考研题源外刊 | 《经济学人》谈这代年轻人为何不婚?学习“彩礼”的英文表述
What’s a good man worth in China’s marriage market?Earlier this month, when Yun Chichi posted on Xiaohongshu, a social-media app, about an eligible bachelor looking to marry, she listed his many good qualities. The man had a car and a steady job in a hospital. His parents were taken care of with good retirement funds. He didn’t smoke or drink, could cook and was mild-mannered. He was a total catch. Theoretically, if she wanted this man to marry into her family (an unusual arrangement), how much should she pay for him on the marriage market in China, she asked?本月早些时候，当Yun Chichi在小红书（一款社交媒体应用）上发布了一位符合条件、正在寻找结婚对象的单身男性的信息时，她列举了他的诸多优点。这名男子有车，在医院有一份稳定的工作。他的父母有充足的退休金保障，无需子女负担。他不抽烟不喝酒，会做饭，性格温和。可以说是个“完美结婚对象”。她问道：理论上，如果她想让这名男子“入赘”到她家（一种非传统安排），在中国的婚姻市场上，她应该为他支付多少“价钱”呢？🌟 eligible bachelor 符合条件的单身男性🌟 a total catch 很值得交往/结婚的人（口语）The real catch was that she was actually describing herself. But before she revealed as much, responses to the viral post flooded in. They said the suitor would be worth many millions of yuan or suitable for a hospital director’s daughter. Once the truth came out her post was quickly deleted. It laid bare an uncomfortable reality: the qualities that made the mystery man a marvel are expected of women.关键在于，她实际上描述的是她自己。但在她揭露这一点之前，这条爆火的帖子已涌入了大量回复。回复称，这位求婚者价值数百万元，或者说，配得上医院院长的女儿。真相大白后，她的帖子被迅速删除。这揭露了一个令人不安的现实：那些让这位神秘男子显得如此出色的品质，却是社会对女性的普遍期待。🌟 The real catch was that... 关键在于…🌟 viral 病毒式的（可引申理解为“广泛传播”)Throughout Chinese history love has been transactional. Traditionally, matchmakers would consider family status, wealth and mores. In some rural areas “bride prices” are still paid to this day. But after 1970s, Chinese people became increasingly free to choose the person they wanted to spend their life with. By 2001 less than 12% of people were willing to marry someone they didn’t love, according to local research by Liu Wenrong of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. But romance is increasingly forgotten in the face of more practical considerations. Today, 25% of men and 23.6% of women in Shanghai say they are happy to marry someone they don’t love.在整个中国历史上，爱情常常是一种交易。传统上，媒人会考量家庭地位、财富和社会习俗。在一些农村地区，“彩礼”的习俗至今仍然存在。但70年代之后，中国人选择终生伴侣的自由度日益增加。根据上海社会科学院刘文荣的研究，到2001年，只有不到12%的人愿意与不相爱的人结婚。然而，面对更为实际的考量，浪漫情怀正日益被遗忘。如今，在上海，有25%的男性和23.6%的女性表示，他们乐意与不相爱的人结婚。🌟 transactional 交易性质的，以利益交换为基础的🌟 wealth and mores 财富与社会习俗🌟 spend one's life with 与...共度一生🌟 practical considerations 实际考量China’s economic slowdown may explain some of the shift. Having a degree no longer guarantees a good job, and as of November the youth unemployment rate was 16.9%. Many families expect a groom to own a home, so economic woes hurt the marriage prospects of many. In such an environment nervous youngsters tread carefully. In Shanghai about half of young unmarried women say they wouldn’t tie the knot with someone unless their parents approved of their choice.中国的经济放缓或许是这一转变的部分原因。拥有学位不再能保证找到一份好工作，而且截至去年11月，青年失业率高达16.9%。许多家庭期望新郎拥有房产，因此经济困境损害了许多人的婚姻前景。在这样的环境下，紧张的年轻人行事谨慎。在上海，约半数未婚年轻女性表示，除非父母同意她们的选择，否则她们不会与对方结婚。🌟 youth unemployment rate 青年失业率🌟 marriage prospects 婚姻前景Many avoid the social and financial pressures of the marriage market altogether. In the first quarter of 2025 only 1.8m couples registered to get married, a year-on-year decrease of approximately 8.1%. Among those aged 25-29, the unmarried rate is over 50%.许多人选择完全避开婚姻市场所带来的社会和财务压力。2025年第一季度，仅有180万对情侣登记结婚，同比大约下降了8.1%。在25至29岁的人群中，未婚率超过了50%。🌟 social and financial pressures 社会与财务压力🌟 register to get married 登记结婚🌟 a year-on-year decrease of... 同比下降…This worries the government as almost all children in China are born in wedlock. On January 19th it said that the birth rate was at levels not seen since 1949: 5.63 per 1,000 people (the death rate is 8.04 per 1,000 people). Officials want celebration, not lamentation.这令政府感到担忧，因为在中国，几乎所有的孩子都是婚内出生的。1月19日的数据显示，出生率已降至1949年以来的最低水平：每千人5.63例（死亡率为每千人8.04例）。官方希望看到的是欢庆，而非悲叹。🌟 be born in wedlock 婚内出生be born out of wedlock 非婚生🌟 birth/death rate 出生率/死亡率重点表述总结
bride prices 彩礼
lay bare 揭露，暴露
in the face of 面对
transactional 交易性的，利益交换的
economic slowdown 经济放缓
a year-on-year decrease of... 同比下降...
eligible bachelor 符合条件的单身男性
marriage prospect 婚姻前景
The author implies that the government’s concern about the falling marriage rate is primarily due to ______.[A] the increasing financial burden on young couples[B] the tradition of children being born within marriage[C] the rising youth unemployment rate[D] the changing expectations of women in marriage
