經濟學人精讀筆記4：想脫單嗎？政府幫你找到另外一半！

經濟學人精讀筆記4：想脫單嗎？政府幫你找到另外一半！

標籤（空格分隔）： 經濟學人

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2020/2/20

Part 1

Japan’s state-owned version of Tinder

Local authorities are setting up matchmaking websites to pair their residents with lonely-hearts in the cities

日本官方版 Tinder
政府當局創辦相親網站，爲當地居民牽線搭橋

• state-owned adj.國有的

state-owned firms 指國有公司

state-owned media 指官方媒體

-owned這個後綴的含義是「屬於…的」，「歸…全部的」，能夠與名詞、形容詞、副詞連用，好比state-owned companies 國有公司Japanese-owned hotels日資酒店privately-owned companies 私有公司

• version n.版本

a local version of…=the Chinese version of…在對外介紹中國的事物時，能夠將其與外國家喻戶曉的對應物聯繫起來，這樣的表達會讓外國朋友更能理解你所說的內容。

【相似表達】A, which is the equivalent of…

Every day, I share my notes on Weibo, which is the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.

equivalent n. [ɪˈkwɪvələnt] a thing, amount, word, etc. that is equivalent to sth else 相等的東西；等量；對應詞

• matchmaking websites 相親網站

matchmaking n.做媒

matchmaker n.紅娘，媒人

• pair v. 使成對；配對

pair up (with sb) | pair sb up (with sb)to come together or to bring two people together to work, play a game, etc.（使兩人）結組工做（或遊戲等）They asked us to pair up with the person next to us and form teams. 他們讓咱們與身邊的人配對組成小組。

【相似表達】team up (with sb) | team sb / sth up (with sb) If you team up with someone, you join them in order to work together for a particular purpose. You can also say that two people or groups team up . （與…）組隊；（與…）協做

Elton teamed up with Eric Clapton to wow thousands at a Wembley rock concert.埃爾頓和埃裏克·克拉普頓在溫布利舉行的一場搖滾音樂會上聯袂演出，征服了數千位聽衆。

• someone with lonely-hearts 孤獨的人，單身的人
• residents n. 居民

Part 2

Even after years of attending match-making parties, a professional in Tokyo explains, she has not found any suitable marriage prospects. 「I’m tired of going to these events and not meeting anyone,」 she gripes.

So she has decided to expand her pool of prospective partners by looking for love outside the capital. To that end she has filled out an online profile detailing her name, job, hobbies and even weight on a match-making site that pairs up single urbanites with people from rural areas.

東京一名職場人士表示，雖然參加了多年的相親會，但她仍然沒有找到合適的結婚對象。她抱怨道：「我對參加這些活動感到厭倦了，卻沒有碰見一個合適的人。」
所以，她決定將她尋找伴侶的範圍擴大到首都以外。爲此，她在一個爲城市和農村的單身人士配對的婚配網站上填寫了一份我的資料，詳細描述了本身的姓名、工做、愛好，甚至體重。

• gripe v. [graɪp] ~ (about sb/sth) (informal) to complain about sb/sth in an annoying way 抱怨；發牢騷

He's always griping about the people at work.他總是抱怨共事的人。

• expand pool of 擴大…的範圍

【長難句解析】To that end /she has filled out an online profile /detailing her name, job, hobbies and even weight on a match-making site/ that pairs up single urbanites /with people from rural areas. 爲此，她在一個爲城市和農村的單身人士配對的婚配網站上填寫了一份我的資料，詳細描述了本身的姓名、工做、愛好，甚至體重。
*句子主幹是：she主語+ has filled out 謂語+an online profile賓語

*online profile detailing A, B, C and D這句是如今分詞作後置定語，還原爲online profile (which is)detailing A, B, C and D

*a match-making site that pairs up single urbanites with people from rural areas這裏是that引導的定語從句，先行詞a match-making site再從句中作主語。

• To that end 爲此

• filled out 填寫

• profile n. 簡歷，概述

• prospective adj. 預期的; 將來的; 可能的

• urbanites n. 都市人

• rural adj. 農村的

Part 3

Match-making services that promote iju konkatsu, meaning 「migration spouse-hunting」, are increasingly common in Japan. They are typically operated by an unlikely marriage-broker: local governments.

In Akita, a prefecture near the northern tip of Japan’s main island, the local government has long managed an online match-making service to link up local lonely-hearts. It claims to have successfully coupled up more than 1,350 Akita residents since it launched nine years ago.

在日本，愈來愈多的婚介服務機構開始推廣 iju konkatsu（意爲「尋求移民配偶」）了。它們一般是由一個不太可能的媒人來經營的：地方政府。
在靠近日本主島北端的秋田縣，當地政府長期以來一直經營着一項在線婚介服務，爲當地的單身人士牽線搭橋。據稱，自9年前啓動以來，這項服務已經成功爲1350多名秋田縣居民搭橋牽線了。

• marriage-broker媒人

• prefecture 地方行政區域；省；縣

• link up鏈接；接合

They linked up with a series of local anti-nuclear and anti-apartheid groups... 他們加入了一系列當地的反核和反種族隔離團體。

這裏的link up與前文的pair 和下一句的couple up做同義替換

• spouse n. 配偶, 夫或妻

• operated v. 操做（operate的過去式和過去分詞）

Part 4

It recently began offering a similar service to introduce residents to people living outside the prefecture and is optimistic about its prospects. 「By using the konkatsu site, we hope that more people from outside will marry someone from Akita to come and live here,」 says Rumiko Saito of the Akita Marriage Support Centre.

Along with online matching services, municipalities across Japan host parties to help singles mingle. They also organise subsidised group tours in rural prefectures, in which half the participants are locals and the other half from cities, to encourage urbanites to marry and move to the countryside. Hundreds of singletons participate in these tours every year.

最近，秋田縣又推出了一項相似的服務，將該縣居民介紹給外地人，而且其對這項服務的前景表示樂觀。秋田縣婚姻支持中心的齋藤美子說：「咱們但願經過 konkatsu 網站可讓更多外地人嫁到秋田縣來，並在這裏生活。」
除了提供在線配對服務外，日本各地的市政當局還會舉辦派對來幫助單身人士進行社交。他們還在農村地區組織有補貼的團體旅遊（其中一半是當地人，另外一半是城裏人），以鼓勵城裏人與農村人結婚並搬到農村去。每一年都有成百上千的單身人士參加這些活動。

• be optimistic about prospects 前景很樂觀

• along with sb / sth in addition to sb / sth; in the same way as sb / sth 除…之外（還）；與…一樣地

She lost her job when the factory closed, along with hundreds of others. 工廠倒閉時，她和成百上千的其餘人同樣失去了工做。

【相似表達】together with sth / sb

1. in addition to something else 和某物/某人一塊兒，連同某物/某人 Just bring it back to the store, together with your receipt.把它連同收據一塊兒拿回店裏來就好了。

2.used to mention someone else who is also involved in an activity or situation包括某人在內 He, together with Bill Dunn, decided to climb out of the canyon.他和比爾·鄧恩決定一塊兒爬出峽谷。

couple sth with sth[usually passive]to link one thing, situation, etc. to another（某物）加上（某物）；把…與…鏈接起來 Lack of rain coupled with high temperatures caused the crops to fail.雨水少加上高溫致使農做物歉收。

【區分】 alongside sth used to say that people or things do something or exist together at the same time（與…）一塊兒;（與…）同時

Charles spent a week working alongside the miners.查爾斯花了一週時間與礦工一塊兒幹活。

Organized crime continued to flourish alongside the mainstream economy.隨着主流經濟的發展，集團犯罪愈來愈猖獗。（注意alongside是介詞）

• host parties 舉辦派對

host常見做名詞意爲「主人，主辦國」，這裏做動詞「主辦，作東」Germany hosted the World Cup finals.德國主辦了世界盃決賽。

• mingle v.to move among people and talk to them, especially at a social event （尤指在社交場所）相交往，混雜其中（尤指在社交場所）相交往，混雜其中

The princess was not recognized and mingled freely with the crowds.公主沒有人認出，隨意混雜在人羣之中。

If you'll excuse me, I must go and mingle (= talk to other guests) .對不起，我得去和其餘客人聊聊。

• subsidise [ˈsʌbsɪˌdaɪz]v. 補貼，資助

These barriers include low public awareness, ineffective political frameworks and governments continuing to subsidise conventional energy sources.這些障礙包括公共意識、無效的政治框架和政府繼續資助傳統能源。

【派生詞】subsidy n. 補助金

【近型詞辨析】subside v.if a feeling, pain, sound etc subsides, it gradually becomes less and then stop〔感情、痛苦、聲音等〕逐漸減弱；平靜下來，平息

Simon waited until the laughter subsided. 西蒙一直等到笑聲平息下來。

The pains in his head had subsided, but he still felt dizzy and sick. 他的頭痛已經減輕，但仍感到眩暈和噁心。

• urbanite[ˈɜːbənaɪt] n. [C] 城市居民

【詞根詞綴】詞根urb (= city) 構成了許多英語單詞，如：

urban[ˈɜːbən] adj.城市的；都市的；城鎮的

urbane[ɜːˈbeɪn] adj.符合城裏人身份的，即「文質彬彬的；彬彬有禮的」

suburb n.郊區sub- (靠近) + urb靠近城市的地方

• singleton [ˈsɪŋgltən] 指「單身狗」(A singleton is someone who is neither married nor in a long-term relationship)

• prefecture n. 縣；管區，轄區；地方官的任期

• municipalities n. 自治市; 自治區; 自治市或區的政府當局

Part 5

The difficulty of finding true love in the countryside is compounded by a gender mismatch. In 80% of prefectures with declining populations, young women are more likely than men to relocate to cities.

This means that whereas there are more single women than men in big cities like Tokyo, bachelors outnumber spinsters in rural areas. Many men in the countryside are 「left behind」, laments a government official in Akita.

性別比失調使得在農村想要找到真愛變得更難了。在人口降低了80％的縣，年輕女性比男性更有可能遷往城市。
這意味着，在東京這樣的大城市裏，單身女性比男性多，而在農村地區，單身男性則多於女性。秋田市的一位政府官員感嘆道，農村的許多男人都成了「剩男」。

• bachelor n. 未婚男子；單身漢

an eligible bachelor (= one that many people want to marry, especially because he is rich)合意單身男子（常因富有而爲理想對象）

bachelor另外一個常見義爲「學士」

大學裏的學位分爲初、中、高三個等級。

初級學位即學士學位Bachelor’s degree，得到學士學位的人被稱爲Bachelor。

中級學位是碩士學位，即Master’s degree, 得到碩士學位的人被稱爲Master，如工商管理學碩士MBA (=Master of Business Administration)。

大學裏的最高一級學位是博士學位，即doctorate，得到博士學位的人被稱爲Doctor。注意，doctorate是指博士學位，而不是指拿到博士學位的人，如：Tom received his doctorate last month, so he is a Doctor now.

可是PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) 既能夠指博士學位，又能夠指拿到博士學位的人，如：Tom is a PhD / has a PhD. 博士後 (Postdoctoral researcher) 不是學位名稱，而是指那些在取得博士學位以後在大學或科研機構中有限期地專門從事相關研究或深造的人。

• outnumber v.數量上壓倒，超過

【相似表達】outperform由out(超過)和perform(表現)合成，outperform sb / sth即「超過…的表現」

前綴out-表示「超過」，常和動詞或名詞一塊兒構成新的動詞，好比outlive比...活得長/outplay打敗，擊敗/outpace比...快

• spinster n.老處女；老姑娘. There's nothing shameful in being a spinster. 當老處女也沒什麼丟人的。

• left behind 剩男剩女，leave behind本是動詞詞組「落下」，那麼「被落下的人」也就是「剩男剩女」

• lament [ləˈment] 指「悲痛，哀悼；悲嘆」(to express feelings of great sadness about something)，與celebrate相對應。

lament做名詞指「輓歌，哀悼，悼詞」。lament做動詞還可指「抱怨」(to express annoyance or disappointment about something you think is unsatisfactory or unfair)，至關於bemoan sth，complain about sth，moan and groan about sth。

好比《經濟學人》一篇談中國直播網紅的文章提到一個主播的抱怨：Mr Zhao laments that to boost his earnings, he has to tell more dirty jokes.

而形容詞lamentable指「使人扼腕的；使人噓唏的；令人可惜的」(very unsatisfactory or disappointing)

• be compounded by 因爲……而惡化

• relocate vt. 從新安置；遷移

• laments vi. 悲嘆；悔恨；哀悼