【新唐人2011年12月8日訊】【看新聞學英語】
Being a Good Wife in Beijing
北京好妻子學院教富婆防小三
By Daniel Chen, David Lee
【新聞關鍵字】
1. Alleviate [əˋlivɪ͵et] v. 減輕
2. Marital [ˋmærət!] adj. 婚姻的
3. Distress [dɪˋstrɛs] n. 苦惱
4. mistress [ˋmɪstrɪs] n. 情婦
5. notarize [ˋnotə͵raɪz] v. 對…公證
6. housekeeping [ˋhaʊs͵kipɪŋ] n. 家務
7. psychologist [saɪˋkɑlədʒɪst] n. 心理學家
8. kick off ph. 開始
9. pattern [ˋpætɚn] n. 模式
Rich women in Beijing can now alleviate marital distress by attending schools like the newly started “Good Wife Happy College,” which has an entrance fee of 100,000 yuan (US$15,687).
北京有錢的婦女現在可以到像是新設立的「好妻子快樂學院」上學,來減輕苦惱的婚姻問題。學校的入學費是人民幣10萬元(15,687美元)。
The institute claims to educate women on how to save a marriage, including how to prevent the husband from having mistresses. The institute targets the high-end of society, with applicants having to provide notarized documents showing property and income worth more than 10 million yuan.
該學校聲稱在教育婦女如何挽救婚姻,包括如何預防老公包二奶。該校目標鎖定社會高階層,申請者必需提供文件,證明擁有價值超過1千萬元的資產及收入。
“Let me tell you this, once you’ve graduated from my institute, you will be well equipped, and mistresses will vanish,” said Fei Yang, the director of “Good Wife Happy College” as reported by China News on Nov. 17.
據11月17日中國新聞報導,「好妻子快樂學院」院長飛揚說:「我告訴你,一旦妳從我們學院畢業,妳將全副武裝,小三們全部消失無蹤。」
Fei Yang said, “Compared to similar institutes in foreign countries, where only housekeeping skills such as cooking and flower arrangement are taught, my institute hires mostly psychologists as instructors. We specialize in solving family issues.”
飛揚說:「相對於國外類似的機構,大多只教如烹飪和插花等看家本領,而我院聘請的教師大多為心理學家,我們專長於處理家庭問題。」
As for the teaching method, Fei Yang said that things kick off with a 14-day stay in a villa where “emotional patterns” are studied in small groups.
至於教學方法,飛揚說會先在一處別墅待14天開始,以小分組方式研究“情感模式”。
【新聞關鍵字】
10. divorce [dəˋvors] n. 離婚
11. on par with ph. 與…相媲美
12. rocky [ˋrɑkɪ] adj. 搖晃的
13. upper class ph. 中上層階級;上流社會
14. cope with ph. 應付;處理
15. rationality [͵ræʃənˋælətɪ] n. 理性
16. secure [sɪˋkjʊr] v. 確保
17. skeptical [ˋskɛptɪk!] adj. 持疑的
18. rip off ph. 剝削
19. extra-marital affair ph. 婚外情
20. sociology [͵soʃɪˋɑlədʒɪ] n. 社會學
The demand for such institutes has risen in China’s big cities in recent years as divorce rates have increased on par with the rapid and rocky growth of the country’s economy.
隨著國家經濟快速卻不穩地成長,中國大城市的離婚率也跟著上升,使近年來對於這樣的學校需求上升。
Keeping a mistress is viewed as a status symbol for a successful man in Chinese society—but it can ruin marriages.
包二奶在中國社會被視為成功男人地位的象徵-但它卻可以毀掉婚姻。
Hong Kong Eastern Daily reports that among the upper classes, many wives face the problem of having to cope with mistresses.
香港東方日報報導,在中上層階級,許多妻子不得不面對應付情婦(小三)的問題。
Fei Yang told the Eastern Daily reporter, “When faced with a mistress, many wives go to extremes and it results in divorce. In fact, one needs rationality and wisdom to secure a marriage.”
飛揚告訴東方日報記者,「當面對小三時,許多妻子走向極端,結果離婚收場。事實上,人們需要理性和智慧以確保婚姻。」
Wang Qighua, director of a marriage counseling firm in Qingdao City, in eastern China’s Shandong Province, said that he is skeptical if marital issues can easily be solved by attending finishing schools, in an interview with City Post.
中國東部山東省青島市的婚姻諮詢公司主任王奇華,在市郵政局的採訪中表示,他懷疑婚姻問題可以透過參加學校課程而被輕易解決。
“These schools are just looking for profit,” said Zhou Yan, an English teacher at the New Oriental School in Nanjing. “A total rip off.”
一名位於南京的新東方學校英語老師周延說:「這些學校只是為了盈利」,「根本就是搶錢。」
The divorce rate in China has been on the rise over the past seven years, with statistics showing that 80 percent of divorces were caused by extra-marital affairs.
過去七年來中國離婚率一直在上升。統計數據顯示,80%的離婚是由婚外情引起的。
According to a June 17 report in Chinese state media, there were 465,000 divorces in the first quarter of 2011, or an average of 5,000 a day. This was a 17.1 percent increase from the same period last year.
據6月17日中國官方媒體報導,在2011年第一季度共有465,000起離婚,平均每天為5,000起。較去年同期增長了17.1%。
Yu Hai, a professor of sociology at Fudan University, said that men are not ashamed of having mistresses, but instead proud. “This not only shows the decline of morality but also the destruction of traditional culture.”
復旦大學社會學教授余海說,男人並不覺得有情婦可恥,反而覺得驕傲。「這不僅顯示道德的下滑,也是對傳統文化的破壞。」
本則影音新聞出處:新唐人電視台英語新聞
http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/news_china/2011-11-30/Being-a-Good-Wife-in-Beijing-.html
本專欄由前衛英語李德良老師主編 www.davidlee.url.tw
【佳句精選】
When faced with a mistress, many wives go to extremes and it results in divorce.
當面對“小三”時,許多妻子走向極端,結果以離婚收場。
【每日一句】
80 percent of divorces were caused by extra-marital affairs.
80%的離婚是由婚外情引起的。