每日英語 #166: Changing Marriage Trends

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Changing Marriage Trends in the United States 美國婚姻趨勢的變化

Fifty years ago in the United States, it was common for young people to marry when they graduated from high school or soon after finishing college. In the past 20 years, however, both men and women have waited until they are older before getting married.

五十年前，在美國，年輕人通常在高中畢業後或大學畢業不久後結婚。然而，在過去的20年中，男性和女性在結婚前都會等到年紀稍大一些。

One of the reasons for this change is that more women are now working in full-time jobs. These women are interested in waiting longer before getting married and having children. Many men and women do not marry until their late 20s and early 30s, especially those who go to college.

造成這一變化的原因之一是現在越來越多的女性從事全職工作。這些女性希望在結婚和生孩子前等得更久一些。許多男性和女性在結婚前要等到二十多歲或三十多歲，特別是那些上過大學的人。

Traditionally, it is the man who proposes to or asks a woman to marry him. This is still probably true for most people in the United States. It was also common many years ago for a man to ask “permission” to marry a woman from her father or parents. This is not very common anymore, however.

傳統上，通常是男性向女性求婚或詢問她是否願意結婚。這在美國的大多數人中可能仍然是如此。多年前，男性常常會向女性的父親或父母徵得“許可”後才求婚。然而，這樣的做法如今已不太常見了。

重要單字

• 1. propose /prəˈpoʊz/ 求婚
• 2. permission /pərˈmɪʃən/ 許可
• 3. full-time jobs /fʊl taɪm ʤɒbz/ 全職工作
• 4. late 20s and early 30s 晚二十歲到三十歲出頭