VOA常速英语2013--美国结婚率“杯具”了

 

U.S. Marriage Rates Keep Declining 美国结婚率“杯具”了

If you haven't already picked up on the trend from all the whining¹ on Bravo’s Princesses: Long Island, marriage rates in America are at an all-time low. And the median age at which women do say "I do" is now 27, the highest it's been in a century. That's according to a new report by Bowling² Green State University’s Julissa Cruz, published by the National Center for Family and Marriage Research. [Julissa Cruz, Marriage: More Than a Century of Change]

你是否还淹没在布拉沃的公主们的抱怨潮流中：长岛，在美国的结婚率一达到了历史新低。一定会说“我愿意” 的中龄妇女现在一般在27岁，这是一个世纪以来最高的年龄。信息来源于博林格林州立大学Julissa Cruz的一篇新的报告。发表于国家中心家庭和婚姻研究所。

In the 1920s, 92 women walked down the aisle³ each year per 1,000 single women of marrying age. Today, it's a third that. Marriage rates were expected to plateau in the wake of the baby boom, but so far they just keep dropping.

1920年，每年每1000单身妇女中只有92个妇女结婚了。在今天，只有这个数据的1/3。结婚率被期盼能在婴儿潮时期保持稳定，但是目前它们依旧在下降。

Apparently⁴, many college-educated women are simply putting off getting hitched⁵, and many black women might be foregoing it altogether. Because while every ethnic⁶ group has seen a drop in the proportion of married women since the '50s, it's dipped lowest for black women—just 26 percent of whom are married.

显而易见，许多受过大学教育的妇女无心结婚，许多黑人妇女可能会一起保持单身，因为自从50年代以来，每一个种族妇女结婚人数都有下降。黑人妇女结婚率达到了最低——只有26%的妇女是已婚的

In the U.K. and most of Europe, the average age for women tying the knot is already more than 30. And if Long Island’s reality stars are an indicator⁷, we're soon to follow.

在英国以及欧洲的大部分地区，妇女的平均结婚年龄已经超过了30岁，如果长岛的现象只是个指示器的话，我们也将紧随其后。

—Christopher Intagliata

1 whining   

n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚

参考例句：

• That's the way with you whining, puny, pitiful players. 你们这种又爱哭、又软弱、又可怜的赌棍就是这样。
• The dog sat outside the door whining (to be let in). 那条狗坐在门外狺狺叫着（要进来）。

2 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

3 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 hitched   

（免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上

参考例句：

• They hitched a ride in a truck. 他们搭乘了一辆路过的货车。
• We hitched a ride in a truck yesterday. 我们昨天顺便搭乘了一辆卡车。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。