本文轉載自自由電子報
This article reproduced from the newsletter of The Liberty Times.





《中英對照讀新聞》"Younger wife" for marital bliss 妻子較年輕 婚姻才幸福
◎鄭寺音




The secret to a happy marriage for men is choosing a wife who is smarter and at least five years younger than you, say UK experts. These pairings are more likely to go the distance, particularly if neither has been divorced in the past, according to the Bath University team.

英國專家說，男性幸福婚姻的秘訣，是選擇比你聰明、而且至少小你5歲的妻子。巴斯大學團隊表示，這樣的組合比較可能走得長久，特別是如果兩個人之前都沒有離過婚的話。


The findings predict a happy future for pop star Beyonce Knowles, 28, and rapper husband Jay-Z, 39.

這項發現預測，28歲的流行巨星碧昂絲與39歲的饒舌歌手老公 Jay-Z會有個幸福的未來。


The researchers studied interviews of more than 1,500 couples who were married or in a serious relationship.Five years later, they followed up 1,000 of the couples to see which had lasted.

研究人員針對1500多對已婚或處於認真關係伴侶的訪談進行研究，5年後，追蹤其中1000對，觀察持續狀況。


They found that if the wife was five or more years older than her husband, they were more than three times as likely to divorce than if they were the same age. If the age gap is reversed, and the man is older than the woman, the odds of marital bliss are higher.

他們發現，如果太太大先生5歲以上，離婚率比夫妻同年者高3倍。如果年齡差距反過來，男性比女性年紀大的話，婚姻美滿的機率增高許多。


Add in a better education for the woman- Beyonce has her high school diploma, unlike husband Jay-Z - and the chances of lasting happiness improve further. Those who have never divorced fare better too. But couples in which one member has been through a divorce in the past are less stable than those in which both members are divorcees.

如果女性受過較好的教育更是加分─碧昂絲不像老公Jay-Z，她擁有高中學歷─婚姻維持美滿的機率又更增加，從未離過婚者的遭遇也比較好；但如果夫妻中有一個人離過婚，婚姻就比兩人都離過婚的不穩定。


新聞辭典


bliss：名詞，極樂。例句：Lying on a sunny beach is my idea of sheer bliss.（躺在陽光照耀的沙灘上，是我認為最幸福的事。）


go the distance：片語，堅持到底。


fare：動詞，遭遇。例句：How did you fare in your exams?（你考試考得怎樣？）