经济学人精读 The Economist [36] | Apart together

The Economist经济学人精读[36]

选自December 232017 United States版块

#Eva💭说#

美国已婚夫妇异地居住的家庭由2000年的2千7百万，上涨到了如今的3千9百万。如今科技的变化使的异地居住不再像从前一样困难，但科技，交通的发展一定程度上却促成了更多的已婚异地夫妇。虽然其中不乏夫妇因工作原因被迫异地居住，但其中的真实原因我们无法得知。此外，有政治战略家认为，2008年美国经济萧条使得夫妻因工作和经济问题被迫分开。但如今，经济形式已恢复，但已婚异地夫妻的数量并没有下降。也许，美国家庭的模式正在发生转变。

题外话：异地生活是乏味的，而假期是家庭团聚的最佳时期。恰巧赶上今天是圣诞节，希望大家与爱你的和你爱的一起度过，各位，圣诞快乐。🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

#以上，个人总结和理解，欢迎批评指正，欢迎留言讨论#

#有输出才有进步#

Marriage

Apart together

The rise of long-distance marriage[异地婚姻增长]

The Callahans, Karen and Kevin, got married in 1973 when they were college students in Des Moines, Iowa[Callahans夫妇，Karen和Kevin1973年结婚，但他们还是爱荷华Des Moines的大学生].Forty years, two children andumpteen[许多]moves across the country later, theyput down roots[定居开始新生活][40年，带着两个孩子，美国搬很多次家后，他们才定居下来生活]. Karentooka job in Durham, North Carolina, while Kevin stayed in Parkville, Missouri, where he could be close to relatives and prepare their home for retirement[Karen在北卡罗莱纳Durham工作，与此同时，Kevin在密苏里Parkville，在那里他与亲戚们离着很近，并为他们退休后的房子做准备]. They see each other at least once a month, for birthdays, holidays andmini-breaks[他们每个月至少见一次，为庆祝生日，假期，和短暂的休息]. Theylook forward totheir phone calls, almost every night at around nine[他们几乎每晚九点左右都会等待互通电话].

About 3.9m married Americans aged 18 and overlive apart fromtheir spouses, up from around 2.7m in 2000[大约3900百万18岁以上的已婚美国人都鱼他们的配偶分开居住，由2000年的2700百万上涨至此]. That numbercomes withsomecaveats[警告], says Jonathan Vespa, a demographer[人口统计学家] with the US Census Bureau[美国人口普查局人口统计学家Jonathan Vespa说，这样的数字带来一些警告]. Some of those people, like the Callahans, may be party to a commutermarriage[一些像Callahans夫妇的人可能参与着一场通勤婚姻]. Others may be living apart,against their wishes, from spouses who areincarcerated[困住], in nursing homes[私人疗养院]orserving in the armed forces[另一些人可能迫不得已违背意愿与配偶分开居住，或因在私人疗养院工作，或在军队工作]. “We know it’s increasing,” says Danielle Lindemann, a professor of sociology at Lehigh University who surveyed a group of 97 commuter spouses[“我们知道这样的人在增加“，DanielleLindemann，一位调查了97对通勤配偶的Lehigh大学社会学教授说]. “But we can't really tell who is living apart just because of their jobs.”[但是，我们并无法真正知道谁是因为工作而分开居住]

A higher share of men and women in their 30sand 40slive away from their partners than do those in younger and older working-age groups, according to census data[根据人口普查数据，30多岁和40多岁的男女比那些年少于他们和年长于他们的工作人群，分开居住的比例更大]. The number of separate spousestapers off[逐渐变小]as people trade full-time employment for retirement[随着人们用退休交换全职工作，分开居住配偶的数量逐渐减小]. And the geographical patterns differ for men and women[并且男女的地理分布不同]. Texas is home to the highest number of men who report an absent spouse, whereas Alaska takes the top spot for women[德克萨斯州报告缺少配偶的男人数量最多，而阿拉斯加州是怎样情形的女人最多]. Nevada and New York, states with large tourism and manufacturing industries, are in the top five for both sexes[内华达州和纽约州，拥有大量旅游业和制造业，在这两种情况下排名均列前五].

Technological change has made living separate lives more bearable, and has thus probably contributed to long-distance marriage becoming more common[科技的变化使得更好的忍受分开居住，因此可能促使异地婚姻更加普遍]. “With air travel and e-mail and FaceTime it‘s a whole different ballgame[完全不同的情况],” Mr Callahan says[Callahan先生说，飞机，电邮和Facetime视频，使一切变得都不一眼了]. As communication and travel became easier and cheaper, the logistical challenges of keeping two homes and bringing up[抚养]children together while physically apartdwindled[减少][随着交流和旅行变得更加容易和廉价，分隔两地维系两个家庭，一起抚养孩子的后勤和运输上的挑战在减少]. Ms Lindemann, who lived apart from her husband when she accepted a position in Nashville, is a case in point[例证][Lindemann女士，当她接受了纳什维尔的职位而与丈夫分开，就是一个例证]. She had no children and saw the separation as temporary arrangement with a set end-date[她没有孩子，把这样的分开看成一个设定结束日期的临时安排]. Commuter couples in academia say the choice to live apart is a “professional necessity rather than financial necessity”, Ms Lindemann says[“学术界的通勤伴侣认为分开居住的选择，是一个职业必需品，而非财务必需品“，Ms Lindemann说].

It is nofluke[侥幸，偶然]that there has been a shift away fromcohabitation[同居] within marriage since the financial crisis of 2008[自2008年金融危机以后，婚姻中的同居现象已经发生了转变，而这绝非偶然]. Mark Penn, a political strategist, argues that only a minority of commuter spouses are highly educated careerists and academics like Ms Lindemann[Mark Penn，一个政治战略家认为仅有很少数的通勤配偶是受过高等教育的职业人士和像Ms Lindemann一样的学术人士]. Most have been “forced apart by economics”, he says[大部分“都因经济被迫分开”，他说]. The timing is suggestive: as the economy went into recession many people faced a choice between a job far away and no job at all[时间是有暗示的：当经济萧条时，人们在要么很远的工作，和要么没有工作之间做选择]. Curiously, though, the number of long-distance marriages has not declined, even as America’s economy has recovered[但，奇怪的是，即使美国经济已经恢复了，异地婚姻的数量并没有减少]. Anenduring[持久的]shift in America’s familial norms may be under way[美国家庭标准可能正在进行一个持久的改变].

Long-distance marriage is oftenunglamorous[无趣的][异地婚姻通常是乏味的]. Some lucky commuters are able to visit their partner every weekend[一些幸运的通勤者可以每个周末见到伴侣]. Others go months, or even years, without a reunion[其他人，可能好几个月，甚至好几年都无法团聚]. Holidays can provide a briefrespite[暂时的缓解][节假日提供了短暂的缓解]. Among the usualthrongs[人群]of travellers this December will be husbands and wives who are neitherestranged[分居，不和]nor living together[在众多习以为常的游客人群中，这个12月是那些既没有分居但也没有住在一起的夫妻的（团聚的日子）].

20171225   569 words

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