“高價彩禮”真為了“攀比”嗎?|外刊雙語
今天跟大家分享的外刊取自2023年紐約時報,中英文雙語均來源紐約時報中文網。The 30 women sat in wooden chairs, facing each other in a rectangular formation. At the front of the room was the ruling Party’s hammer and sickle logo, with a sign declaring the meeting’s purpose: "Symposium of unmarried young women of the right age."
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今天跟大家分享的外刊取自2023年紐約時報,中英文雙語均來源紐約時報中文網。
The 30 women sat in wooden chairs, facing each other in a rectangular formation. At the front of the room was the ruling Party’s hammer and sickle logo, with a sign declaring the meeting’s purpose: "Symposium of unmarried young women of the right age."
30名女性面對面坐在木椅上,圍成一個長方形。房間正面有黨的錘子鐮刀標志,還有一條橫幅宣告會議的目的:"適齡未婚女青年座談會"。
1. facing each other...:是主句的伴隨狀語。
2. in a rectangular formation:in a... formation指組成……的隊形。
3. At the front of the room was the ruling Party’s hammer and sickle logo:是倒裝句。紐約時報例句:At the far end of the bay, set against a mountain slope and surrounded by bog land, was a cluster of dilapidated, rusty, corrugated iron buildings. 在海灣的遠端,背靠一座山坡,被沼澤地包圍著的是一群年久失修、褪色起皺的鐵房子。
Officials in Daijiapu, a town in southeast China, had gathered the women to sign a public pledge to reject high "bride prices," referring to a wedding custom in which the man gives money to his future wife’s family as a condition of engagement. The local government, describing the event earlier this year in a notice on its website, said it hoped people would abandon such backward customs and do their part to "start a new civilized trend."
中國東南部戴家埔鄉(xiāng)的官員們召集這些女性簽署了一份公開承諾,抵制高價"彩禮"。這是指一種婚禮習俗,男方要向未來妻子的家人付錢,以作為訂婚條件。今年早些時候,當?shù)卣谄渚W站上的一則通知中描述了這件事,并希望人們摒棄這種落后的習俗,為"移風易俗"盡自己的一份力量。
1. high "bride prices,":注意標點符號在雙引號里面,后面還有After "great efforts on all sides," officials said。
2. 高價"彩禮":high bride prices,lavish marriage payments,exorbitant marriage payments。
As China faces a shrinking population, officials are cracking down on an ancient tradition of betrothal gifts to try to promote marriages, which have been on the decline. Known in Mandarin as caili, the payments have skyrocketed across the country in recent years — averaging $20,000 in some provinces — making marriage increasingly unaffordable. The payments are typically paid by the groom’s parents.
隨著中國面臨人口萎縮,官員們正在打擊古老的彩禮傳統(tǒng),試圖提振不斷下滑的結婚率。近年來,全國各地的彩禮費用飆升,在一些省份平均為14萬元,這使得人們越來越難以負擔結婚的費用。這些費用通常由新郎的父母支付。
1. on the decline:下降
2. 破折號前后是一起的:the payments have skyrocketed across the country in recent years — averaging $20,000 in some provinces — making marriage increasingly unaffordable中破折號前后是一起的,即the payments have skyrocketed across the country in recent years, making marriage increasingly unaffordable,這樣很明顯making...是主句的結果狀語。
To curb the practice, local governments have rolled out propaganda campaigns such as the Daijiapu event, instructing unmarried women not to compete with one another in demanding the highest prices. Some town officials have imposed caps on caili or even directly intervened in private negotiations between families.
為了遏制這種行為,地方政府開展了宣傳活動,戴家埔的活動也是其中一例,它們指導未婚女性不要相互攀比著要求最高規(guī)格的彩禮。一些鄉(xiāng)鎮(zhèn)官員對彩禮設置上限,甚至直接干預家庭之間的私下談判。
Even so, the government’s campaign has drawn criticism as reinforcing sexist stereotypes of women.
即便如此,政府的宣傳活動還是遭到了批評,稱其強化了對女性的性別偏見。
After the Daijiapu event went viral on social media, a flurry of commenters questioned why the burden of solving the problem fell on women. Some commenters urged officials to convene similar meetings for men to teach them how to be more equal partners in marriage.
戴家埔的活動在社交媒體上瘋傳后,大量評論人士質疑,為什么解決問題的負擔落在了女性身上。一些評論人士敦促官員們?yōu)槟行哉匍_類似的會議,教他們如何在婚姻中成為更平等的伴侶。
The imbalance is most pronounced in rural areas, where there are now 19 million more men than women. Many rural women prefer to marry men in cities to obtain an urban household registration permit, or hukou, which provides access to better schools, housing and health care.
這種不平衡在農村地區(qū)最為明顯,那里的男性比女性多1900萬。許多農村女性更愿意嫁給城市男性,以獲得城市戶口,從而獲得更好的教育資源、住房和醫(yī)療保健。
Poorer men in rural areas must pay more to marry because the women’s families want a stronger guarantee that they can provide for their daughters, a move that instead could plunge them deeper into poverty.
農村地區(qū)較貧窮的男性必須支付更多的結婚費用,因為女性的家庭希望他們能夠為女兒提供更強有力的保障,而此舉可能會讓男性家庭陷入更深的貧困。
"This has broken many families," said Yuying Tong, a sociology professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "The parents spend all their money and go financially bankrupt just to find a wife for their son."
"這讓許多家庭破裂,"香港中文大學社會學教授同鈺瑩說。"父母花光了所有的錢,甚至破產,就為了給兒子找個老婆。"
Officials have acknowledged their limited ability to eliminate a custom that many families see as a marker of social status. In rural areas, neighbors may gossip about women who command low prices, questioning whether something is wrong with them, according to researchers who study the custom.
官員們承認,該習俗被許多家庭視為社會地位的標志,他們移風易俗的能力有限。據(jù)研究該習俗的人士稱,在農村地區(qū),鄰居們可能會對那些要價低的女性說三道四,質疑她們是否有什么問題。
The tradition is also linked to entrenched attitudes about the role of women as caregivers in families. In parts of rural China, the payment is still seen as a purchase of the bride’s labor and fertility from her parents, researchers say. Once married, the woman has typically been expected to move in with her husband’s family, get pregnant and be responsible for housework, child raising and the care of her in-laws.
這一傳統(tǒng)也同女性在家庭中扮演照顧者角色這一根深蒂固的觀念有關。研究人員說,在中國農村的部分地區(qū),彩禮仍被視為從新娘的父母那里購買新娘的勞動和生育能力。一旦結婚,女性通常會搬到夫家,懷上孩子、負責家務、撫養(yǎng)孩子和照顧公婆。
Securing a high marriage payment can be a way for lower-income families with daughters to build savings for unexpected medical bills or other emergencies. And with parents living longer, some women are demanding higher prices as reimbursement for being the primary caregivers of the older generation, researchers say.
對于有女兒的低收入家庭來說,通過婚姻獲得一大筆錢可能是一種攢錢的方式,以便應對意外的醫(yī)療費用或其他緊急情況。研究人員說,父母年齡越大,一些女性要求彩禮越高,作為對父母主要照顧者的補償。
1. secure:獲得,得到。"找到一份不錯的工作"就可以說secure a decent job。
2. a way for lower-income families with daughters to build savings:是a way for sb to do sth的用法。
Sociologists say a more effective way for the government to curb the tradition would be to put more funding toward child care and into health care for seniors.
社會學家表示,要想遏制這一傳統(tǒng),政府更有效的方法是向兒童保育和老年人的醫(yī)療保健投入更多資金。
As more young Chinese delay or shun marriage altogether, their parents’ expectations around marriage payments are shifting, said Liu Guoying, 58, a matchmaker in Nanchang, the capital city of Jiangxi Province, which is notorious for bride prices that can exceed $50,000.
58歲的劉國英(音)是南昌市的一名媒人,她說,隨著越來越多的中國年輕人推遲結婚或完全不結婚,父母對彩禮的期望正在發(fā)生變化。南昌是江西省省會,該省以彩禮高昂而聞名,有時超過35萬元。
Parents eager to facilitate a smooth start to the marriage are increasingly passing the payment to the newlyweds as a gift. Some parents so desperately want their daughters to be married that they are willing to settle for less cash as long as the prospective sons-in-law treats their children well.
越來越多的父母為了讓婚姻有個順利的開始,會把錢作為禮物送給新婚夫婦。一些父母非常希望自己的女兒能出嫁,只要未來的女婿對自己的孩子好,他們愿意少要點錢。
1. Some parents so desperately want their daughters to be married that:是so...that句型。
2. settle for:無奈接受,勉強接受
"Pity the hearts of the parents of the world," Ms. Liu said.
"可憐天下父母心,"劉國英說。
A new generation of women, more educated than their parents, may also be playing a role in changing attitudes around the issue. A 2020 survey of around 2,000 people in China found that highly educated couples were less likely to pay bride prices, believing that loving each other was enough.
新一代女性受教育程度比父母高,可能也在改變人們對這個問題的態(tài)度方面發(fā)揮了作用。2020年,中國一項針對約2000人的調查發(fā)現(xiàn),學歷越高,送出或收到彩禮的比例越低,他們認為兩個人相愛就好。
But even for women like Luki Chan, 27, who went to college, an opportunity her mother never had, escaping the pressure of hometown traditions can be difficult.
但即使對于像27歲的露琪·陳(音)這樣上過大學——她的母親從未有這樣的上學機會——的女性來說,要擺脫老家習俗的壓力也很不容易。
Ms. Chan grew up in a mountainous region of Fujian, a province in southeast China where marriage payments are often high. Her mother expects to receive at least $14,000 from the groom when Ms. Chan gets married, she said, as repayment for the money she spent on her schooling.
陳女士在中國東南省份福建的山區(qū)長大,那里的彩禮往往很高。她母親對彩禮的期望值不少于10萬,希望能把讀書花的錢補回來。
Now, Ms. Chan is building her own career in Shanghai as a theater producer and is in the process of registering for marriage documents with her Taiwanese boyfriend. Ms. Chan fears that when her parents find out, their demands for a bride price will ultimately prevail. Ms. Chan rejects the tradition, regarding it as tantamount to being sold.
現(xiàn)在,陳女士在上海從事戲劇制作人的工作,并且正在與來自臺灣的男友辦理結婚手續(xù)。她擔心若是父母知曉這件事,恐怕會堅持索要彩禮。陳女士很反感這樣的習俗,感覺這就像自己被賣掉。
"When I see the patriarchal system that exploits women, and the misogynistic marriage customs, I am very scared to discuss marriage with my family," she said.
"看到重男輕女的制度和婚姻習俗,我很害怕跟家里人講我結婚的事,"她說。
Officials see the lavish payments as an urgent problem that could hinder economic development and trigger social instability.
官員們認為,高額彩禮是一個緊迫的問題,可能會阻礙經濟發(fā)展,并導致社會的不穩(wěn)定。
Across the country, cities are trying to popularize the idea of getting engaged without exchanging money. This month, local officials in Nanchang hosted a free mass wedding for 100 couples who got married simultaneously inside a huge sports stadium, touting the slogan "We Want Happiness, Not Bride Price."
中國各地的城市都在努力推廣不收彩禮的理念。本月,南昌的地方官員在一個巨大的體育場為百對新人舉辦了一場免費的集體婚禮,宣傳口號是"不要彩禮要幸福"。
The couples wore red and gold traditional Chinese wedding outfits, performing the ceremony in a synchronized choreography. Their relatives watched from the bleachers, with local government officials getting the prime seats.
新人們穿著紅色和金色的中國傳統(tǒng)婚禮服裝,一起舉行結婚儀式,舞姿統(tǒng)一。他們的親屬坐在看臺上,官員則占據(jù)著主賓位置。
1. synchronized:美/?s??kr?na?zd/adj. 同步的;同步化的。
2. choreography美/?k??ri?ɑ?ɡr?fi/:編舞,舞藝。
3. bleacher:美/?bli?t??r/n. (美)露天看臺。
But in a sign of how much the custom still persists, dozens of residents across China in the past year have complained to local officials in online message boards about exorbitant marriage payments.
在過去一年里,有數(shù)十名民眾在政府的網絡留言板上抱怨高價彩禮的問題,可見這樣的習俗在民間仍然盛行。
1. in a sign of/that:表顯然,可見,有一件事情能表明……;有跡象表明……。如金融時報例句:In one sign of the importance of distribution partnerships, a deal that makes Google the default on the Firefox web browser has helped turn Mozilla, the group behind the browser, into one of the fastest-growing Internet companies in Silicon Valley. 有一個例子能顯示分銷合作關系的重要性:將谷歌設為firefox網絡瀏覽器默認搜索引擎的一項協(xié)議,使該瀏覽器的開發(fā)商mozilla集團成為硅谷成長最快的互聯(lián)網公司之一。
In a sign that she wants to improve relations, she called leading bankers on the day of her appointment. 在接受任命的當天,沃倫給幾位重要的銀行家打了電話,顯然是希望與他們改善關系。
2. persist:繼續(xù)存在。外刊中有常見rife表盛行,如經濟學人精讀:婚姻觀念的變化 | 外刊雙語中這句:Child marriage, once rife, is ebbing. 還有rife的同義詞widespread,prevailing,prevalent。
In one post last summer, a resident said he was "begging" his local government to regulate marriage payments in his rural village of Baixiang in southwest China, where many farmers live in poverty.
在去年夏天的一個帖子里,來自西南部柏香村的民眾留言,"懇求"當?shù)卣尾识Y問題。當?shù)赜性S多農民生活在貧困中。
Three weeks later, county officials replied that they had sent a team of investigators to interrogate the resident’s girlfriend at her home. She told investigators that her parents agreed to marry her off for about $40,000 and refused her pleas to lower the price. The boyfriend’s family had paid only half of it so far.
三周后,縣里的官員回復,他們已經派了調查組到該居民的女朋友家里進行調查了解。她告訴調查人員,她的父母約定的聘金約30萬元,并拒絕了她不要收那么高彩禮的請求。到目前為止,男方僅付了一半的錢。
1. interrogate美/?n?ter?ɡe?t/v. 審問,訊問,質問;(在計算機或其他機器上)查詢。
2. plea:美/pli?/n. 懇求,請求;(法庭上所作的)有罪(無罪)陳述;借口,托辭。
After "great efforts on all sides," officials said, the girlfriend’s father agreed to a payment of about $9,000 and returned the rest to the boyfriend’s family. The refund took place at the local Communist Party bureau, with party officials as witnesses.
官員們說,通過"多方努力",女友的父親同意收7萬元,退還超出部分。退還彩禮是在當?shù)攸h支部進行的,有黨官員在一旁見證。
The officials concluded their report with a message for the couple: "Wishing you a happy life!"
官方在回復的最后祝福這對夫婦:"祝您生活愉快!"
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