Loneliest day in a century——世纪光棍节驾到 你还要做“单身棍族”吗？

     由线话英语—电话英语提供

      今天，也就是2011年11月11日是本世纪百年一遇的超级"光棍节(Singles' Day)”。还是单身的你对于这个属于你的特殊节日有没有特别的计划呢？是独自享受这一天还是赶紧行动“脱光”呢？

　　For Chen Fen, a 28-year-old single woman living in Beijing, this coming Friday is meant to be a fun one. She plans to enjoy a large meal and a movie with some singles she met online, "because," she says, "Friday is our day." She makes a point of this because this coming Friday, November 11, or 11/11, is unofficially Singles Day.
　　对于生活在北京的28岁单身贵族陈芬来说，周五这天会过得很有意思。她计划和一些单身网友共享美食与电影盛宴。她说：“因为周五是属于我们的节日。”她之所以如此重视这一天，是因为本周五，也就是2011年11月11日这天是民间流行的光棍节。
　　These four lonely digits are viewed in China as a symbol for singles, and represent those without a partner. Moreover, the year 2011, which adds two more lonely figures, makes this day the loneliest one in a century. "I am afraid of being by myself on Friday, too depressing," says Chen, who has been single for years and hopes this Singles Day will be her last one.
　　在中国，这四个孤单的数字1被视为光棍的象征。此外，2011年又增加了两个1，让这一天成为本世纪最孤单的一天。“我不想周五独自度过，这太郁闷了。”单身多年的陈芬希望今年的光棍节能成为自己过的最后一个。
　　Growing number of singles
　　单身贵族增加
　　Singles Day is becoming more popular in China with a growing number of people that have yet to find partners.
　　随着尚未找到另一半、还是单身的人数增加，在中国光棍节越来越受到人们的欢迎。
　　A survey conducted jointly by the All-China Women`s Federation and baihe.com, a matchmaking portal, shows that as of this January, there were more than 180 million unmarried Chinese men and women above the legal age for marriage, 22 for men and 20 for women.
　　由全国妇联和婚恋交友门户网站百合网联合进行的一项调查显示，截止今年一月份，在达到中国法定结婚年龄（男性22岁，女性20岁）的人群中，有超过1.8亿人还是单身一族。
　　As to how singles plan to spend their special day, an ongoing survey by weibo.com showed that 53 percent of the 8,392 single participants plan to celebrate the day with other singles, while 25 percent dream of finding an ideal mate to end their single days.
　　对于光棍们如何度过这个特殊日子，微博正在进行的一项调查显示，8392位参与者中，53%的光棍计划和其他“棍友”共同庆祝，同时25%的人幻想着能找到一个理想伴侣来终结孤单。
　　Changing view of marriage
　　婚姻观的改变
　　According to Lu Jiehua, a professor of sociology at Peking University, people`s attitudes toward love and marriage have been changing due to the rapid development of society in recent years. "For young people, especially those highly educated, true love and mutual respect are not the only prerequisite of a happy marriage," Lu said. "They also ask for material satisfaction due to the increasing cost of living."
　　北京大学社会学教授陆洁华（音译）称，随着近几年社会的快速发展，人们的婚恋观已有所改变。“对于年轻人，特别是那些受过高等教育的人来说，真爱和相互尊重已不再是幸福婚姻的唯一必要条件了。”陆说道，“因为随着生活成本的提高，他们也在追求一些物质上的满足。”
　　Zhou Xiaopeng, a senior marriage consultant with the matchmaking portal baihe.com, told the Global Times that under soaring economic pressure young people tend to regard career development as their top priority.
　　百合网高级婚姻顾问周晓鹏（音译）在接受《环球时报》采访时表示，在与日俱增的经济压力下，年轻人更喜欢将职业发展列为自己的首要任务。
　　"The widespread idea of putting work before marriage has partly accounted for people marrying later in life in China," Zhou said.
　　“‘先立业，后成家’这一广泛传播的思想在一定程度上也成为中国人晚婚的原因。”周晓鹏说道。
　　Wei Minju, a 25-year-old bachelor in Beijing, told the Global Times, "I have no plans to get married until I am 30. I have to concentrate on my career, because women won`t marry me if I don`t have a certain amount of savings and cannot afford to buy a house."
　　25岁的北京单身贵族魏敏居（音译）告诉《环球时报》，“我在30岁之前没有结婚的打算。我必须专注于我的事业，因为如果没有足够的存款去买房，没有哪个女人会嫁给我。”
　　At the same time modern society offers people a lot of alternatives to marriage, which has made them further reluctant to get hitched, Zhou explained.
　　周晓鹏解释道，现代社会同时也为人们提供了许多可以替代婚姻的方式，这也使得他们更不愿意去结婚。
　　Climbing divorce rate
　　离婚率的上升
　　"Aside from changing views on dating and marriage, the rising divorce rate has also caused a declining marriage rate in China," Zhou told the Global Times. The number of divorced couples reached 19.61 million in 2010, up 61.3 percent from 2000, according to statistics released by the MCA.
　　“除了对于恋爱与婚姻的态度正在发生改变，持续升高的离婚率也是造成中国结婚率下降的原因之一。”周晓鹏称。根据中华人民共和国民政局发布的相关数据显示，2010年离婚夫妻数量达到1961万，较2000年上涨了61.3%。
　　According to Zhou Xiaopeng, the high divorce rate has broken many people`s dreams of happiness and discourages many from tying the knot. "The trend toward a higher rate of divorce has contributed to a pessimistic view of marriage," Zhou said.
　　周晓鹏称，高居不下的离婚率打破了很多人对于幸福婚姻的幻想，也使他们失去了结婚的勇气。“持续上升的离婚率使人们产生了消极的婚姻观。”他说道。
　　"Being alone may not be ideal but a divorce is much worse," Chen told the Global Times, saying her view is widely held by singles who are around the age many get married.
　　“单身或许不是一个理想的状态，但总比离婚好，”陈芬在接受《环球时报》采访时表示，她表示很多到了结婚年纪仍孑然之身的单身一族们普遍都有这种观点。
　　Gender imbalance
　　性别比例失衡
　　Chinese men may face bigger nuptial difficulties than women however, as their proportion of the population is higher.
　　然而男性人口比例上升，因此相对于女性来说，中国的男性们可能会面对更大的婚姻麻烦。
　　Zhou Xiaozheng, a professor of sociology at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that the family planning policy and parents` traditional preference for boys has given rise to an imbalanced gender ratio.
　　中国人民大学社会学教授周孝正（音译）在接受《环球时报》采访时表示，计划生育的实施和传统的重男轻女思想都导致了性别比例的失衡。
　　According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the male to female ratio at birth in China is about 119 males to 100 females, the highest in the world.
　　根据国家统计局的相关数据显示，在中国新生儿男女比例世界最高，约为119比100。
　　By 2020 more than 30 million men of legal marrying age in the country may not be able to get married.
　　预计截至到2020年，中国可能会有超过三千万的适婚男性结不成婚。