2007年度-全国MBA联考英语翻译训练(五)

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2007:03:23 17:18:19
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

Directions:
Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (15 points)
For better or worse,multiple marriages arent just for actress Elizabeth Taylor (renowned for her eight marriages) anymore.
More Americans than ever are tying the knot (getting married) for the third time or more.
Lynn Y. Naugle Haspel,a 53 year old family therapist in New Orleans,says that peoples personal needs and desires simply changes as their life evolves.
“What functions well in the first part of our lives may not function well in the second or third parts of our lives,”she explains.She didnt start her career as a therapist until her children from her first marriage went to school.That marriage lasted 21 years,her second marriage five years.Two years ago,she wed for a third time,and she describes this union as an “extremely easy marriage”.
Today,at an estimated one of seven weddings,the bride,the groom or both are making that trip down the aisle for at least the third time.Thats twice as many as a generation ago,according to the US National Centre for Health Statistics.
1In part,the surge in multiple marriages is a side effect of the 1970s divorce boom that has supplied an ever expanding pool of divorced singles.Even the simple fact that people are living longer has opened the door to marrying more often.Nofault divorce laws (meaning no one is blamed for the failure of the marriage),and cultural changes have also meant theres less peer pressure than in past generations to stay in a joyless or abusive marriage.
2While a single divorce didnt block either Ronald Reagan or Bob Dole from seeking the most highly scrutinized job in America — the US presidency — modern society still raises an eyebrow at more than one matrimonial mistake.
Indeed,there are signs that attitudes are changing.Even the language is softening.Clinical papers in social science journals no longer probe for “neurosis” or mental depressive disorder among the “divorce prone”. More and more marriages are said to “end,” not “fail,” and one author has coined the term “encore marriages”.来源：www.100test.com
“Its coming out of the closet or becoming more accepted,” says Glenda Riley,a Ball State University professor who wrote a book on the history of divorce in the US. 3 “Theres still embarrassment on the personal level,while there is growing acceptance on the public level” for three or more marriages in a lifetime.
4Some experts say that the trend toward multiple marriages shows an erosion in Americans capacity for commitment.“We live in the age of light.We have light cream cheese,light beer,light mayonnaise,”says Wayne Sotile,a psychologist and marriage counselor in WinstonSalem,North Carolina.But,he adds,“Theres no such thing as light,longterm,intimate,romantic marriage.Youve got to commit yourself to those things.”
Theres no guarantee,of course,that the third time is the best.5To the contrary,second and third marriages run an equal or greater risk of divorce than first marriages,which today are given 4 out of 10 odds of failing,and they tend to end more quickly.Divorce statistics show that failed second marriages typically end two years sooner than first marriages,lasting six years on average rather than eight.That leaves some doubly divorced people open for a third try at a relatively young age.