如今，越來越多的中國年輕人選擇不再步入婚姻殿堂，轉而專注于自己的事業，就算同居也不結婚。為什么年輕人對婚姻望而卻步？來聽聽英國小哥方丹的看法。

By Greg Fountain

More and more young Chinese are declining to tie the knot these days, opting instead to focus on their careers or even cohabit without ever going through the nuptials.
如今，越來越多的中國年輕人選擇不再步入婚姻殿堂，轉而專注于自己的事業，就算同居也不結婚。

A survey conducted this summer by the Center for Population and Development Policy Studies in Shanghai found that nearly one in five men and one in eight women born between 1980-89 have never married.
今年夏天，人口與發展政策研究中心在上海進行的一項調查顯示，在80后人群中，近五分之一的男性和八分之一的女性從未結過婚。

Figures released recently by the Ministry of Civil Affairs reflect this, with marriage rates trending downward from a peak of 9.92 per 1,000 people in 2012, while the number of divorces per 1,000 doubled in the decade through to last year.
民政部最近公布的數據也印證了這一點，結婚率在2012年達到峰值，每1000人中有9.92人已婚，此后開始下滑，同時，到去年為止，每1000人的離婚率在過去十年增長了一倍。

With a rapidly aging population, the thought of a younger generation unwilling or unable to walk along the traditional path of courtship toward marriage and procreation is obviously a cause for concern.
如今人口老齡化加速，年輕一代在婚姻和生育面前不愿或不能沿著傳統道路走下去顯然會引發擔憂。

It could be a money issue. Weddings are expensive things, after all. I'm due to get married myself later this month so I know this fact all too well. Or maybe it’s a lack of time among a youth that is increasingly getting swept up in fast-paced, urbanized lifestyles.
這可能是金錢問題。畢竟，舉辦婚禮十分昂貴。我自己這個月底就要結婚了，所以我深知這一點。或許是年輕人被持續快節奏的都市生活淹沒，沒有時間考慮婚姻。

Though I’d hazard a guess that no small part of the reason is that marriage in today's world can seem like something of an anachronism.
但我斗膽猜測還有一個重要的原因就是，結婚在如今的世界似乎是一件趕不上潮流的事。

As a society, we attach special significance to it and, depending on your religious beliefs, it may hold much greater meaning for you than a simple piece of paper. But in the eyes of the law, that's all it is really - a contract between two people that can either be honored, or broken.
社會讓我們賦予婚姻特殊的意義，根據不同的宗教信仰，它的含義也許遠比簡單的一紙婚書更深遠。但在法律層面，這的確也就只是兩個人之間的一紙合約，約定雙方可以履行或者撕毀它。

There was a time when, even if you reneged on the terms of that contract (or no longer wished to be bound by it) you would find it exceedingly difficult to release yourself from its constraints.
在過去的年代，就算你違背了這一紙約定（或不想被它束縛），也會發現想從約束中解脫出來極其困難。

Fortunately, most of us no longer live in a world where the law, or social mores, keep us locked in unhappy marriages. But this gradual change in society has led to a consequent increase in divorce.
幸運的是，我們絕大部分人都不再生活在這樣的世界，不再被法律和社會道德鎖在不幸福的婚姻中。但是這種漸進的改變也導致了離婚率相應上升。

Which makes it easy to be cynical. And I get it, I really do. Marriage is a scary thing.
這件事很容易讓人憤世嫉俗。不過我能理解，真的理解。婚姻的確是件讓人害怕的事。

It’s a bet you make on another person. A risk you take despite the odds.
這是你在另一個人身上下的賭注。盡管勝算未明，你還是愿意去冒險。

That leap of faith can be too great for some to want to attempt it. Certainly, for the longest time, I thought it would be for me.
對于某些人來說，他們因為不敢相信而不愿去嘗試。當然，有很長一段時間，我想我就是這樣的。

But then I met the person who makes me truly happy, and who I do my darndest to make happy in return.
但后來我遇到了那個真正讓我感到快樂的人，而我也愿意盡我所能讓對方幸福。

And all that apprehension, that fear and concern. It didn’t go away. It didn't just magically disappear. It just didn’t seem to matter so much anymore.
于是，所有的那些憂慮、恐懼和擔心……不，它們并沒有就此消失，它們不會神奇般地突然消失，它們只不過不再那么重要了。

Because maybe that’s what love is - finding a person who makes your world a better place and gives you a reason to be.
因為也許這就是愛——找到一個讓你的世界變得更美好的人，并給予你活下去的理由。

The thought of committing your life to someone may terrify you, but it can also reveal a far greater truth about yourself than you might ever have otherwise known.
把你的生活交付給某個人的想法可能會讓你感到恐懼，但它也能挖掘出一個你從不知道的、更真實的自己。

英文來源：“CHINA DAILY”微信公眾號
翻譯：白雪（實習）
編審：丹妮 董靜
音頻編輯：唐曉敏

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Broadcaster

Greg Fountain is a copy editor and occasional presenter for China Daily. Before moving to Beijing in January, 2016 he worked for newspapers in the Middle East and UK. He has an M.A in Print Journalism from the University of Sheffield, a B.A in English and History from the University of Reading and a Basic Food Hygiene Certificate from a pub in South Yorkshire.