美国文化口语秀(文本+MP3) 第330期:美国有剩女和相亲角吗?

最近，相亲角视频刷爆朋友圈。今天，Jenny和自己的一位美国女生好友，跟大家聊聊美国女生是否面对“剩女”的标签、相亲的压力。

关键词：

美国有“剩女”标签吗？

Leftover women: 剩女
Leftover: 剩下的、没人要的
Leftover food:剩菜
Matchmaking corner: 相亲角
不过英语里并没有"left women"这个说法，是从中文里翻译过去的
英语里只有“单身女性”的说法
Single lady/single woman: 单身女性，但这两个词听起来充满了独立、自信
Spinster: 老姑娘，这是几十年前才会用的词

家庭、宗教压力大于社会偏见
The social pressure of getting married: 结婚的压力
Does the idea of a leftover woman exist in the US? 美国有剩女这种概念吗？
Is it a thing in the States? 这个美国存在吗？
It's different than in China and it depends more on the individual woman and her family background:美国的情况跟中国很不同。在美国，压力跟多取决于女生本身的家庭背景
For example, I come from a conservative background. So I got a little bit more pressure to get married: 比如说，我自己的家庭很保守，所以我在这方面会面临更大的压力
But there's less societal pressure as a whole to label women as "leftover women": 但社会不会给你贴“剩女”的标签
Religion also plays a key role: 宗教也是一个重要因素
I've got a Mormon friend. In his faith, people get married in their early 20's: 我有个摩门教的朋友，他说摩门教徒一般20出头就结婚了

“逼婚”英语怎么说？
Pressure you or force you to get married: 逼婚
I don't think they can really force us to get married: 不过父母也没办法真逼你结婚

中美单身女性的崛起
Parallel wave of the rise of the single independent women in America and China: 中美同时经历单身独立女性的崛起
The percentage of single women in both countries is at its historic high:两国未婚女性的比例都是历史上最高的
Women are not staying single to prove a point about equality: 女性不结婚并不是要刻意证明平等
Women are living fulfilled personal and professional lives and enjoy romantic relationships without being married: 虽然没结婚，但她们能过充实的个人生活、有事业、也有爱情
It's a global phenomenon: 这是个全球现象

相亲角: 外国人眼中的中国景点
Matchmaking corner: 相亲角
Foreigners see it as a tourist attraction: 外国人把上海的人民公园相亲角当作景点
They've never seen something like this in the States: 在美国，基本没有相亲角这样的东西
Parents go to matchmaking corners to advertize for their children: 父母去相亲角给自己的孩子打广告

“相亲”英语怎么说？
Set you up someone: 给你介绍、撮合
To be set up with someone: 被介绍、被撮合
A blind date: 两个互不认识的人经人撮合后初次见面
Matchingmaking: 相亲，但这个词更多形容父母帮你介绍

适婚对象，就是没感觉
Marriage material: 适合结婚的对象，多指工作稳定、有房有车这类物质条件
It's more common for friends to set you up with someone in the States: 美国，基本上朋友帮你介绍
It's much less common for parents to set you up with someone: 父母不太参与给孩子介绍对象
We don't necessarily feel our parents know who will be best for us, but we have the idea of filial piety: 中国人也不一定觉得父母了解我们想要的，但是要尊崇孝道
It's your duty to obey your parents: 服从父母是做子女的责任

美国女性平均结婚年龄
The average marriage age of American women is 27: 美国女性平均结婚年龄是27岁
It's pretty young: 还挺年轻的
But there's a lot of regional differences when it comes to that: 但是结婚年龄有很多地域差异
The marriage age：适婚年龄

美国女生也焦虑
Fling: 随意的、不太认真的感情
Serious relationship: 认真的感情
The anxiety still kicks in for American women after a certain age: 美国女生到了一定年纪也会感到焦虑
Biological reason: 大概出于生理原因
The biological clock is ticking: "生理钟在转"。这是英语里的一个固定说法，指女性到了一定年纪会感到生育的焦虑
But American women feel the anxiety later than Chinese women: 但是美国女性感到焦虑的年纪要比中国女生晚
It's not in their 20's. It's generally in their late 30's: 20多岁不会焦虑，30岁以后，临近40岁才会
30 is a huge threshold for a lot of Chinese women: 中国女生觉得30岁是个槛
It's like an expiration day: 就像过期日期

不要将就
Settle: 将就
Settle and get married: 将就而结婚
Don't settle. It's your life: 不要将就, 这是你的人生