英語資源頻道為大家整理的china daily 雙語新聞：獨(dú)生子女 嬌慣的一代？，供大家參考:)
“Oh, you must have been a spoiled brat. You must be really bossy. I wonder what you’re going to be like to deal with?” That’s often the response Angela Hult gets when people find out she’s an only child, she told ABC News. Despite such negative remarks, Hult has decided to have only one child herself. And she’s not alone.
“哇，你肯定是個被寵壞了的淘氣鬼，一定非常專橫跋扈。我好奇，和你打交道會是什么樣子？”安吉拉•霍特在接受美國廣播公司ABC訪問時(shí)表示，當(dāng)人們發(fā)現(xiàn)她是獨(dú)生子女時(shí)，往往會這樣回答。盡管獨(dú)生子女被打上了許多負(fù)面烙印，安吉拉還是決定只要一個小孩。而并非只有她一人如此。
According to the US’ Office for National Statistics, women approaching the end of their childbearing years had an average of 1.9 children in 2004, compared with 3.1 for their counterparts in 1976. Numbers from the UK’s Office for National Statistics indicate a similar trend across the Atlantic: the percentage of one-child families in Britain had risen from 18 percent in 1972 to 26 percent in 2007.
美國國家統(tǒng)計(jì)局的報(bào)告顯示，2004年馬上超過育齡的婦女的生育率為1.9，而1976年時(shí)這一數(shù)字為3.1。而在橫跨大西洋的另一端，英國國家統(tǒng)計(jì)局的數(shù)據(jù)也顯示出相同的趨勢：1972年英國獨(dú)生子女家庭所占比例僅為18%，而到了2007年，這一數(shù)字已經(jīng)上升到26%。
But even though only children are becoming increasingly common, the stereotype that they’re selfish, spoilt and lack social skills holds strong. Even parents of only children, like Hult, are made to feel guilty about having only one child. Worried that they’re being selfish and endangering their child’s future, they flock to online discussion forums seeking advice. Soon, however, they ask themselves: is this social prejudice really justified?
雖然獨(dú)生子女越來越常見，但是人們對他們的成見仍舊根深蒂固——自私、被寵壞、缺乏社交技能。即使像霍特這樣的獨(dú)生子女父母，也對只有一個孩子這件事心有愧疚。由于擔(dān)心自己身為獨(dú)生子女會十分自私，進(jìn)而對孩子的未來造成負(fù)面影響，獨(dú)生子女父母聚集到在線論壇上，來尋求建議。而很快他們便反問自己：這種社會偏見真的合情合理嗎？
“There have been hundreds and hundreds of research studies that show that only children are no different from their peers,” Susan Newman, a social psychologist at Rutgers University in the US, told ABC News.
美國羅格斯大學(xué)社會心理學(xué)家蘇珊•紐曼在接受美國廣播公司采訪時(shí)表示：“成百上千例的研究報(bào)告顯示，獨(dú)生子女與同齡其他孩子并沒有什么不同。”
A perfect example is Natalie Portman. “I had the sole attention of my parents. And you know what? If I had had brothers or sisters I would have never become an actress,” she told Naanoo, an online magazine. “My mother has accompanied me to every audition and every acting class. With more children that would have never been possible. They would have been jealous of me.”
娜塔麗•波特曼就是一個好不過的例子了，她在接受在線雜志《Naanoo》采訪時(shí)說：“我獲得了父母的專屬關(guān)注。你知道嗎？我要是有兄弟姐妹的話，我可能永遠(yuǎn)也不會成為一名演員。我的母親陪我參加了每試鏡以及每一堂表演課。如果家里還有其他小孩子的話，這一切都不可能發(fā)生。兄弟姐妹會嫉妒我?！?BR> This raises another question: why are only children still viewed with such suspicion?
這又引發(fā)了另一個問題：為何人們總是對獨(dú)生子女心存懷疑呢？
“There is a lingering belief that’s been around probably since humans first existed that to have just one child is somehow dangerous, both for you and for the continuation of your race,” Toni Falbo, a professor of educational psychology at Texas University’s Population Research Center, told The Guardian. “In the past a lot of children died. You’d have had to be crazy to only have one.”
德克薩斯大學(xué)人口研究中心教育心理學(xué)教授托妮•法爾博在接受《衛(wèi)報(bào)》采訪時(shí)表示：“自從人類誕生以來，一直有種揮之不去的信念：無論對個人還是種族的延續(xù)，只要一個孩子是有些冒險(xiǎn)的。在過去，嬰兒死亡率很高，只要一個孩子絕非明智之舉?！?BR> Times, of course, have changed and infant mortality has largely been eradicated. So what do only children themselves say?
當(dāng)然，時(shí)代變了，嬰兒死亡率已接近于零。而獨(dú)生子女又是怎樣看待這一問題的呢？
Kayley Kravitz, a blogger for The Huffington Post, grew up as an only child and highly recommends the experience. “Being an only child taught me the most valuable skill of all: the ability to be alone,” she said.
凱莉•克拉維茨是《赫芬頓郵報(bào)》的博客寫手，作為獨(dú)生子女的她對自己的成長經(jīng)歷有著很高的評價(jià)，她說：“作為家里的獨(dú)苗，我學(xué)到重要的技能便是：如何獨(dú)處。”
“Oh, you must have been a spoiled brat. You must be really bossy. I wonder what you’re going to be like to deal with?” That’s often the response Angela Hult gets when people find out she’s an only child, she told ABC News. Despite such negative remarks, Hult has decided to have only one child herself. And she’s not alone.
“哇，你肯定是個被寵壞了的淘氣鬼，一定非常專橫跋扈。我好奇，和你打交道會是什么樣子？”安吉拉•霍特在接受美國廣播公司ABC訪問時(shí)表示，當(dāng)人們發(fā)現(xiàn)她是獨(dú)生子女時(shí)，往往會這樣回答。盡管獨(dú)生子女被打上了許多負(fù)面烙印，安吉拉還是決定只要一個小孩。而并非只有她一人如此。
According to the US’ Office for National Statistics, women approaching the end of their childbearing years had an average of 1.9 children in 2004, compared with 3.1 for their counterparts in 1976. Numbers from the UK’s Office for National Statistics indicate a similar trend across the Atlantic: the percentage of one-child families in Britain had risen from 18 percent in 1972 to 26 percent in 2007.
美國國家統(tǒng)計(jì)局的報(bào)告顯示，2004年馬上超過育齡的婦女的生育率為1.9，而1976年時(shí)這一數(shù)字為3.1。而在橫跨大西洋的另一端，英國國家統(tǒng)計(jì)局的數(shù)據(jù)也顯示出相同的趨勢：1972年英國獨(dú)生子女家庭所占比例僅為18%，而到了2007年，這一數(shù)字已經(jīng)上升到26%。
But even though only children are becoming increasingly common, the stereotype that they’re selfish, spoilt and lack social skills holds strong. Even parents of only children, like Hult, are made to feel guilty about having only one child. Worried that they’re being selfish and endangering their child’s future, they flock to online discussion forums seeking advice. Soon, however, they ask themselves: is this social prejudice really justified?
雖然獨(dú)生子女越來越常見，但是人們對他們的成見仍舊根深蒂固——自私、被寵壞、缺乏社交技能。即使像霍特這樣的獨(dú)生子女父母，也對只有一個孩子這件事心有愧疚。由于擔(dān)心自己身為獨(dú)生子女會十分自私，進(jìn)而對孩子的未來造成負(fù)面影響，獨(dú)生子女父母聚集到在線論壇上，來尋求建議。而很快他們便反問自己：這種社會偏見真的合情合理嗎？
“There have been hundreds and hundreds of research studies that show that only children are no different from their peers,” Susan Newman, a social psychologist at Rutgers University in the US, told ABC News.
美國羅格斯大學(xué)社會心理學(xué)家蘇珊•紐曼在接受美國廣播公司采訪時(shí)表示：“成百上千例的研究報(bào)告顯示，獨(dú)生子女與同齡其他孩子并沒有什么不同。”
A perfect example is Natalie Portman. “I had the sole attention of my parents. And you know what? If I had had brothers or sisters I would have never become an actress,” she told Naanoo, an online magazine. “My mother has accompanied me to every audition and every acting class. With more children that would have never been possible. They would have been jealous of me.”
娜塔麗•波特曼就是一個好不過的例子了，她在接受在線雜志《Naanoo》采訪時(shí)說：“我獲得了父母的專屬關(guān)注。你知道嗎？我要是有兄弟姐妹的話，我可能永遠(yuǎn)也不會成為一名演員。我的母親陪我參加了每試鏡以及每一堂表演課。如果家里還有其他小孩子的話，這一切都不可能發(fā)生。兄弟姐妹會嫉妒我?！?BR> This raises another question: why are only children still viewed with such suspicion?
這又引發(fā)了另一個問題：為何人們總是對獨(dú)生子女心存懷疑呢？
“There is a lingering belief that’s been around probably since humans first existed that to have just one child is somehow dangerous, both for you and for the continuation of your race,” Toni Falbo, a professor of educational psychology at Texas University’s Population Research Center, told The Guardian. “In the past a lot of children died. You’d have had to be crazy to only have one.”
德克薩斯大學(xué)人口研究中心教育心理學(xué)教授托妮•法爾博在接受《衛(wèi)報(bào)》采訪時(shí)表示：“自從人類誕生以來，一直有種揮之不去的信念：無論對個人還是種族的延續(xù)，只要一個孩子是有些冒險(xiǎn)的。在過去，嬰兒死亡率很高，只要一個孩子絕非明智之舉?！?BR> Times, of course, have changed and infant mortality has largely been eradicated. So what do only children themselves say?
當(dāng)然，時(shí)代變了，嬰兒死亡率已接近于零。而獨(dú)生子女又是怎樣看待這一問題的呢？
Kayley Kravitz, a blogger for The Huffington Post, grew up as an only child and highly recommends the experience. “Being an only child taught me the most valuable skill of all: the ability to be alone,” she said.
凱莉•克拉維茨是《赫芬頓郵報(bào)》的博客寫手，作為獨(dú)生子女的她對自己的成長經(jīng)歷有著很高的評價(jià)，她說：“作為家里的獨(dú)苗，我學(xué)到重要的技能便是：如何獨(dú)處。”