力，而不是体力。

8 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

10 entrenching   

v.用壕沟围绕或保护…( entrench的现在分词 )；牢固地确立…

参考例句：

• It has the same effect of entrenching the elite in corrupt economies. 它有着令精英陷入腐败经济的相同效应。 来自互联网
• This in entrenching on other domains. 这是在侵占别人的领土。 来自互联网

11 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

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。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

12 unravelling   

解开，拆散，散开( unravel的现在分词 )； 阐明； 澄清； 弄清楚

参考例句：

• Nail head clamp the unravelling of nail exteriorize broken nails and clean. 钉头卡钉，拆开钉头取出碎钉并清洁。
• The ends of ropes are in good condition and secured without unravelling. 缆绳端部状况良好及牢固，并无松散脱线。

13 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

14 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

15 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

16 rendering   

n.表现，描写

参考例句：

• She gave a splendid rendering of Beethoven's piano sonata.她精彩地演奏了贝多芬的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• His narrative is a super rendering of dialect speech and idiom.他的叙述是方言和土语最成功的运用。

17 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。

18 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。

19 physicists   

物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框架。

20 felons   

n.重罪犯( felon的名词复数 )；瘭疽；甲沟炎；指头脓炎

参考例句：

• Aren't those the seats they use for transporting convicted felons? 这些坐位不是他们用来押运重犯的吗？ 来自电影对白
• House Republicans talk of making felons out of the undocumented and those who help them. 众议院共和党议员正商议对未登记的非法移民以及包庇他们的人课以重罪。 来自互联网

21 scrapping   

刮，切除坯体余泥

参考例句：

• He was always scrapping at school. 他在学校总打架。
• These two dogs are always scrapping. 这两条狗总是打架。

22 retooling   

v.（给…）更换工具， （给…）更换机械设备( retool的现在分词 )；改组，革新

参考例句：

• The factory is retooling to start making the new line of cars. 工厂正在重新装备以便开始制造新系列车型。 来自辞典例句
• Among her suggestions: retooling factories to focus on rebuilding America's transportation system. 她的建议包括围绕重新建设美国交通系统这个重心来重组汽车工业。 来自互联网

23 trainees   

新兵( trainee的名词复数 )； 练习生； 接受训练的人； 训练中的动物

参考例句：

• We've taken on our full complement of new trainees. 我们招收的新学员已经满额了。
• The trainees were put through an assault course. 受训人员接受了突击训练课程。

24 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

25 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。