unit4-硕士英语综合教程-课文翻译及重点词汇标记

Unit 4

(Para. 1) In the last few centuries, marriage has been connected to romantic love. This kind of package deal is not easy to maintain and indeed many people fail while trying to do so. Nevertheless, most people still pursue this deal. This is another type of paradox associated with marriage.

在过去的几个世纪里，婚姻总是和浪漫的爱情联系起来。这一揽子交易可不容易维护，的确，很多人在试图将婚姻和浪漫的爱情结合起来时失败了。不过，许多人仍然追求婚姻。这是和婚姻相关的另一种自相矛盾的情况。

package adj. 一揽子的 vt. 打包；将…包装

package deal 一揽子交易，一揽子交易中的条款

nevertheless adv. 然而，不过；虽然如此 conj. 然而，不过

paradox n. 悖论，反论；似非而是的论点；自相矛盾的人或

事

(Para. 2)Some of the main difficulties of this package deal are the following: (a) in modern society, marriage is no longer unique in fulfilling tasks such as raising children and enhancing one’s status and financial situation,(b) long-term romantic relationships are problematic in that they lack significant changes, which are so meaningful to emotions in general and love in particular, and (c) the greater flexibility of romantic boundaries in modern society make it harder to maintain strict emotional connections and constraints, such as those recommended in marriage.

要实现这一揽子交易，有如下几点主要的困难：1. 在现代社会，婚姻已不是实现像抚养孩子，加强个人地位，及改善经济状况等任务的惟一形式。2. 长期的浪漫关系的问题在于他们缺乏重大变化，而变化对于普遍意义的情感特别是爱情具有重要意义。3.浪漫的界线在现代社会中更加灵活，这就使得那些在婚姻关系中建议的严格的情感联系和限制难以维持。

problematic adj. 问题的；有疑问的；不确定的

significant adj. 重大的；有效的；有意义的；值得注意的；意味深长的

n. 象征；有意义的事物

meaningful adj. 有意义的；意味深长的

in general adv.通常；大体上；一般而言

in particular 尤其，特别

flexibility n. 灵活性；弹性；适应性

constraint 约束；局促，态度不自然；强制

recommend vt. 推荐，介绍；劝告；使受欢迎；托付 vi. 推荐；建议

(Para. 3a) In modern society, most of the penalties for dissolving a marriage have been removed and many of the incentives that marriage offers can be obtained in other social frameworks.

现代社会中，大多数由于结束婚姻关系所受的惩罚已被取消，而婚姻关系提供的许多奖励也能通过其他社会结构获得。

The choice of staying within a marriage depends, therefore, more on the issue of love than on those traditionally unique advantages of marriage, such as raising children and enhancing one’s status and financial situation.

因此，选择继续留在婚姻中更多的是由于爱情而不是婚姻关系具有的那些传统的独特的优势，例如抚养孩子，加强个人地位，及改善经济状况。

(Para. 3b) If a person feels that her present marital relationship prevents her from experiencing genuine love (and from personal development and satisfaction), there is little incentive for her to stay in the marriage. The fact that most divorce cases now cite a lack of love as the reason for seeking to end the marriage indicates the greater importance that love has in contemporary marriages.

如果一个人觉得她目前的婚姻不能使她体验真挚的爱情，以及她的个人发展和内心满足，她就不太有维持婚姻关系的动机了。许多离婚案件现在会用缺少爱情作为寻求结束婚姻关系的原因。这一事实表明爱情在当代婚姻关系中愈发重要。

penalty n. 罚款，罚金；处罚

dissolve vt. 使溶解；使分解；使液化 vi. 溶解；解散；消失

n. 叠化画面；画面的溶暗

incentive n. 动机；刺激 adj. 激励的；刺激的

framework n. 框架，骨架；结构，构架

marital adj. 婚姻的；夫妇间的

genuine adj. 真实的，真正的；诚恳的

cite vt. 引用；传讯；想起；表彰

contemporary n. 同时代的人；同时期的东西

adj. 当代的；同时代的；属于同一时期的

(Para. 4a)Romantic relationships consist of both change, which increases excitement, and familiarity, which enhances commitment and liking. The positive role of familiarity may lead love to grow and become deeper over time. However, the lack of novelty may make the element of passion less intense. As David Barash and Judith Lipton put it, “we don’t

normally speak of a passionate marriage.

浪漫关系由两方面变化构成，一方面更令人兴奋，更熟悉，另一方面增强承诺和喜好。熟悉的积极作用可以导致爱情成长，感情随着时间的推移更深。但是，缺乏新奇性可以使激情元素不再强烈。正如大为和朱迪思所说的“我们通常不说充满激情的婚姻。

(Para. 4b)A good marriage, a happy marriage, a comfortable and compatible marriage, yes, but only rarely a passionate one.” They further argue that a passion ate marriage would be exhausting, as to “live in a state of perpetual passion” would be to forgo much of the rest of life, and, in truth, there are other things. Love can deepen and broaden ... but it rarely becomes more passionate.

一段美好的婚姻、一段幸福的婚姻、一段自在的包容的婚姻，是的，只是很少说一段充满激情的婚姻”。他们进而争论说，一段充满激情的婚姻可能太令人疲惫，因为“要保持永恒的热情”将要放弃生活中许多其他的内容，而事实上，生活中还有其他事情。爱情能够更深厚更宽广，却很少变得更热烈。

(Para. 4c)Likewise, sex in long-term relationship may be less passionate but because of familiarity and acquiring better techniques may be more satisfied.

同样地，性爱在长期的浪漫关系中可能不那么热烈却由于相互熟悉和掌握了更好的技巧而更加满意。

In any case, stability in marriage and well-being are not one and the same: a stable marriage does not necessarily mean that marriage is particularly gratifying or vital. There is no general solutio n to the problem of the “right” amount and type of change required for more profound and enduring romantic love.

无论如何，婚姻的稳定性和福利不是一回事：一段稳定的婚姻不必然地意味着那段婚姻特别满意或充满生机。没有一个总的方案来解决需要多少“适当”的数量和类型的变化来拥有更深远的更持久的浪漫爱情这一问题。

familiarity n. 熟悉，精通；亲密；随便

enhance vt. 提高；加强；增加

commitment n. 承诺，保证；委托；承担义务；献身

liking n. 嗜好，爱好

novelty n. 新奇；新奇的事物；新颖小巧而廉价的物品

intense adj. 强烈的；紧张的；非常的；热情的

normally adv. 正常地；通常地，一般地

compatible adj. 兼容的；能共处的；可并立的

rarely adv. 很少地；难得；罕有地

exhausting adj. 使筋疲力尽的；使耗尽的

v. 耗尽；使…精疲力竭；排出（exhaust的ing

形式）

perpetual adj. 永久的；不断的；四季开花的；无期限的

forgo vi. 放弃；停止；对…断念 vt. 放弃；停止；

对…断念

likewise adv. 同样地；也

stability n. 稳定性；坚定，恒心

well-being n. 幸福；生活安宁；福利；康

one and the same 同一个，完全一回事

gratifying adj. 悦人的；令人满足的

v. 使满意（gratify的现在分词）；使高兴

vital adj. 至关重要的；生死攸关的；有活力的

profound adj. 深厚的；意义深远的；渊博的

enduring adj. 持久的；能忍受的

v. 忍耐（endure的ing形式）

(Para. 5)The problem of a long-term romantic relationship that usually lacks significant changes is further enhanced in marriage, which involves more obstacles to close personal relationships. In the last few hundred years, marriage has become part of a package deal that is also intended to include love. The more independent that we become and the more flexible our romantic boundaries are, the more it becomes difficult to take on the whole package.

长期的浪漫关系通常缺乏重大变化这个问题在婚姻中进一步强化。在婚姻中终止恋人关系涉及到更多的障碍。在过去的几百年间，婚姻成为一揽子交易中试图包含爱情的一部分。我们越独立，浪漫界线越灵活，就越难承担这一揽子交易。

One such difficulty is that love, and often ideal love, becomes a necessary condition of the deal.

其中的一个难题就是爱情，往往是理想的爱情，成为这一揽子交易的必要条件。

take on 承担；呈现；雇用；录用

(Para. 6a)In light of these changes, there has been a significant increase, over the last few decades, in the percentage of single households in modern society.

根据这些变化，在过去的几十年间，现代社会中单身家庭的比例显著增加。

Such an increase by no means suggests that marriage is dead, but that a growing number of adults are spending more of their lives single or living unmarried with partners. Nevertheless, it seems that the desire for marriage remains strong and constant.

这一增长一点不表明婚姻已死亡，只是说明更大数量的成年人更多的时候独自生活或和伴侣未婚同居。然而，似乎对婚姻的渴望依然强烈，始终如一。

(Para. 6b) The new circumstances have significantly increased the autonomy of individuals and in particular that of women. The greater independence of individuals weakens the expectation for romantic exclusivity of the kind that involves significant dependence upon the partner. Lovers who do not live together see each other for limited times, do not depend upon each other for their major needs, and thus they need not abide by any external formal dictates or constraints.

新的环境显著的增加了个体，尤其是女性的自主权。个体更大的独立性削弱了对那种极其依赖伴侣的浪漫关系排他性的期待。不在一起生活的恋人在有限的时间里见面，不依靠对方获取主要的需求，因此他们不需要受制于任何外部形式的规定或约束。

in light of adv. 按照，根据

percentage n. 百分比；百分率，百分数

household adj. 家庭的；日常的；王室的

n. 全家人，一家人；(包括佣工在内的)家庭，户by no means 绝不，一点也不；并不；决不

constant adj. 不变的；恒定的；经常的

常数；恒量

circumstance n. 环境，情况；事件；境遇

autonomy n. 自治，自治权

exclusivity n. 排外性；独占权

abide by 遵守；信守；忠于（某人）；接受

dictate vt. 命令；口述；使听写 vi. 口述；听写

n. 命令；指示

(Para. 7a)One characteristic of modern society is that it has become increasingly easier to get out of marriage (or any type of romantic relationship) and to get into a new marital relationship (or any other type of romantic relationship).

现代社会的一个特点是，摆脱婚姻（或任何浪漫关系类型），和得到一个新的婚姻关系（或任何其他类型的恋爱关系）越来越容易。

In light of such changes, the framework of marriage has been transformed from a formal contractual bond with hardly any possibility of future regret into an agreement that can be dissolved without the need to find cause, fault, or justification.

针对这些变化，婚姻的结构已从几乎不可能将来后悔的正式合同约束转化为不需要寻找理由、过错和合理解释就能解除的协议。

(Para. 7b)The agreement is based on the desires of the heart, rather than on obligatory commitment. Hence, there is no need to be ashamed of following one’s heart and terminating the marriage, or even in having an affair of the heart. In this sense, love has acquired additional weight in personal relationships.

这个协议是基于内心的渴望而不是应尽的义务、承诺。因此，按照自己的心意解除婚姻或者爱上他人都不需要感到羞耻。从这个意义上讲，爱情在个人关系上获得了额外的分量。

characteristic adj. 典型的；特有的；表示特性的

n. 特征；特性；特色

contractual adj. 契约的，合同的

justification n. 理由；辩护；认为有理，认为正当；释罪

obligatory adj. 义务的；必须的；义不容辞的

be ashamed of 惭愧的，感到难为情的；耻于……的

terminate vt. 使终止；使结束；解雇

vi. 结束，终止；结果

adj. 结束的

in this sense 从这个意义上讲

(Para. 8a)Indeed, love is acquiring ever greater weight in our decisions to maintain our marriages. Thus, an overwhelming majority of people (over 85% of Americans) said that they would not marry someone they were not in love with and about 50% of Americans believe that they have the right to divorce when romantic love fades. These attitudes express the profound wish to combine romantic love with marriage.

的确，在我们决定维持婚姻状态时爱情占据了更大的分量。因此，绝大多数人（85%以上的美国人）说他们不会和不爱的人结婚；约50%的美国人认为当浪漫的爱情逐渐消失时他们有权离婚。这些态度表达了希望将浪漫的爱情和婚姻结合起来的

深切愿望。

(Para. 8b)Moreover, a 2007 ACNielsen’s survey indicates that 70% of people surveyed said that marriage is for life and 60% said that marriage is one of their lifetime goals.

此外，2007年AC尼尔森的调查显示，70％的受访者说婚姻生活是一辈子的事；60%的受访者说婚姻生活是他们追求一生的目标之一。

Although the attitudes toward marriage are largely dominated by a country’s cultural and religious beliefs, the wish for a stable, long term relationship is still a desired goal. Little wonder that most romantic movies end in marriage or very close to it.

尽管对待婚姻的态度很大程度上受一国文化和宗教信仰的支配，稳定和长期的婚姻关系仍然是人们渴望的目标。难怪大多数浪漫爱情片都以婚姻或类似的形式作为结局。

overwhelming adj. 压倒性的；势不可挡的

v. 压倒；淹没（overwhelm的ing形式）；制服lifetime n. 一生；寿命；终生；使用期

adj. 一生的；终身的

dominate vt. 控制；支配；占优势；在…中占主要地位

vi. 占优势；处于支配地位

(Para. 9a)Romantic love involves commitment, and commitment is enforced by marriage, which imposes constraints against any reduction to that commitment.

浪漫的爱情必然有承诺，而承诺在婚姻中通过强行的以保证承诺不缩水的制约来兑现。

In this way, the chains of marriage may enhance love. But in ideal love, commitment is internal; it does not stem from external and imposed chains, but from intrinsically valuable attitudes toward the beloved.

以这种方式，婚姻的束缚可以巩固爱情。但是在理想的爱情中，承诺是内在的，它不来自外部的强行的制约。它是发自内心地对所爱的人的宝贵的态度。

(Para. 9b)The great problem that the chains of marriage generate is that they may kill novelty and change, which is of great value in enhancing passion. As Stephen Mitchell indicates,

婚姻的束缚产生的重大问题在于他们可能抹杀对增进感情至关重要的新鲜感和变化。正如史蒂芬.米切尔所说，

“ Love and marriage may go together like a horse and carriage, but it is crucial that the horse of passion quickly be tethered by the weight of the carriage of respectability to prevent runaways.” However, the chain of the carriage may be unbearable and may kill the horse. “爱情和婚姻在一起就像马和马车；但是关键在于充满激情的马可能被防止它逃

跑的体面的马车的重量牵绊”。无论如何，马车的铁链可能使马无法忍受，也可

能会杀死马。

enforce vt. 实施，执行；强迫，强制

impose vi. 利用；欺骗；施加影响

vt. 强加；征税；以…欺骗

reduction n. 减少；下降；缩小；还原反应

chain n. 链；束缚；枷锁

vt. 束缚；囚禁；用铁链锁住

stem from 来自，起源于，由…造成

intrinsically adv.从本质上讲

beloved adj. 心爱的；挚爱的

n. 心爱的人；亲爱的教友

novelty n. 新奇；新奇的事物；新颖小巧而廉价的物品

crucial adj. 重要的；决定性的；定局的；决断的

tether n. 范围；系链；拴绳

vt. 用绳或链拴住

respectability n. 体面；可尊敬；有社会地位

runaway adj. 逃亡的；逃走的

n. 逃跑；逃走的人

unbearable adj. 难以忍受的；承受不住的

(Para. 10) In modern society, the greater availability of love outside marriage has forced people to give love a more significant place in marriage. Alas, the duration of each instance of this love is often limited. It is a situation of having shorter but higher quality romantic relationships. Sometimes the higher quality provides the circumstances for longer relationships. This quality may enhance the strength of a specific romantic relationship, but it may also make another potential relationship be perceived as more attractive.

现代社会，婚外恋的触手可及迫使人们在婚姻中给爱情更重要的位置。哎，每一例爱情的持续时间通常是有限的。这就是拥有更短的更高质量的浪漫爱情的情形。有时高质量也为更长时间的浪漫关系提供了条件。这个质量可能会增强特定的浪漫爱情的力量，但是它同样能使另一种潜在的关系变得更具吸引力。

availability n. 可用性；有效性；实用性

significant adj. 重大的；有效的；有意义的；值得注意的；

意味深长的

n. 象征；有意义的事物

Alas int. 唉（表悲伤、遗憾、恐惧、关切等等）

duration n. 持续，持续的时间，期间

circumstance n. 环境，情况；事件；境遇

perceived v. 感知；认为（perceive的过去分词）；领会

adj. 感知到的；感观的

(Para. 11)The marital paradox of pursuing an ideal that one is most likely to fail to achieve could be resolved if we were to accept the possibility of having shorter marriages, in which love is more likely to remain alive. Another way to solve the paradox would be to accept that marriage should essentially involve a companionable love rather than a romantic one; if romantic love and passionate sex do occur in a marriage, it should be seen as a fortunate bonus. Many people adopt this view. However, most people still seek to combine romantic love with marriage or attempt to find some other long-term romantic relationship.

如果我们接受采用更短的婚姻来使爱情保持活力这种可能，在婚姻中追求一个最不可能实现的理想这一矛盾就可能得以解决。另一个解决这一矛盾的方案可能是接受婚姻必须包含友善的爱而不是浪漫的爱这一观点。如果浪漫的爱情和激情的性爱确实出现在婚姻中，就把它看作是幸运的奖励吧。很多人接受这一观点。但是，大多数人依然试图将浪漫的爱情和婚姻结合起来，或者试图找出其他长期的浪漫关系。

essentially adv. 本质上；本来

companionable adj.友善的，友好的

bonus n. 奖金；红利；额外津贴

Para. 12) Despite the above di fficulties Arlene Skolnick argues that “The death of marriage has been proclaimed countless times in American history; and yet no matter how many times it fails to die, the threat never seems to lose its power.” I join Skolnick in this claim, but would add that marriage seems to be losing its unique, exclusive place and some of its main characteristics.

尽管有以上的困难，艾琳.斯科尔尼克争论说“在美国历史上婚姻的死亡已被正式宣布了无数次；不管有多少次婚姻都幸免于难，死亡的威胁似乎从未丧失威力。”我赞同这一看法，但是想补充的是：婚姻似乎丧失了其独一无二、特有的地位和其主要的一些特征。

proclaim vt. 宣告，公布；声明；表明；赞扬

exclusive adj. 独有的；排外的；专一的

n. 独家新闻；独家经营的项目；排外者

(Para. 13)The above considerations can be encapsulated in the following statement that a lover might express: “Darling, if our marriage is going to be short, please try to fix the house and make love to me as much as possible while you are still around.”

encapsulate vt.封装，概述 vi.形成囊状物

上述考虑能概括地用一位恋人下面所说的话来表达：“亲爱的，假如我们的婚姻是短暂的，请修好房子，趁你还在我身边时尽可能爱我。”