Life outside of marriage — Having a life outside of your partner is vital， and it is important to maintain your identity rather than to lose yourself in your mate。
婚姻之外——有一点婚姻之外的生活至关重要，在婚姻之外调节你自己远胜于在婚姻中迷失自己。
Know your odds—Statistics have shown couples who lived together before they were married， those who were previously married， and those without a college education are more likely to get a divorce。
做到心中有数——调查显示，那些有婚前同居经历或曾经结过婚的，以及学历不太高的夫妇今后离婚的可能性更大。
Weddings are so important in China that couples are willing to fork out about 20 times their monthly income on getting hitched and everything that comes with it。
结婚在中国是件大事，因此，中国的新人们不惜花费约相当于月收入20倍的“重金”来置办婚礼。
China’s newly－weds in urban areas spend 126，600 yuan （16，600 U。S。 dollars） on average in 2006 when getting hitched。
2006年，中国城镇地区新人的结婚开支平均为12。66万元人民币（1。66万美元）。
The survey said the wedding expenditure was only a small share of the overall marriage cost as most Chinese young couples in the cities tended to buy an apartment and a car before tying the knot。
调查显示，婚礼支出只是结婚总花销的一小部分，因为城市地区的大多数新人在结婚前还要买房买车。
About 8。49 million couples got married in China in 2006。
2006年，我国登记结婚人数约为849万对。
Marriage is one of the most basic life changes for people of all cultures。
婚姻对于各种文化的人而言都是最基本的生活变化之一。
“I do。” to Americans those two words carry great meaning。
“我愿意。”这句话对美国人来说包含深远的意义。
Traditionally， a young man asks the father of his sweetheart for permission to marry her。
在传统上，年轻男子先要请求女朋友的父亲允许自己娶她。
If the father agrees， the man later proposes to her。 Often he tries to surprise her by “popping the question” in a romantic way。
如果女方的父亲答应，然后男方才能向女方求婚。男方时常尝试以罗曼蒂克的方式“蹦出这个问题”，想给女方一个惊喜。
The man usually gives his fiancée a diamond ring as a symbol of their engagement。
男方通常会送给未婚妻一只钻石戒指作为订婚的象征。
Today many couples also receive counseling during engagement。 This prepares them for the challenges of married life。
今天，许多未婚夫妻在订婚期间还听取咨询意见，以此为应付婚姻生活的挑战做好准备。
The Bride traditionally wears “something old， something new， something borrowed and something blue”。
按传统习惯，新娘的穿着要包括“一点旧的，一点新的，一点借来的和一点蓝色的东西”。
Several close friends participate in the ceremony as attendants， including the best man and the maid of honor。
新郎则穿着一套正式的西装或无尾晚礼服。几位亲密的朋友参与婚礼作为陪伴，包括伴郎和伴娘。
Finally the minister announces the big moment： “I now pronounce you man and wife。 You may kiss your bride！”
最后，牧师宣布重大时刻的到来：“我现在宣布你们成为夫妻。你可以亲吻你的新娘！”
At the wedding reception， the bride and groom greet their guests。 Then they cut the wedding cake and feed each other a bite。
在结婚喜宴上，新娘和新郎向宾客表示欢迎。然后他们切开结婚蛋糕并互喂对方一口。
The bride throws her bouquet of flowers to a group of single girls。 Tradition says that the one who catches the bouquet will be the next to marry。
新娘将她的花束投向一群单身女孩。相传抓到花束的女孩会成为下一个结婚的人。
Let’s Talk！
开始交流吧！
Li Mei： Did you know that， a long time ago， weddings were arranged by the parents？ The bride and groom only met on their wedding day。
李梅：你知道吗，很久以前的婚姻都是父母包办的。到结婚那天，新郎新娘才见面。
Susan： Ah， what would they do if they didn’t like each other？
苏珊：啊，要是不喜欢那人怎么办？
Li Mei： Nothing。 Women couldn’t divorce their husbands at that time。
李梅：那也没有办法啊，女人还不能要求离婚。
Susan： What a pain to live with somebody you don’t like。
苏珊：和不喜欢的人在一起生活，那多痛苦啊。
Li Mei： My grandparents’ wedding was arranged by their parents， but they are very happy。
李梅：我爷爷奶奶结婚就是他们的父母包办的，不过他们过得很幸福。
Susan： People don’t do that now， right？
苏珊：现在不会这样了吧？
Li Mei： Yeah。 It’s free love now。
李梅：是的，现在都是婚姻自由。
Susan： The pre－marital temperament check－up is popular， do you know？
苏珊：现在流行性格婚检了，知道吗？
Li Mei： Not so clear。
李梅：不太了解。
Susan： It’s a test about realizing the characteristics of both sides 。
苏珊：就是为了更好地了解婚恋双方的性格特点而进行的一种测试。
Li Mei： It must be popular in youngsters。
李梅：一定在年轻人中很流行。
Susan： Yeah， the generation after 80s。
苏珊：是的，在80后中比较流行。
Li Mei： It can avoid emotional pains。
李梅：这样可以避免在感情上少受伤害。
Susan： The experts think that the text can help people to pursuit marriage of high qualities 。
苏珊：专家认为这种心理咨询可以帮助人们追求高质量的婚姻。
Li Mei： Yeah， the frictions can be avoided if you know more about the temperaments。
李梅：是啊，知道了性格就可以避免很多摩擦。
Susan： They can benefit from realizing each other。
苏珊：双方互相了解很有好处。
Li Mei： Yeah， you can try it。
李梅：是啊，你也可以试试的。
The Seven Year Itch
七年之痒
“七年之痒”是个舶来词，意思是说许多事情发展到第七年就会不以人的意志出现一些问题，婚姻当然也不例外。结婚久了，新鲜感丧失。从充满浪漫的恋爱到实实在在的婚姻，在平淡的朝夕相处中，彼此太熟悉了，恋爱时掩饰的缺点或双方在理念上的不同此时都已经充分地暴露出来。于是，情感的“疲惫”或厌倦使婚姻进入了“瓶颈”，如果无法选择有效的方法通过这一“瓶颈”，婚姻就会终结。
Realize What is“the seven year itch”
认识什么是七年之痒
1什么是“七年之痒”？
In short it is a relationship term—usually after 7 years people tend to re－evaluate their relationship。 There might be evidence that it is now much shorter but the original number 7 came from a time period where the average marriage only lasted 7 years。
There is also speculation that this might be a real itch related to skin condition， insects， or STDs。
All along you saw signs but you ignore them or you were too busy to act on them， and after seven years you finally realized what you missed and try to change it。
Supposedly， after being married for seven years or just being with someone for that long， you start looking at other options。 Hence you have an itch to scratch。 In layman’s terms， one is expected to leave／cheat at this time。
A recent question on Hollywood sq。 showed that statistics reveal the average marriage in North America lasts 7 years。 Maybe that’s where it comes from， mine this year is 32 （where did we go wrong）。
The seven year itch statistic refers to the number of years together when the most divorces happen。 So the first person was right。 The seven－year itch refers to the itch to break up。 According to the US Census Bureau， this statistic has slowly inched toward 8 years。 So now we have an 8－year itch to scratch。 According to most researchers， divorce statistics are the most abused。 One of the reasons why we have an increase in divorce statistics is not shorter relationships， but longer lives。 Another reason is because divorce statistics never measure abandonment。 For example， divorces were low during the Great Depression， the 1930s， because it was cheaper and easier to simply leave。 So it shows a decrease in divorces because they don’t measure abandonment’s。 Ideally， we would study “relationships” and include marriages， and we would study “relationship endings”， not just divorces。
2和七年之痒相关词条的表达方式
