记得在今天多陪陪Ta

LearnAndRecord 2022-07-26

收录于合集 #跟着LR吃瓜学英语 707个

1946年2月14日，世界上第一台通用计算机ENIAC（Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer）问世，并于次日在宾夕法尼亚大学（University of Pennsylvania）正式投入使用。

让我们一起祝「ENIAC」生日快乐！

记得在今天这个特殊的日子里抽空多陪陪它——你的电脑。当然，今天要聊的不是ENIAC，而是催婚哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈。

无注释原文：

Bringing (Insert Name Here) Home for the Holiday in China

The New York Times

In China's inventive marketplace, where there's demand, there's supply; unattached women can even rent a boyfriend over the approaching Chinese New Year to keep the relatives quiet.

With that holiday, the country's biggest, looming in February, young men are offering themselves on Taobao.com, China's eBay, as companions for women heading home and dreading being grilled by older relations about their love life and marriage prospects. So entrenched is said grilling, in a society where women are expected to marry in their mid-20s and anyone over 30 is definitively "on the shelf," that there's even a phrase for it: "cuihun," or "urge marriage."

As for the boys, just as in life, there are all sorts.

On Taobao, this man, who didn't give his name but supplied a photograph, said he was born in 1991, was a B.A. student, an extrovert, 170 centimeters (5 feet, 6 inches) tall and 60 kilograms (132 pounds), offered a relatively simple list of extra services.

"Boyfriend for rent, 300 yuan a day, holding hands and hugs free, appropriate kisses 50 yuan, talking to old people 30 yuan an hour, others we'll talk about it when we meet," his post said. Also: "accommodation and transport costs paid by the woman."

Often, services are worked out in minute financial detail. This man, charging 800 renminbi ($128) a day, had a long list of extras: shopping (15 renminbi per hour or 150 a day, minimum two hours); chatting (10 renminbi an hour or 100 a day); watching a movie (10 renminbi an hour, double for horror films); attending parties (20 renminbi an hour, will not go to dangerous places). And he charges for drinking, based on the spirit content (drinking alcohol is de rigueur for men at festive banquets): 100 renminbi per 100 milliliters of white spirits, 50 renminbi for 100 milliliters of red wine, 20 renminbi for 500 milliliters of beer.

Just in case you're wondering if it's all for real, or just a cruel hoax - it's true. My colleague Dan Levin wrote about the phenomenon a few years ago, and even people.com.cn, recently carried a report.

Showing a picture of a young man with striking cheekbones posing romantically in what appears to be a snow flurry, but may just be artwork, a reporter for the China Economic Net wrote: "Spring Festival is approaching and young, single women must go home, to once again face their elders' 'urging marriage.' Under these circumstances, quite a lot of 'boyfriends for rent' have quietly appeared on Taobao," with "prices clearly marked and real photographs."

The article gathered reactions. "There's nothing that can't be bought, just things that can't be thought of," wrote a person with the online handle Wangshen 777.

"This money is earned too easily!" wrote someone with the name Xiao Zhang.

Citing "people in legal circles," the article warned, "people are not goods and these kind of rentals violate public order and good customs. Neither the buyer nor the seller can receive legal protection and any agreements reached between them are not valid," it said, warning that there could be significant "security risks" in such a situation.

Underlying this all is the massive pressure young Chinese women face to marry as early as possible, the result of a strongly patriarchal society, feminists and sociologists say.

In a recent report, "Single and Over 27: What the Chinese Government Calls 'Leftover Women,' " Public Radio International reported on Huang Yuanyuan, stressed at the prospect of turning 29 without a boyfriend.

It looked at how the state and society in China stigmatize "educated women over the age of 27 or 30 who are still single," according to Leta Hong Fincher, a PhD candidate in sociology at Tsinghua University in Beijing, who has studied "leftover women," writing about it in The New York Times.

How did Ms. Huang feel about her birthday, asked PRI?

"Scary. I'm one year older," she said. "Because I'm still single. I have no boyfriend. I'm having big pressure to get married."

And so, for some women, the market provides.

- ◆ -

注：中文文本为纽约时报官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Bringing (Insert Name Here) Home for the Holiday in China

租个男友回家过年

The New York Times

In China's inventive marketplace, where there's demand, there's supply; unattached women can even rent a boyfriend over the approaching Chinese New Year to keep the relatives quiet.

在中国这个富有创造力的市场，有需求就会有供应。未婚女性甚至可以在即将到来的春节期间租一个男友，以便让亲属们不再唠叨。

unattached

表示“未婚的，单身的；未恋爱的”，英文解释为“not married or not having a relationship with anyone; single”举个🌰：

He's gorgeous, he has his own house and, what's more, he's unattached.

他仪表堂堂，有自己的房子，而且还是单身。

随着中国即将在2月份迎来一年里最重要的传统节日，男青年们在淘宝网（中国的eBay网站）上推销自己，称自己愿意扮演一些女性的伴侣，她们要回家过年，但又担心长辈们会拷问自己的感情生活和婚姻打算。在中国，人们认为女人应该在20多岁时结婚，过了30岁还没结婚就绝对属于“剩女”，此类“拷问”如此根深蒂固，以至于它有一个专门词汇：“催婚”。

looming

表示“（不希望或不愉快的事情）迫近的，逼近的”，英文解释为“(of something unwanted or unpleasant) about to happen soon and causing worry”如：the looming crisis 迫在眉睫的危机。

dread

dread /dred/ 表示“对…感到恐惧；害怕；担心”，英文解释为“to feel extremely worried or frightened about something that is going to happen or that might happen”举个🌰：

He's dreading the exam - he's sure he's going to fail.

他很担心考试——他觉得自己肯定过不了。

grill

1）表示“盘问，审问”，英文解释为“to ask someone a lot of questions for a long time”举个🌰：

After being grilled by the police for two days, Johnson signed a confession.

被警方审问了两天后，约翰逊在供状上签字认罪。

2）表示“（在火焰或烧热的煤上）烧烤”，英文解释为“to cook food over fire or hot coals, usually on a metal frame”举个🌰：

Dad was grilling chicken in the back yard.

爸爸在后院烤鸡。

entrenched

表示“牢固确立的；根深蒂固的；积重难返的”，英文解释为“Entrenched ideas are so fixed or have existed for so long that they cannot be changed.”举个🌰：

It's very difficult to change attitudes that have become so deeply entrenched over the years.

改变多年以来形成的根深蒂固的旧看法是很困难的。

🎬电影《别让我走》（Never Let Me Go）中的台词提到：The tide is with the entrenched mindset, with values that are still unexamined 他们固步自封抱残守缺坚守着未经证实的价值观。

on the shelf

1）表示“年龄太大而找不到对象的”，英文解释为“If someone, usually a woman, is on the shelf, she is not married and is considered too old for anyone to want to marry her.”举个🌰：

In those days, if you hadn't married by the time you were 30, you were definitely on the shelf.

在那个时代，如果你到30岁还未结婚，那就肯定嫁不出去了。

2）表示“被忽视的；被搁置的；废弃的”，英文解释为“not noticed or not used”举个🌰：

It's important to apply research in a practical way and not leave it on the shelf.

重要的是，要把研究运用于实际当中，而不是束之高阁。

As for the boys, just as in life, there are all sorts.

出租的男孩就像现实生活中一样，各式各样。

在淘宝网上，一个没有透露姓名但提供了一张照片的男孩称，自己出生于1991年，本科在校生，性格外向，身高170cm，体重60公斤。他还提供了一份相对简单的额外服务清单。

extrovert

extrovert /ˈɛkstrəˌvɜːt/ 表示“性格外向的人”，英文解释为“an energetic happy person who enjoys being with other people”举个🌰：

Most sales people are extroverts.

大多数推销员都是性格外向的人。

他在网站上写道，“出租男友，300元/天，拉手、拥抱免费，适意性接吻50元/次，与老人聊天30元/小时，其他见面后详谈。”还有：“食宿费、车费由女方支付。”

他们经常会列出详细的服务收费情况。这个男人要价800元一天，网站上列出了一长串额外服务的收费情况：陪逛街（15元/小时，150元全天，至少两小时）；陪聊天（10元/小时，100元全天）；陪看电影（10元/小时，鬼片双倍）；陪去聚会（20元/小时，危险地方不去）。他还按照酒精含量对饮酒收费（对男人来说，过节吃饭时喝酒是一种礼仪）:白酒100元/100毫升，红酒50元/100毫升，啤酒20元/500毫升。

minute

熟词僻义，作形容词，表示“微小的，极小的”，英文解释为“extremely small”，如：a minute amount/quantity 微量/少量，举个🌰：

The documentary showed an eye operation in minute detail (= showing every small detail).

这部纪录片纤毫毕现地展示了一次眼科手术的过程。

de rigueur

表示“（在时尚、习惯等方面）必需的，必备的，不可缺少的”，英文解释为“demanded by fashion, custom, etc.”举个🌰：

Where I work, suits are de rigueur for all employees.

在我工作的地方，西装是所有员工的必备之物。

festive

表示“节日的；喜庆的；欢乐的”，英文解释为“having or producing happy and enjoyable feelings suitable for a festival or other special occasion”如：a festive mood/occasion 节日气氛/喜庆场合。

Just in case you're wondering if it's all for real, or just a cruel hoax - it's true. My colleague Dan Levin wrote about the phenomenon a few years ago, and even people.com.cn, recently carried a report.

如果你怀疑这不是真的，或者只是一个残酷的骗局，我可以告诉你这是真的。我的同事林丹（Dan Levin）在几年前就这个现象写了相关文章，就连人民网（people.com.cn）也在近期发表了一篇报道。

hoax

表示“骗局；恶作剧”，英文解释为“an act intended to make sb believe sth that is not true, especially sth unpleasant”，如：a bomb hoax 炸弹骗局。

Showing a picture of a young man with striking cheekbones posing romantically in what appears to be a snow flurry, but may just be artwork, a reporter for the China Economic Net wrote: "Spring Festival is approaching and young, single women must go home, to once again face their elders' 'urging marriage.' Under these circumstances, quite a lot of 'boyfriends for rent' have quietly appeared on Taobao," with "prices clearly marked and real photographs."

中国经济网的记者在报道中展示了一张照片——一个高颧骨的年轻男人在漫天飞雪中摆出浪漫造型，但这也许只是艺术照，记者写道：“春节临近，单身女青年们又要回家面对长辈们的‘催婚’。在这种行情下，淘宝上悄然冒出了不少‘出租男友’的网店……明码标价，有图有真相。”

flurry

表示“小阵雪（或雨等）”，英文解释为“a small amount of snow, rain, etc. that falls for a short time and then stops”如：snow flurries 小雪阵阵，flurries of snow 阵阵小雪。

The article gathered reactions. "There's nothing that can't be bought, just things that can't be thought of," wrote a person with the online handle Wangshen 777.

这篇文章引发了网友的评论。一个网名为网神777的人说，“没有买不到的，只有想不到的。”

handle

表示“（尤指奇怪的）名字，名称”，英文解释为“a name of a person or place, especially a strange one”举个🌰：

That's some handle to go through life with!

一辈子取那样一个名字也够奇怪的！

"This money is earned too easily!" wrote someone with the name Xiao Zhang.

网友小张批评道：“这钱赚的太容易了吧！”

文章援引“相关法律人士”的话提醒大家，“人不是商品，这种租赁行为违反了公序良俗，买卖双方的行为都无法受到法律的保护，双方之间达成的租赁协议也是无效的。”文章警告说，这种安排可能存在重大“安全问题”。

Underlying this all is the massive pressure young Chinese women face to marry as early as possible, the result of a strongly patriarchal society, feminists and sociologists say.

女权主义者和社会学家表示，这一切的背后是中国女青年面临尽早结婚的巨大压力，这是家长社会造成的后果。

patriarchal

patriarchal /ˌpeɪtrɪˈɑːkəl/ 表示“父权制的，男性主宰统治的”，英文解释为“ruled or controlled by men”如：a patriarchal society 男权社会。

In a recent report, "Single and Over 27: What the Chinese Government Calls 'Leftover Women,' " Public Radio International reported on Huang Yuanyuan, stressed at the prospect of turning 29 without a boyfriend.

美国国际公共广播电台（Public Radio International，简称PRI）最近发表题为《年龄超过27岁的单身女性：中国政府所称的“剩女”》的报道，文章称马上就要29岁的黄媛媛（音译）没有男朋友，压力非常大。

It looked at how the state and society in China stigmatize "educated women over the age of 27 or 30 who are still single," according to Leta Hong Fincher, a PhD candidate in sociology at Tsinghua University in Beijing, who has studied "leftover women," writing about it in The New York Times.

这篇报道称，中国政府和社会歧视清华大学社会学博士生洪理达（Leta Hong Fincher）所称的“年龄超过27或30，但仍单身的高学历女性”。曾经研究“剩女问题”的她在《纽约时报》上发表过相关文章。

stigmatize

表示“侮辱”，英文解释为“If someone or something is stigmatized, they are unfairly regarded by many people as being bad or having something to be ashamed of.”举个🌰：

Children in single-parent families must not be stigmatized.

单亲家庭的孩子不应该受到侮辱。

How did Ms. Huang feel about her birthday, asked PRI?

PRI问黄媛媛，对于生日有什么感觉？

"Scary. I'm one year older," she said. "Because I'm still single. I have no boyfriend. I'm having big pressure to get married."

“很可怕。我又大了一岁，”她说，“因为我还是单身。我没有男朋友。我承受着巨大的结婚压力。”

And so, for some women, the market provides.

因此，针对某些女性的市场供应应运而生。

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