中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
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 Age gap: The number of women five years older than their husbands has doubled since the early 60s. |
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Married women are increasingly likely to be older than their husbands, figures reveal. They show 26 per cent of brides have a younger groom, compared with 15 per cent in 1963. The trend is seen in the 29-year-old Duchess of Cambridge, who is five months older than her new husband, Prince William, 28. There has also been an increase in the number of married ‘cougars’ – women with significantly younger ‘toy-boys’. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the number of women who are five years older than their husbands has doubled from 1 per cent in 1963 to 2 per cent in 2003. High-profile examples include Ann Summers boss Jacqueline Gold, 50, whose second husband, Dan Cunningham, is 17 years her junior. ‘Age has become less of a defining factor in social identity and therefore larger age gaps may be more acceptable to the partners themselves and to society,’ said ONS researcher Professor Ruth Hancock. The figures show 9 per cent of marriages are now between couples of the same age. In the 1960s, men were typically two years older than the women they married. Anastasia de Waal, of the think-tank Civitas, said that in the past, ‘for many women, marriage was their identity – you were a wife – but now it’s much more about partnership’. She said: ‘Deciding on future spouses seems to be more about companionship developing into romance. We should move away from thinking of marriage as a career move in itself.’ ONS researcher Professor Ruth Hancock, said: 'Our findings suggest that in England and Wales people's reasons for marrying may be becoming less concerned with social status and more with fulfilment of individual goals.' (Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
數據顯示，越來越多步入婚姻的女性年齡比丈夫大。 26%的新娘比新郎年紀大，而在1963年這一比例為15%。 29歲的劍橋公爵夫人印證了這一潮流，她比自己的新婚丈夫——28歲的威廉王子大五個月。越來越多的熟女和比自己小很多的男友結婚。 來自英國國家統計局的數據顯示，年齡比丈夫大五歲的女性比例在2003年為2%，相比1963年的1%翻了一番。 曝光率高的例子有著名內衣品牌Ann Summers公司的老總——50歲的杰奎琳?果爾德，她的第二任丈夫丹?康寧漢姆比她小17歲。 英國國家統計局的研究人員露絲?漢考克教授說：“年齡已不再是界定社會身份的決定性因素，因此情侶們和社會都更能接受較大的年齡差距。” 數據顯示，現在9%的夫妻雙方年齡相同。 在20世紀60年代，男性一般比他們的配偶大兩歲。 英國智囊團Civitas的阿納斯塔西婭?德?瓦爾說，在過去，“對于許多女人來說，婚姻就是她們的身份，已婚女人的身份就是一個妻子，但現在婚姻更多的是一種伙伴關系”。 她說：“在選擇未來配偶時，更多人是從友情發展成愛情。我們不該再用進行職業發展的思維方式來看待婚姻。” 英國國家統計局的研究人員露絲?漢考克教授說：“我們的發現表明，在英格蘭和威爾士，人們結婚越來越多地是為了實現個人目標，而不是為了獲得社會地位。” 相關閱讀 （中國日報網英語點津 陳丹妮 編輯：馮明惠） |
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Vocabulary: cougar: a woman, 35 years of age or older, who pursues younger men, typically more than eight years her junior（熟女） toy-boy: a male lover who is much younger than his partner（比女方要年輕得多的男朋友，小情人） high-profile: receiving or involving a lot of attention and discussion on television, in newspapers, etc.（高調的；倍受矚目的；經常見報的；曝光率高的） defining factor: 決定性因素 companionship: the pleasant feeling that you have when you have a friendly relationship with somebody and are not alone（友情；交誼；友誼） |
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