The New Singles.docx

The New Singles.docx

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TheNewSingles

TheNewSingles

____byCarlaPower

I.Topics

1.Isitnecessaryforapersontobemarried?

2.Doyouwanttolivealongornot?

Whydoyouhavesuchidea?

3.TellthedifferencesbetweentheChinesemarriageandthewesternmarriage.

4.Writedownthewordsorphrasesbeforetheweddingandduringthewedding.

5.Tellyouridealfamilylifeandhowtokeepthebalanceinyourfamilylife.

6.Doyouthinkthatchildrenhaveagreatroleinfamilylife?

7.ManySinglepeoplegetbadgeredbyotherswhorefusetoacceptthattheychoosetobealone.However,agrowingnumberofprofessionalsaredoingjustthat.Theyareexploringcareers,indulginginthejoysoftravel,rediscoveringpastimesandkindlingnewpassions.Mostsaytheywanttogetmarriedsomeday,buttheyfeelcontentbeingsingleuntiltheymeettherightperson.

8.Moreeligiblepeopleaspiretomarrybutremainsingleforthemoment.It’snotthatthey’veabandonedthevalueofmarriage,butthattheyaretakinglongertogetmarried,perhapsduetoexpectationsofwhatitshouldbelikeoralackofdesirableprospects.

9.Marriageisafundamentalsocialinstitution.Itiscentraltothenurtureandraisingofchildren.Itisthe“socialglue”thatreliablyattachesparentstochildren.Itcontributestothephysical,emotionalandeconomichealthofmen,womenandchildren,andthustothatofthenationasawhole.

10.Whenawomanisaround30orabove,peoplearoundhermightbegintopanic.Itseemsasifshesuddenlymutatesfromahappysingleintoapitifulspinster.Manyrefusetoacceptthatshechoosestobealone.Theyareeagertofindsolutionsforher.Somefolkstrytofixherup.Othersshowtheirgoodintentionswithharshquestionsandjudgments:

“What’swrongwithyou?

”“Yougotothatbigcompanyandyoustillcan’tfindanidealguy?

”“You’regoingtohaveababywithahandicapifyouwaituntilyou’retoooldbeforegivingbirth.”Sometimesevenstrangersjointheaction.Iftheyspothereatingalone,theymightask,“Doyouwantsomecompany?

”Sometrytopickherup,andothersraisetheirbrows.

II.SomethingAbouttheAuthor

CarlaPowerwritesfortheNewsweekmagazine（US）.HerarticleIntheShadowoftheTalibanmadeheramongtheninefinalistswhowereawardedCertificatesofRecognitionforExcellenceinInternationalJournalism,forthe1999SAIS–NovartisPrize（TheannualSAIS-NovartisPrizerecognizesoutstandingachievementinthecoverageofinternationalaffairs.The$15,000awardispresentedtooneormorejournalistswhoseworkhasbroughttopublicattentionatopicofinternationalimportance.）

III.SomeCulturalPoints

1.EleanorRigby:

OneofBeatle’ssongsisnamedEleanorRigby.ThereisabronzesculpturenamedEleanorRigbyinLiverpool.ThestatueistheworkofTommySteele,apopsinger,andwasmeantasa“ThankYou”tothepeopleofLiverpoolforallthehappytimeshe’dspentinthecity,andalsoasatributetotheBeatlesandtheirsong,EleanorRigby.It’ssaidthatTommysoldthestatuetoLiverpoolfor“HalfASixpence”butinfactthecostofcastingthefigureinbronzewasmetbyTheLiverpoolEcho.Tommygavehistimefreely.Eleanorwasunveiledtotheworldonthe3rdDecember1982byTommywhenheexplainedhehadplacedanumberofobjectsinsidethefigure,“soshewouldbefullofmagicalproperties”.Theywereanadventurebook（forexcitement）,apagefromtheBible（forspiritualguidance）,acloverleaf（forgoodluck）,apairoffootballboots（foraction）andasonnet（forlove）

EleanorRigby

Ah,lookatallthelonelypeople

Ah,lookatallthelonelypeople

EleanorRigby

Picksupthericeinachurchwhereaweddinghasbeen

Livesinadream

Waitsatthewindow

Wearingthefacethatshekeepsinajarbythedoor

Whoisitfor?

…

2.Thericeinthechurch:

oneoftheweddingaccessoriesinthewest.Thepouringofricebytheguestsuponthenewly-wedssymbolizestheirgoodwishesoffertilityandprosperity.

3.AustinPowers:

thesuperagentinmovies:

AustinPowers:

InternationalManofMystery（1997）,AustinPowers:

TheSpyWhoShaggedMe（1999）,andAustinPowers3（2002）.

4.BridgetJones:

afilmcharacterinBridgetJones’sDiarywhichwasbasedonHellenFielding’sinternationalbest-sellerBridgetJones’sDiary.ReneeZellwegerstarsinthetitleroleasthedynamic,outrageouslyoriginalBridgetJones,theneuroticthirtysomethingsinglegirlsearchingforlove.

5.Lavalamp:

akindofliquid-globulemotionlamp.EdwardCravenWalker,theinventor,spendadecadeperfectinghisproduct.Thelavalampcametodominate1960’smerchandisinginGreatBritainandsalesofthelavalampsoared.Hereitsignifiesalowlevelofculture.

6.GolfGTI:

akindofsmartGermancarmadebyVolkswagen.

7.Theholygrail（alsotheGrail）:

abowlbelievedtohavebeenusedbyJesusChristatthemealbeforehisdeath.Someofhisbloodisbelievedtohavebeencollectedinitanditthereforebecameaholythingwhichmanypeoplelookedfor.Theholygrailisoftenusedfigurativelyforthethingwhichismostwantedandwhichpeopletrytodiscover.

IV.Introduction

Themarriagerateindevelopedcountriescontinuestofall,aspeoplewaitlongerthaneverbeforewalkingdowntheaisle.

Basedonastudyin2000therateofmarriedmenwas54%and40%ofBritishwomenlivingwithoutapartner.ThefemalemarriagerateinBritaindeclinedfrom74%in1979to51%in2000（whichwas2%lowerthan1998）.Itseemsthatmarriedwomenaged16yearsandovermaysoonbecometheminority.

In1998,8.3per1,000Americansmarried,thelowestratesince1958.AreportreleasedbytheNationalMarriageProjectatRutgersUniversityfoundAmericansarelessinclinedtogetmarriedthanatanytimeinUShistory,marriageratehasneverbeenlower,birthstounmarriedwomenhaveskyrocketed,thedivorcerateremainshighandAmericans’marriagesarelesshappythaninthepast.AU.S.governmentstatisticsreportsaidthemarriagerateplummetedbyathirdsince1960.In1996,thelastyearforwhichsuchfigureswereavailable,theratewasabout49per1,000.

ThenumberoflegalmarriagesregisteredinNewZealandduringtheDecember2000yearwas20,655,430（or2.0percent）fewerthanthe21,085marriagesregisteredin1999.Thelatestfigureis24percentlowerthanthepeakof27,199in1971.Thegeneralmarriagerate（numberofmarriagesper1,000not-marriedpopulationaged16yearsandover）alsofellbetween1999and2000,from16.2per1,000to15.6per1,000.

Anewstudyisfuelingsociologists’fearsthatyoungpeoplearesettingperhapsimpossiblyhighstandardsfortakingtheplunge.Accordingtothestudy,94percentof20-somethingsarelookingnotjustforamate,butasoulmate.Asaresult,factorsthatusedtoplayabigroleinmarriagearereceding.Withmorewomenpursuingcareers,anoverwhelming80percentofwomensayitismoreimportanttohaveahusbandwhocantalkabouthisfeelingsthanonewhomakesagoodliving.Femalesallovertheworldareplacingtheircareersonahigherpedestalandthisisunderstandable.Afterall,thereisahigherstandardofeducationnowadaysandwomenarenolongercontenttoplayingdocile,domesticroles.Thereisademandforindependenceandrespectinallaspectsoflife.Thereisalmostarenewedsetofvaluesintheyoungwomentodayandsoonwewillseethistakeeffectontheirchoiceofmarriage.Menwithlowereducationorwagesoreventasteforthefinerthingsinlifewilldefinitelyloseoutaswomenspeakoutandmaketheirdemandsknown.Thefightforqualityneverends.

Amajorreasonfortheriseinsinglesisthatmorepeopleareseekingpersonalfulfillment,expertssay.Unlikepastgenerationswhencouplesstartedtogetheratthebottom,manyprofessionalstodaywanttobringmoretothemarriagethanlove.Theymayacquiredegrees,makesomeinvestments,purchaseafirsthome__allbeforegettinghitched.Besides,thereisadeclineinthenumberofpeopleintheirtwenties,anendtothetabooonlivingtogetheroutsideofwedlockandfinancialincentivesthatcanmakeitmoreappealingtostaysingle.Allofthesetrendshavedramaticallyincreasedthenumberofsinglepeopletoday.

Decliningmarriagerateisnotlimitedinanyparticularcountrynow.Ithasbecomesomewhataglobalphenomenon.Itwillnotbesurprisingtoseethistrendspreadingtomanyofthepreviouslylessdevelopedcountriesaroundtheworld.Maybein2010,therewillindeedbefewermarriagesormarriageatalaterage.

KeytoExercises

I.ComprehensionCheck

i.

1.B2.D3.B4.D5.C6.A7.C8.C9.A10.D

II.VocabularyStudy

i

1.neo-realist2.neo-Nazis3.Neo-fascist4.neocolonialism5.neologisms6.Neo-Darwinist&.Neoclassical8.neonates

ii

1.fostering2.raved3.holygrail4.mainstay5.twenty-something6.heterosexuals7.mandatory8.embracing9.meditating10.fusion

III.Translation

Nowadaysinthecity’stonierresidentialdistrictstherearepeoplenamedasthesingles,whoareusuallyyoung,richandtech-savvyprofessionalsandchooseindependentlytheirownlifestyles.Thenumberofsingleshasincreaseddramaticallyovertherecentyears.Thereasonsofremainingsinglearevarious:

somemaybebusyexploringcareerswithoutputtingtheirmarriageintoagenda,somemayindulgeintheirjobs,travel,entertainment,physicalfitnessorfriendship.Morethan80%ofthemhavenotabandonedthevalueofmarriage,andtheysaytheyaspiretomarryortheywanttobemarriedsomeday,buttheyarepatientandfeelcontentbeingsingleuntiltheymeettherightperson.

Chinese-EnglishTranslation

I.词义准确

1.将词义明确化

·我们搞社会主义才几十年，还处在初级阶段。

---Wehavepracticedsocialismforonlyseveraldecadesandarestill