Game of Thrones and other addictive box sets are preventing British couples having as much sex as they did in the past, a Cambridge University statistician has warned. |
劍橋大學(xué)的統(tǒng)計(jì)學(xué)家警告稱，《權(quán)力的游戲》等讓人上癮的劇集系列使英國(guó)夫妻之間的性生活減少。

David Spiegelhalter, a professor of the Public Understanding of Risk, said the trend in declining sex rates over the last 30 years was ‘very worrying.’
大衛(wèi)?斯皮格豪特是公眾風(fēng)險(xiǎn)認(rèn)識(shí)部門的教授，他表示，在過(guò)去30年，英國(guó)人性生活比率下降的趨勢(shì)“非常令人擔(dān)憂”。

In 1990 couples had sex around five times a month, but now it is just three times, a 40 percent decrease in just 20 years. If currents trends continue couples would not be having sex at all by 2030.
在1990年，一對(duì)夫妻每月大約有五次性生活，但現(xiàn)在只是三次，短短20年間跌幅達(dá)40％。如果現(xiàn)在的趨勢(shì)繼續(xù)發(fā)展，到2030年英國(guó)的夫妻將不會(huì)再有性生活。

Previously researchers have warned that couples are killing the mood by bringing their iPads to bed. But Prof Speigelhalter said it was the rise of ‘massive connectivity’ embodied by Netflix, smartphones and box-sets which meant people never needed to be bored.
此前研究人員警告說(shuō)，夫妻把iPad帶到床上的這種行為非常“掃興”。不過(guò)斯皮格豪特教授說(shuō)，原因在于網(wǎng)飛公司、智能手機(jī)以及系列劇集所呈現(xiàn)的“大量連接”的興起，這意味著人們永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)覺(jué)得無(wú)聊。

Speaking at the Hay Festival, Prof Speigelhalter said: “How many times have you had sex in the last four weeks? You can start seeing the changes in society.
斯皮格豪特教授在海伊文學(xué)節(jié)上說(shuō)：“在過(guò)去四周你有多少次性生活？你可以開(kāi)始看到社會(huì)發(fā)生的變化”。

“People are having less sex. Sexually active couples between 16 and 64 were asked and the median was five times in the last month in 1990, then four times in 2000 and three times in 2010.
“人們現(xiàn)在的性生活次數(shù)比以前少。 我們對(duì)16歲至64歲之間性生活活躍的夫婦進(jìn)行訪問(wèn)，1990年上個(gè)月性生活次數(shù)的中位數(shù)是五次，2000年是四次，2010年是三次。”

“At this rate by 2030 couples are not going to be having any sex at all. Which is a very worrying trend.
“按照這個(gè)速度，到2030年夫妻之間將不會(huì)有任何性生活。 這個(gè)趨勢(shì)非常令人擔(dān)憂。”

“You say why? Statisticians say I don’t know. One of the researchers mentioned the word iPad. I think it’s the box set, Netflix. OMG I’ve got to watch the entire second series of Game of Thrones.
“你問(wèn)為什么？ 統(tǒng)計(jì)學(xué)家說(shuō)，我不知道。其中一名研究人員提到iPad。 我認(rèn)為是因?yàn)橄盗袆〖⒕W(wǎng)飛公司。 哦，天吶，我已經(jīng)看完了《權(quán)力的游戲》第二季的全部劇集。”

“The point is that this massive connectivity, the constant checking of our phones compared to just a few years ago when TV closed down at 10.30pm or whatever and there was nothing else to do. Even power cuts which helps. Now people are having less sex and it’s true.”
“關(guān)鍵在于，現(xiàn)在有了這種‘大量連接’，我們一直不斷查看自己的手機(jī)。而就在幾年前，電視臺(tái)晚上10點(diǎn)半就基本停播了等等，沒(méi)有什么其他事情可做。甚至停電也有幫助。現(xiàn)在人們的性生活減少，這是真的。“

Prof Speigelhalter also said that couples who had sex more often were more likely to have boys, because statistics showed that getting pregnant earlier in a woman’s ovulation cycle favoured male children.
斯皮格豪特教授還說(shuō)，有更多性生活的夫妻更有可能生男孩，因?yàn)榻y(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)顯示，在女性的排卵周期早期懷孕有利于生男孩。

It is why there is often a big surge in the birth of boys at the end of wars when soldiers return home and are having increasing amounts of sex.
這就是為什么在戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)結(jié)束時(shí)男嬰的出生率激增，因?yàn)槭勘丶液笮陨畲螖?shù)增加。

“When are more boys born? End of wars. More boys are born when people are having more sex,” said Prof Spiegelhalter.?
“什么時(shí)候出生的男孩多？ 戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)結(jié)束后。當(dāng)人們有更多的性生活時(shí)，會(huì)生育更多的男孩。”斯皮格豪特教授說(shuō)。

“If you’re having a lot of sex then it’s more likely you’ll get pregnant before the time of peak fecundity.
“如果你的性生活次數(shù)很多，那么你更可能在生育力高峰前懷孕。”

“There is some evidence from animals that there is a very small increased chance of having a boy if you conceive earlier. Don’t use this choice as a sex choice method, it only works at population level.
“有一些來(lái)自動(dòng)物的證據(jù)表明，如果你懷孕越早，生出男孩的幾率會(huì)稍高。不要以此作為選擇嬰兒性別的方法，它只有在種群水平上才有效。”

Fertility rates rose in Britain at the end of the Second World War until the invention of the contraceptive pill, at which time they began to fall dramatically.
英國(guó)的生育率在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)結(jié)束時(shí)上漲，直到避孕藥發(fā)明后，生育率開(kāi)始大幅下降。

There was an unexpected peak in 1973, which Professor Spiegelhalter said might be to do with the 1973 oil crisis when the Ted Heath government instigated a three-day week to save fuel and power cuts were common.
在1973年有一個(gè)意想不到的生育高峰期，對(duì)此斯皮格豪特教授說(shuō)，這可能與1973年的石油危機(jī)有關(guān)，泰德?希思政府發(fā)起每周工作三天的運(yùn)動(dòng)以節(jié)省燃料，那時(shí)拉閘限電是很常見(jiàn)的。

Vocabulary

fecundity：生育力，繁殖力
conceive：懷孕

英文來(lái)源：每日電訊報(bào)
翻譯：朱善美
編審：yaning