雙語(yǔ)閱讀：是七年之癢還是十年之癢

　　摘要:新的研究證明心理學(xué)家們搞錯(cuò)了——在婚姻中，一對(duì)夫妻相處最不愉快也最容易關(guān)系破裂的時(shí)間是第十年。

　　The seven year itch is the psychological theory that happiness in couples starts to deteriorate after seven years together, increasing the chances of a break-up.

　　The phrase became world-famous after Marilyn Monroe starred in a film of the same name in 1955, where she plays an attractive actress who becomes the focus of a married man's affections.

　　心理學(xué)認(rèn)為七年之癢是幸福夫妻在七年的相處之后關(guān)系開(kāi)始惡化，并且可能導(dǎo)致關(guān)系破裂的一道坎。

是七年之癢還是十年之癢

　　這個(gè)詞語(yǔ)在1955年瑪麗蓮·夢(mèng)露(Marilyn Monroe)主演的同名電影后聞名于世。在該片中，夢(mèng)露飾演了一位被已婚男子深深著迷的富有魅力的女演員。

　　But new research shows that psychologists got it wrong - the point in a marriage when a couple is most unhappy, therefore most likely to stray, is actually the ten-year mark.

　　但是新的研究證明心理學(xué)家們搞錯(cuò)了——在婚姻中，一對(duì)夫妻相處最不愉快也最容易關(guān)系破裂的時(shí)間是第十年。

　　A study involving more than 2000 women born between 1957 and 1964 questioned their feelings about their marriage over 35 years.

　　該項(xiàng)研究由超過(guò)2000名出生于1957和1964年之間的婦女共同參與，主要詢問(wèn)她們關(guān)于在逾35年的婚姻生活中的感受。

　　During the interviews, students at Brigham Young University in Utah found that in two thirds of marriages, happiness started at high levels but then steadily declined.

　　在采訪中，來(lái)自美國(guó)猶他州(Utah)楊百翰大學(xué)(Brigham Young University)的學(xué)生們發(fā)現(xiàn)三分之二的婚姻在剛開(kāi)始時(shí)幸福值很高，但是之后就逐漸下降了。

　　Women revealed themselves to be most unhappy in their relationships after ten years together.

　　婦女們透露她們?cè)诨橐鲫P(guān)系中最不愉快的時(shí)期是相處十年之后。

　　Researchers suggest that this point coincides with when the females are juggling the biggest workloads both in household chores and childcare.

　　研究人員認(rèn)為這一時(shí)期也正好與女性最忙碌的時(shí)期相吻合。在此階段，女性面臨沉重的負(fù)擔(dān)，一邊要處理家務(wù)一邊還要照顧小孩。

　　But these levels of discord are short-lived, just five years later, women began to argue much less with their partners.

　　不過(guò)這種不和諧是短暫的，再過(guò)五年，女性和丈夫的爭(zhēng)吵又會(huì)大大減少。

　　Those who managed to stay together for more than three decades found that their levels of happiness began to grow again, although for most it never reached the same levels as when they first got married.

　　那些成功與同伴在一起超過(guò)30年的女性發(fā)現(xiàn)她們的幸福水平又重新開(kāi)始增長(zhǎng)起來(lái)了，雖然這無(wú)法達(dá)到她們剛結(jié)婚時(shí)的水平。

　　Couples at this stage in their relationship also argued less than they had at any point in their marriage.

　　處于該階段的夫妻的爭(zhēng)吵量要比婚姻中的任何一階段都要少。

　　The researchers linked this upwards turn in emotion with the point when a couple's children reached the age of financial independence.

　　研究人員認(rèn)為這一時(shí)間段感情升溫的原因與他們的子女達(dá)到了經(jīng)濟(jì)獨(dú)立的年紀(jì)有關(guān)聯(lián)。

　　我們?nèi)绾雾樌冗^(guò)七年之癢

　　In 12 years, my wife and I have covered a lot of ground.

　　We were married before I graduated college. Pregnant with our first child shortly after. I finished college. New baby. Two miscarriages. Four more children. When the youngest was born, we had five children under 8 years old.

　　我和我的妻子已經(jīng)從婚姻生活中學(xué)到了很多內(nèi)容。

　　我們是在我大學(xué)畢業(yè)之前結(jié)婚。婚后不久我的妻子就懷上了我們的第一個(gè)孩子。我大學(xué)畢業(yè)那年孩子順利出生了，之前經(jīng)歷了兩次流產(chǎn)，又生了四個(gè)孩子。最小的孩子出生時(shí)，我們有了5個(gè)8歲以下的孩子。

　　Owned four homes. Rented a house and an apartment somewhere in between. Five different jobs with four different companies. Lived in four cities. In many ways, life has been on fast-forward. We've been drinking from a fire hose.

　　擁有過(guò)四個(gè)家，租過(guò)一個(gè)房子、租過(guò)一間公寓。在四家公司做過(guò)五份工作，在四個(gè)城市居住過(guò)。在生活的許多方面，日子就這樣一天天地過(guò)著。我們一直飲用消防水帶中的水。

　　In the course of these 12 years, we've learned a great deal. About ourselves. About each other. About the importance of marriage. And why it's worth fighting for.

　　在這12年的光陰里，我們都學(xué)到了很多東西，無(wú)論是自身還是彼此，懂得了婚姻的重要性，和值得為之奮斗的原因。

　　We were young, in love and ready for marriage when we said yes in our early twenties. But that doesn't necessarily mean we were prepared. 12 years later, here are 12 things that have been clarified for us in our marriage:

　　我們都還年輕，在我們二十出頭的青蔥歲月就墜入愛(ài)河，準(zhǔn)備步入婚姻的殿堂。但這并不一定就代表著我們做好了準(zhǔn)備。在我們婚后12年的婚姻生活中，我們弄明白了12件事情：

　　1. 50/50 Expectations Lead to Disappointment.

　　1. 50/50的期望結(jié)果反而是失望。

　　For a season, we viewed marriage like it was a game. A competition. If I do this, you should do that. Meet me in the middle here, do a little more there. If you do 20 things, I'll do 20. That sort of game. But the true work is done when one of you can't get to the middle. When it's up to the other to go the extra mile. Maybe that ratio is 90/10 for a season if a spouse is sick, stressed, even depressed. Don't view marriage as a scorecard, someone always loses that way.

　　曾有一度我們都認(rèn)為婚姻就像是一場(chǎng)游戲、一場(chǎng)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。如果我這樣做，你就應(yīng)該這樣做。這里做完了，就在那多做一點(diǎn)。如果你做了20件事，我也要做20件事。就像這樣的游戲。但在實(shí)際生活中你無(wú)法做完那一半。而需要對(duì)方多做一些。如果配偶生病、壓力大、抑郁的時(shí)候，這個(gè)比例就是90/10。不要把婚姻當(dāng)作記分卡，總有輸?shù)囊环健?/p>

　　2. Keep Adventure Alive.

　　2. 保持冒險(xiǎn)精神。

　　In my early days of dating Brooke, I pulled out all the stops. We went on long hikes, I made her candlelit dinners, I worked hard at the chase. When the years and responsibilities piled up, I let that fire die too many times. Fighting to keep adventure alive doesn't have to look like a trip to Paris; it could be a last-minute trip to a local hotel, a surprise baby sitter for the evening or even a simple handwritten note. Inject your marriage with adventure.

　　在我和布魯克約會(huì)的最初階段，我使出渾身解數(shù)。我們?nèi)ミh(yuǎn)足，我為她辦燭光晚餐，我對(duì)她緊追不放苦苦追求。隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)和家庭責(zé)任的增加，我追求她的那股激情已經(jīng)不多了。保持冒險(xiǎn)精神并不需要像去巴黎旅游那樣才算，可以是最后去一次一個(gè)當(dāng)?shù)氐木频?，也可以是讓保姆照顧孩子一晚，就連隨手留個(gè)便條也算。讓婚姻具有冒險(xiǎn)精神。

　　3. Kiss Each Other First.

　　3. 先親對(duì)方。

　　I'm imperfect at this, but I try to kiss Brooke first when I get home from work. Before I kiss our five kids. It's a small thing that points to a much bigger reality. For me to be a great dad, I have to be a great husband first. Otherwise, we'll become roommates who are collectively raising our kids.

　　我在這方面做得不夠好，但我下班回家的時(shí)候，我試著會(huì)先吻布魯克。之后我再親我們的五個(gè)孩子。這件小事卻能以小見(jiàn)大。對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)，我要想成為一位好爸爸，就必須先成為一個(gè)好丈夫。否則，我們就像室友一樣，共同撫養(yǎng)我們的孩子。

　　4. Grit Is Often The Best Description Of Love.

　　4. 勇氣往往是愛(ài)的最好詮釋。

　　It was easy to love Brooke when we were newlyweds. Easy for her to love me during seasons of comfort. But it's much more difficult to fight for love when you lose a baby. Or have a huge financial setback. Or confess a really ugly secret about yourself. Fairy tales are great for movies, but real life is more often confusing, chaotic and messy. Dig in when it gets hard.

　　在我們新婚階段我愛(ài)著布魯克她愛(ài)著我都是很容易做到的。但在你失去一個(gè)孩子后，再去爭(zhēng)取愛(ài)這件事就變得比較困難。在金融方面有很大的挫折，不愛(ài)承認(rèn)自己丑陋的秘密。童話故事總是發(fā)生在電影里，而現(xiàn)實(shí)生活卻往往沒(méi)那么美好，現(xiàn)實(shí)生活一團(tuán)亂麻、混亂不堪，較真兒深究的話，更是沒(méi)有頭緒。

　　5. Real Life Happens In The Mundane.

　　5. 現(xiàn)實(shí)生活是在平凡中度過(guò)的。

　　Huge promotions, babies being born, buying the dream house. The peaks of marriage are great. However, most days are mundane. I've been guilty of missing the little moments while I work to make the big ones happen. I'm realizing that life happens in those little moments. I'm learning to love the journey every bit as much as the destination.

　　升職、孩子出生、買(mǎi)到理想的房子?；橐龅膸讉€(gè)顛覆時(shí)刻是很美好的，但是大部分的日子卻是在平凡中度過(guò)的。我一直努力去實(shí)現(xiàn)那些生活中的大事件，但卻錯(cuò)過(guò)了生活中平凡的小幸福時(shí)光而心中滿懷內(nèi)疚。這些平凡的時(shí)光才算是生活。我試著愛(ài)上旅途的過(guò)程，旅途的過(guò)程和目的地一樣重要。

　　6. Proximity Doesn't Equal Presence.

　　6. 單純待在一起不代表關(guān)系親密。

　　Getting home from work early, getting a sitter for a date and even taking a vacation alone are all great things. But physically being close isn't the same as being close emotionally. For me, most of the time that looks like staring at my iPhone instead of looking my wife in the eye. Being more concerned with my Twitter or Instagram feed than I am about hearing my wife's heart. When you have the ability to be together physically, be there emotionally as well.

　　下班后早回家，找保姆代孩子，自己和妻子出去約會(huì)，哪怕自己休假也都是很美好的時(shí)刻。兩個(gè)人生活在一起不等于感情就有多么親密。對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)，貌似大部分時(shí)間我都盯著我的蘋(píng)果手機(jī)，而忽視了妻子的存在。對(duì)自己的推特或Instagram這些社交媒體軟件比較上心，不怎么在乎我妻子的感受。夫妻生活在一起時(shí)，也要讓情感親密起來(lái)。

　　7. Comparison Will Kill Your Joy.

　　7. 人比人氣死人。

　　In an age of edited facades of other people's lives on Facebook and other outlets, it's easy to feel like your marriage sucks. Like you're getting lapped by the Jones family. When I begin to compare our money, house, kids' performance and marriage to others through a distant lens, I'm the one that loses. It robs my joy. There will always be others with more; don't play that game.

　　生活在臉書(shū)和其他社交媒體別人編輯過(guò)生活的時(shí)代里，很容易就會(huì)感覺(jué)自己的婚姻很糟透，像是在過(guò)著瓊斯家的日子一樣。在長(zhǎng)焦鏡頭下，我開(kāi)始和別人比金錢(qián)、比房子、比孩子成績(jī)、比婚姻，比來(lái)比去感覺(jué)自己各方面都不行。把快樂(lè)也給比沒(méi)了。總感覺(jué)別人的日子過(guò)得好，還是不要玩那樣的游戲吧!

　　8. You'll Each Have The Opportunity To Throw It Away.

　　8. 都有過(guò)想要離婚的念頭。

　　We all know the marriages that end in pain instead of celebration. Divorce instead of dancing at the 50th anniversary party. Brooke and I are realizing that some days it's far easier to give up than keep fighting. But each day, we keep choosing each other. We continue to be honest about where we fail each other. Because it's worth it.

　　我們都知道很多婚姻是以痛苦告終的。在結(jié)婚50周年聚會(huì)上會(huì)選擇離婚來(lái)代替跳舞慶祝。我和布魯克都意識(shí)到有些日子放棄婚姻比不停吵鬧要容易得多。但是每次我們都不會(huì)放棄彼此。我們彼此坦誠(chéng)相見(jiàn)，到底哪里讓對(duì)方失望了。因?yàn)閳?jiān)守婚姻是值得的。

　　9. Take Initiative For The Benefit Of The Other.

　　9. 主動(dòng)為對(duì)方付出。

　　We talk often in our family about whether we're being givers or takers. Are we giving and serving? Or are we only taking and using? I'd argue that life is best lived when you're giving yourself away for the benefit of another.

　　我們家經(jīng)常會(huì)討論我們到底屬于付出者呢，還是索取者。我們都付出了嗎?還是我們都只是在索取而已?我認(rèn)為最幸福的生活就是你為他人去做出犧牲和付出。

　　10. Live In Community.

　　10. 選擇社區(qū)式的生活方式。

　　Marriage is hard and messy, but also beautiful and redeeming. Lived in isolation, you may be tempted to give up. But when surrounded with friends and family that know your strengths as well as your struggles, you realize you have.

　　婚姻艱難又麻煩，但是它同樣很美好且有可取之處。自己偏安一隅，你可能會(huì)放棄婚姻。但與朋友和家人住得近，他們了解你的生活狀態(tài)和生活處境，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的婚姻確實(shí)也有美好之處。

　　11. Will You Forgive Me?

　　11. 你會(huì)原諒我嗎?

　　Let's face it. In marriage, we fail each other more often than we'd like to admit. We tell a white lie, we forget a huge appointment, we get angry. There are a million other examples. Instead of shifting blame or dodging responsibility, marriages get stronger when you start to say "will you forgive me?" Even more than an "I'm sorry," this question leads to restoration and healing.

　　讓我們面對(duì)現(xiàn)實(shí)吧!在婚姻中，我們要比想象中更令彼此失望。撒了一個(gè)善意的謊言，忘記重要約會(huì)，都會(huì)讓我們生氣。這類(lèi)的例子可謂是不計(jì)其數(shù)。不要推卸責(zé)任或躲避責(zé)任，在你開(kāi)始主動(dòng)說(shuō)“你會(huì)原諒我嗎?”“對(duì)不起”這些話的時(shí)候，你的婚姻就會(huì)變得更牢固，彼此之間的裂痕會(huì)漸漸修復(fù)和愈合。

　　12. Love Wins.

　　12. 愛(ài)戰(zhàn)勝了一切。

　　This list could be a mile long. I didn't touch on things like honesty, making time for dates and speaking highly of your spouse. But all the lists in the world won't keep your marriage strong if it lacks love. In the end, love wins. It conquers all. It removes doubt. It pushes through fear. It invites deeper purpose. Love wins.

　　愛(ài)的列表會(huì)列出一個(gè)很長(zhǎng)的清單。我沒(méi)有提諸如誠(chéng)實(shí)、找時(shí)間約會(huì)和夸夸對(duì)方這類(lèi)愛(ài)的表現(xiàn)。但是如果缺乏愛(ài)的話，全世界各種愛(ài)的清單都不會(huì)讓你的婚姻變得牢固。最后，還是愛(ài)戰(zhàn)勝了一切，愛(ài)消除了懷疑、排斥了恐懼，愛(ài)有著更深層次的目的。愛(ài)贏了一切。