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Never Marrieds'
If you've ever had your mother, or
maybe an elderly aunt, utter the dreaded question, "So, are you ever
going to get married?" you might be part of a hot new statistic.
So-called "never-marrieds" are one of
the fastest-growing groups in America, according to the U.S. Census
Bureau. Singles constitute more than 40 percent of the adult population,
and 10 percent of all adults will never marry, according to 2000 census
statistics.
永不结婚一族
如果你的妈妈或者老婶婶向你提出难堪的问题--"你到底打不打算结婚？"，你可能已成为一项最新统计数字中的一员了。
按美国人口调查局的说法，这些被称之为"永不结婚"的人口，在美国是增长最快的人群之一。据2000年人口调查统计提供的数据，成人中有40%多的人为单身，10%成人将永不结婚。
In less than
30 years, the number of people who have never walked down the aisle has
more than doubled, as the median age of marriage has reached a historic
high: 25 years for women, and 27 years for men.
Why is America becoming more and more a nation of
singles?
"People are being more demanding. It's a
soulmate or nothing, when a generation ago, less than half the people said
something similar to that," relationship therapist Laura Berman told
Good Morning America
在不到30年中，从未走进婚礼圣坛的人数是原来的两倍多，平均结婚年龄已达到一个历史高点，女性25岁，男性27岁。
为什么美国正在越来越成为单身国家？
关系治疗学者Laura Berman告诉"美国早安"说："人们的要求更高了，要么找到意中人，要么不结婚。而上代人只有不到一半的人有类似的想法。"
In a 1965 survey, three
out of four college women said they would marry a man they didn't love if
he fit their criteria in every other way. Not anymore.
A recent Rutgers University study found 94
percent of people between the ages of 20 and 29 agreed to the statement:
"When you marry, you want your spouse to be your soulmate, first and
foremost."
In addition to that, modern women are able to
support themselves, and do not need men for their money, Berman said. Some
are buying homes for themselves.
在1965年的一次调查中，4个女大学生中有3人说她们愿意与她们不爱但各方面都符合自己标准的男人结婚。现在完全不同了。
Rutgers大学一项最新调查发现，在年龄20至29岁之间者中有94%人同意以下说法："当你结婚时，你的配偶必须是你所爱，这是最重要的。"
Berman说，此外，现代女性能够自立，不再需要为钱而依附男人。有些女性正自己买房。
"They
need a man for enhancing their lives, but not for creating them," she
said.
Gillian Thomas, a 33-year-old attorney in
Philadelphia, is part of the growing demographic. Attractive and
successful, she has simply not found the right person to marry, and sees
no reason to settle for less.
"I feel internal pressure to find a soulmate
and I think we all do," Thomas says. "I don't think it's just
women. I think that in this sort of post-feminist generation we all feel
like we can have it all."
她说："她们需要男人丰富自己的生活，而不是创造它们。"
费城33岁的女律师Gillian Thomas是这群增长的单身者之中的一员，她漂亮且成业有成，她只是没有找到合适的男人结婚，也不想为了成家退而求次。
Thomas说："我感到找意中人的内在压力，我想我们每个人都一样，不光是女性这样想。我认为，作为后女权主义的一代，我们都觉得有这种想法。"
For single
urban dwellers like Thomas, between the ages of about 25 and 39, amorous
relationships come and go. As these singletons search out a soulmate,
friends may become a support group.
Singles often lean on a tight-knit
"family" of friends, who do everything from helping to paint
each other's apartments to taking vacations together, said freelance
writer Ethan Watters, a single 37-year-old.
He has dubbed these groups "urban
tribes," and is writing a book on the subject. But only the name is
new.
像Thomas这样年龄大约在25至39岁之间的单身城市居民，情感关系来来往往。当单身者寻找到意中人时，朋友可能成为一个支持自己的群体。
37岁的单身自由作家Ethan Watters说，单身者经常依赖紧密的朋友"家庭"，他们互相帮忙做每件事，从粉刷各自的住所到结伴度假。
他为单身者起了个绰号，叫"都市部落"，并正在写一本关于这个题目的书。其实，他只是取了新名称而已。
The comfort
of these "urban tribes" may delay marriage, but they don't rule
marriage out. Indeed, there may be some good news for those who wait,
Watters says. As the median age of marriages has risen, statistic say that
divorce rates have leveled off. Could the urban tribes be on to something?
Despite the fun, these statistics on singles give
rise to the question of bearing children. Are biological clocks still
ticking, despite the longer wait to marry?
"The urge to have children persists with or
without a mate," sex therapist Dr. Jennifer Berman said. "The
reason that people are getting married has shifted between this generation
and our parents. More women are focused on careers and they want to get
those in order before they think of children."
Watters说，令人欣慰的是这些"都市部落"可能只是推迟结婚，而不会永不结婚。的确，对于那些等待的人可能会有好消息。当结婚平均年龄上升时，统计数字表明离婚率降低了。这是否表示"都市部落"有其道理？
尽管有趣，但这些有关单身者的统计数字提出了生育的问题。虽然漫长的婚姻等待可行，可他们的生物钟还能走得动吗?
性治疗学家Jennifer Berman说，无论有无配偶，要孩子都是个迫切的问题。我们这一代和父母相比，人们结婚的理由已经改变，更多的女性把精力集中在自己的事业上，她们优先考虑事业，再考虑孩子。
It is
not just women who are hearing the tick-tock either. After decades in
which men had the statistics in their favor, the dating pool demographics
have reversed. For those between the ages of 30 to 44, the number of men
and women are even, and in some cases.
Men who are looking for younger mates may be
headed for trouble. Men in their late 30s and early 40s will outnumber
women five to 10 years younger by two to one, by 2010, according to the
U.S. Census Bureau.
Watters, who is engaged to be married, said that
for he was sometimes worried about his single status. Now he wonders what
will happen to his urban tribe. But he doesn't know what will happen after
he marries. "The tribe fulfills a function that's specific, when you
need a group, and it doesn't last forever," he said. ABCNEWS
当然，听到生物钟的滴答声的不仅仅是女性。几十年后，男性在统计中曾有的优势不复存在，男女约会方面的数字已发生根本变化。30至44岁的男女性单身人数是均等的。
寻找年轻配偶的男性可能自找麻烦。美国人口调查局说，到2010年，30好几、40出头的男性，与比他们小5至10岁女性的比例为2比1。
正打算结婚的Watters
说，（订婚）是因为他有时对自己的单身状况感到烦恼。现在，他不知道"都市部落"今后将会怎么样。而且他不知道他结婚后将会怎样。他说，"当你需要这么一群人时，这个部落发挥了它应有的作用，但是世上没有不散的宴席。"
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