When choosing a life partner, most people think of this(在选择另一伴时，多数人想到的是这样:):
Romance, love, affection, sex and adventure(浪漫，爱，喜欢，性以及冒险).
The reality is that the vast majority of your time together looks like this(实际上，你一生的大部分时间看起来像这样):
Housework, cooking, paying the bills, watching TV, driving, shopping etc(家务，做饭，买单，看电视，驾车，购物等).
The dishes won’t clean themselves and the house won’t tidy itself up. Someone has to do that work day in and day out for their entire lives. It’s tedious and repetitive, but it’s life(盘子不会去清洗它自己，房子也不会自动变干净。某人必须去做这些事情，日复一日，直至终老.它单调且重复，但生活就是这样)。
This is what you’ll be sharing the most of: your boring lives. It’s a common mistake to forget about this part of it, yet this will account for 99% of how you live together. At some point, your partner won’t look quite so sexy; is the rest enough to keep you together?(你与另一半要共同经历的是: 你无聊的生活。人们倾向于忘了这一部分，但你们99%的时间确实是这样度过的。会有一天，另一半不再那么吸引人；剩下的部分(优点)是否足够让你们守望在一起呢？)
What does it take to live a boring life with someone? You both need to be kind to one another. Saying cruel or hateful things, not being supportive and/or being unfair and unreasonable are not things anyone can put up with over the long haul(和另一个人度过无聊的一生又需要你付出什么？双方都要彼此和善。说出过激的语言，不够支持对方、不公平 或者不够理智，长期来说，没人能忍受下去).
Even a boring life has its ups and downs. The question is, do the two of you band together to solve the problems? or do you both fall out? (生活即使无聊，也会有它的开心及不开心。问题是，你二人是否有齐心协力来解决问题？或者索性闹翻？)
Your life partner is the other half of a team that includes you. Your contribution is 50% of the total. That is a lot.(你的另一半加上你，是一个完整的团队。你贡献了其中的50%。分量足够重。)
Over the long haul you will have misfortunes, probably at least one terrible one.(长远来看，人迟早会遇到不幸的事，至少会有那么一件吧)
When, -not if-, this happens, you and your partner will find out just how emotionally strong both of you are. Does this make both of you closer and increase your trust and friendship? Or does it tear you apart?(当——不是如果——不幸发生时,你们会发现双方在情绪上都出现了类似的强烈的反应。这难道不会使彼此更加亲近、信任和友谊倍增吗？或者灾难让你们彼此背离？)
If you are not a strong, kind person yourself, you have little hope of finding a partner that is those things. People who are emotionally strong will not commit themselves to someone who is shallow and selfish.(如果你本身就不是一个坚强、和善的人，你难有希望找到有此品质的另一半。一个坚强的人不会把期许放在一个浅薄、自私的人身上。)
Is this someone you can take care of if they become an invalid? Will they take care of you if you’re the one this happens to? This is the stuff long term relationships are made of: devotion, friendship, kindness and emotional strength. Not romance, sex and love.(这是一个即使残疾了你也会去照顾的人吗？反过来，你残疾了他/她也会这样对你吗？这正是维持长期关系所需要的: 奉献，友谊，善良以及坚强。不是浪费、性或者身体之爱)
