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英语罐头
本文是我的第25篇双语精读
这几年来看，结婚率不断下架引起大家的的十分关注，而网络上的新商品“虚拟女友”“虚拟男友”受众多人的喜爱。国外报刊AEP，则报告了相关的内容：
Chinese teen Robin spends hours online chatting to her man, who always has a sympathetic ear for her problems - as long as she's willing to pay him. The 19-year-old pre-medical student has spent more than 1,000 yuan (US$150) speaking to "virtual boyfriends".These aren't seedy sex-chat lines but men who charge for friendly and flirty online communication, from wake-up calls to lengthy text exchanges and video conversations.
中国年轻人罗宾花费数小时和她的“男朋友”在线聊天，只要她愿意付钱，不管多久，她的“男朋友”都愿意倾听她的问题。19岁医学预科生已花费超1000元支付“虚拟男友”聊天。这些并不是肮脏的“性感聊天频道”，而是而是一种友好地，在线付费聊天，从“起床”服务，到“长文本交流”“视频交流”都有。
"If someone is willing to keep me company and chat, I'm pretty willing to spend money," said Robin, who didn't want to give her real name.The option for intimacy on-demand has gained popularity among China's middle-income young women, who are often focused on careers with no immediae plans to marry and start a family.
不愿意透漏真名的罗宾表示，“假如有人一直给我陪伴并且聊天，我就愿意给他付钱。”这样亲密需求的商品在中国的中等收入的年轻女孩中十分受欢迎，她们在日常中每天不得不面对繁忙的工作，并且没有立即结婚开始家庭生活的计划。
Shops selling virtual friends and partners can be found on Chinese messaging app WeChat or on an e-commerce site like Taobao.Several virtual boyfriends told AFP that most of their customers are single women in their twenties with disposable income.
这些虚拟伴侣的销售店铺可以在中国的微信以及电子商务淘宝上找到。几个虚拟男友告诉AFP记者，他们的顾客大部分都是拥有一定可支配收入的单身女孩。
生词解读：
1.sympathetic ear：耐心倾听。
直译的话，叫做“同情的耳朵”。而真正的意思应该是“耐性倾听”，一般表示对于说话者苦恼的倾听。
2.middle-income：中等收入
表示中等收入。同样的，我们常说的“中产阶级”可以翻译成middle class。
3.disposable income 可支配收入
很多的虚拟男友，虚拟女友，其实都有自己的工作，但这并不意味着他们会敷衍对待“虚拟伴侣”这个副职：
By day, 22-year-old Zhuansun Xu is a foreign exchange trader in Beijing. By night, he chats with female clients who pay him to be their "boyfriend", something he has done for the past year.
在白天，22岁的徐庄孙是一名北京的外汇兑换员。而到了晚上，他这会成为客户的“男朋友”，这样的事情，他已经做了有一年。
Girls come to Zhuansun with different needs - some want friendly advice, while others have more romantic requests."While we're interacting, I tell myself: I really am her boyfriend, so how can I treat her well?" he told AFP."But after we're done, I'll stop thinking this way."
来寻找庄孙的女孩都有着不一样的需求，有些只是想要建议，而更多则会提出浪漫的要求。“当我们在互动的时候，我会告诉我自己：我就是她的男朋友，我应该怎么样对她好呢？”他告诉记者，“在我们互动完毕之后，我就会停止这样的思考方式。”
Prices start from a few yuan for half an hour of texting, to a few thousand yuan to keep a companion on retainer for phone calls throughout a month.
从最初的仅仅几元一个半小时的信息交流，到现在一个月租金几千元的电话联系陪伴。
生词讲解：
1.By day...，By nigh...
在这里，用两个同样结构的词组来表示“徐”在白天和夜晚身份的切换。在写作文的时候，也可以利用By进行同样句式的切换。
2.start from...，to...
同样的，“从...到...”句式，在写作中也能利用这样的句式表示“数字，路程，差距”的变化。
"People have figured out how to commodify affection," said Chris KK Tan, an associate professor at Nanjing University who has researched the phenomenon."This is a new mode of womanhood that is unprecedented in China," Tan said. Pursuing romance had not been available to many Chinese women in the past.
“人们开始寻找如何去商品化情感，”来自南京大学的副教授Chris KK Tan正在研究这种现象。对于中国女性来说，这是一种前所未有的新模式。Tan表示，追求浪漫已经不能满足中国女性。
As their economic situation improves, fewer women are choosing to get married. China's marriage rate - the number of marriages per year - has been in decline over the last five years. Last year it reached 7.2 per 1,000 people, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
随着经济条件的逐渐改善，更少的女性选择结婚。中国的结婚率，在过去的五年内逐年下降。根据国家统计局显示，去年在1000人中，只有7.2人结婚。
Once their basic needs are guaranteed, more women are looking to satisfy their need for "emotional and self-fulfilment". Although they are materially better off, the lives of many young urban women are "isolating", says Tan.
当人们的基本需求被满足之后，更多的女性会期待“情感与自我实现”的需求的满足。虽然他们的物质生活更加好了，但生活在城市的很多年轻女性却变得“孤独”了，Tan表示。
生词讲解：
1.commodify affection 商品化情感
commodify，商品化，是commodity的动词形式。这里是指人们在通过付钱给租“虚拟伴侣”，讲感情“商品化”了（commodify affection）。
2.unprecedent 史无前例
3.guarantee 保证
在这段我们可以看到，need（需求，需要）除了能搭配我们平时常用的satisfy（满足）之外，与guarantee（保证）作搭配也是非常不错的用法。
Most have spent their teenage years studying for the country's rigorous university entrance exams, at the cost of developing relationships outside of school. Buying virtual boyfriends "is their chance to experiment with love and relationships," he says.
大部分人花费了他们的青年时光学习，应付严格的大学入学考试（高考），但青年时光正是他们应该在校外发展关系与情感的年龄。购买虚拟男朋友“使他们经历爱与情感的机会，”他表示。
For Robin, virtual companions are appealing because the relationship was convenient."If I have serious psychological stress, this could make some people think I'm being fussy," said Robin."But because I'm giving (the virtual companions) money, they have to reassure me."
对于罗兵来说，虚拟陪伴很有吸引力，因为这十分便利。“假如我有一定的精神压力，附近的人可能会认为我过于矫情”罗宾表示，“但因为我给了（虚拟伴侣）钱，因此他们不得不安抚我。”
生词讲解：
1.fussy 大惊小怪，矫情
我们平时批评别人“矫情”，其实主要是批评这个人一点小小的问题都要夸大，大惊小怪。而英语里面fussy，则能完美表示“矫情”这个说法。
对于“虚拟男友”“虚拟女友”的热卖，可以说是年轻人对于现代寻找真实伴侣困难的一种反映。经济的成长不一定代表精神上，以及人际交往上的成长。
但有一点罐头菌是不赞同报道说的，我们青年时期虽然却是要花费大量精力去应付高考，但是这并不代表我们的人际交往没有学习。即使是情感交往类问题，对于国外的年轻人来说，也一样是大问题，只不过对于相对“传统”的中国青年来说，表达的方式不一样罢了。
对此，不知道你有什么样的看法？欢迎在下方评论区留言~
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