经济学人精读丨小姐姐网恋吗？
《经济学人》8月18日的封面文章Romance in the digital age: Modern love（《数字时代的浪漫：当代爱情》）谈到了“网恋”这一话题，视角清新，全面、客观的分析了网恋对个人和社会的利与弊。
本期推送选取了文章的前两段，希望你们能喜欢。
①THE internet has transformed the way people work and communicate. ②It has upended industries, from entertainment to retailing. ③But its most profound effect may well be on the biggest decision that most people make—choosing a mate.
①In the early 1990s the notion of meeting a partner online seemed freakish, and not a little pathetic. ②Today, in many places, it is normal. ③Smartphones have put virtual bars in people's pockets, where singletons can mingle free from the constraints of social or physical geography. ④Globally, at least 200m people use digital dating services every month. ⑤In America more than a third of marriages now start with an online match-up. The internet is the second-most-popular way for Americans to meet people of the opposite sex, and is fast catching up with real-world "friend of a friend” introductions.
精读
第一段
①THE internet has transformed the way people work and communicate. ②It has upended industries, from entertainment to retailing. ③But its most profound effect may well be on the biggest decision that most people make—choosing a mate.
第一段交代了时代背景，并引出话题：choose a mate online.（网络择偶）
①THE internet has transformed the way people work and communicate.
互联网改变了人们工作和交流的方式。
①句概括了时代背景。
transform表示“改变”，写作中可以替换change，the way people work and communicate指“人们的工作和交流方式”。
②It has upended industries, from entertainment to retailing.
它颠覆了各个行业，比如娱乐业、零售业。
②句是对①句的展开。
upend的意思是to change sth completely，和change/transform是同义替换，但语气更为强烈。
from...to...是一个举例子的表达，可以翻译成“从...到...，比如...”，写作中可以替换for example, such as等，我们把这个句子改写一下：
It has upended industries, such as entertainment and retailing.
③But its most profound effect may well be on the biggest decision that most people make—choosing a mate.
但它对选择配偶的影响最为显著，而择偶是大多数人所做的最重要的决定。
③句通过转折引出话题——网上择偶。
profound effect表示“重大影响”，也可以说big / major / significant / dramatic effect.
如果表示“不利影响”，我们可以说：bad / harmful / negative / damaging / detrimental / adverse effect，这些都是写作中的高频表达。
effect后面加介词on，表示“对...的影响，在...方面的影响”，文中 its most profound effect may well be on the biggest decision that most people make 是说，它最深远的影响可能在多数人所做的最重要的决定方面。（well用来加深语气，无实际意思。）
但在翻译的时候，要考虑到英汉的思维差异：英文喜欢把重点信息放到前面，而中文则放到后面。英文中，profound位于开头，旨在突出强调其影响之深远，所以在翻译的时候要把“显著”置于句尾：
但它对多数人所做的最重要的决定的影响最为显著。
mate表示“配偶”，相当于partner，choose a mate便是“择偶”的意思了。
第一段摇身一变便成了作文万能开头模板：
THE internet has transformed the way people work and communicate. It has upended ..., from ... to .... But its most profound effect may well be on ...(写作话题)
替换掉老掉牙的“With the development of..., more and more people are now... / ... has been greatly changed”。
第二段
①In the early 1990s the notion of meeting a partner online seemed freakish, and not a little pathetic. ②Today, in many places, it is normal. ③Smartphones have put virtual bars in people's pockets, where singletons can mingle free from the constraints of social or physical geography. ④Globally, at least 200m people use digital dating services every month. ⑤In America more than a third of marriages now start with an online match-up. The internet is the second-most-popular way for Americans to meet people of the opposite sex, and is fast catching up with real-world "friend of a friend” introductions.
第二段介绍了当今网上择偶的特点：normal。中心句为②句，中心词为normal。
①In the early 1990s the notion of meeting a partner online seemed freakish, and not a little pathetic.②Today, in many places, it is normal.
20世纪90年代早期，“网恋”的想法似乎很奇怪，而且非常可怜。但今天，在很多地方，它很正常。
①②两句通过古今对比，引出了当今网恋的新特点：normal。
In the early 1990s指“20世纪90年代早期”，是一个表示过去的时间点，和②句的today形成时间上的转折。阅读中，时间转折，预示着内容也发生转折，所以我们可以通过已知词normal推未知词freakish——表示 abnormal 的意思。
除了but, however这样的明显转折词外，today或now等表示现在时间点的词也暗含转折关系，阅读中多加留意这一现象可以让逻辑思路更加清晰，也可以借此推断一些生词。比如2018年8月4日的《经济学人》封面文章Global warming: In the line of fire中就出现了极为相似的一句话：
Such calamities, once considered freakish, are now commonplace.
once表示过去的时间点，now表示现在的时间点，时间转折，意思转折，我们可以根据这一规律推断出freakish的意思：commonplace表示“稀松平常的事”，那么freakish就是“罕见的”的意思了。
回到文中，...seemed freakish，seem是“貌似”的意思，暗含否定意味（对freakish的否定）。2012年的第二篇考研阅读理解中也出现了这一情况：
The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has noting left to lose by going to war with the state. But there should be consequences.
翻译：公司似乎得出这么一个结论：既然它在佛蒙特州的名誉已扫地，与该州撕破脸也不会失去什么了。但这也会带来一些后果。
此段中，seem暗含了对后文(its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has noting left to lose by going to war with the state)的否定，与下句话的but形成某种的呼应。了解一个词的含义很简单，但真正要读懂一篇文章，还要了解一个词背后的功能。
回到文中，not a little pathetic的意思是“十分可怜的”，pathetic表示“可怜的”，not a little双重否定表示肯定，意思是“很，非常”，用于加深形容词程度，写作中可以替换very。
③Smartphones have put virtual bars in people's pockets, where singletons can mingle / free from the constraints of social or physical geography.
智能手机把虚拟酒吧装到了人们的口袋中，单身人士可以用手机与人进行交际，而不会受到社会地理和自然地理的限制。
③-⑤句围绕着normal展开，其中③句从生活方式的角度体现normal。
Smartphones have put virtual bars in people's pockets 智能手机把虚拟酒吧装到了人们的口袋中。这部分体现了智能手机给人们社交带来的便捷性。
virtual bars指“虚拟酒吧”，virtual的意思是“虚拟的”，这几年很火的“虚拟现实”就是virtual reality，简称VR。
Smartphones have put ... in people's pockets可以用在写作中，比如：
Smartphones have put libraries in people's pockets.
智能手机把图书馆装到了人们的口袋中。（可以用于“智能手机之利弊”或“电子阅读”等话题）
再比如：
Smartphones have put shopping malls in people's pockets.
智能手机把商场装到了人们的口袋中。（可以用于“智能手机之利弊”或“网购”等话题）
where singletons can mingle中，singleton指“单身人士”，mingle是mix together(混合)的意思，但这里引申为“交际，应酬”（交际就是混在人群中），英文解释是：if you mingle at a party, you move around the room and talk to lots of different people. 这里呼应上文的bars。举个例子：
She was eager to mingle with the other guests.
她很热切地想和其他客人聊聊。
free from the constraints of social or physical geography，这部分做状语成分。
constraint是名词，“限制”的意思，动词形式为constrain；
social geography指“社会地理”，比如在现实世界，他是个写书的，而我是个写公众号的，他看不上我，不肯屈尊与我讲话，这就是受到了社会地理的限制。但网络能让我们暂时放下身份，平等交流，不受其限制。
physical geography指“自然地理”，比如“我住长江头，君住长江尾。日日思君不见君，共饮长江水”，这就是受到了自然地理的限制。
free from/of 是外刊中的高频表达，相当于 without，free from the constraints of social or physical geography = without the constraints of social or physical geography 没有社会地理和自然地理的限制，或“不受社会地理或自然地理的限制”。
在第五期精读写作班的第一单元我们就遇到了这一表达：
Those in favour argue that single-sex schools allow pupils to flourish, free from the distracting influence of the opposite sex.
那些支持单一性别学校的人认为，单一性别学校能让学生不被异性分散注意力，从而获得成功。
第六期第一单元的《经济学人》“遏制网络虚假信息传播”中也出现了这一表达：
It offers no sharing options and does not allow links but boasts more than a billion monthly users. It has remained relatively free of political content and misinformation.
它没有提供分享选项，也不允许链接，但拥有10多亿月活跃用户。相对来说，它没有政治内容和虚假信息。（它指的是Facebook旗下的Instagram）
④Globally, at least 200m people use digital dating services every month.
全球来看，每月至少有2亿人使用数字约会服务。
④⑤句则从数量的角度体现normal，④句从全球层面进行分析。
digital dating services指“数字约会服务”，比如陌陌。
⑤In America more than a third of marriages now start with an online match-up. The internet is the second-most-popular way for Americans to meet people of the opposite sex, and is fast catching up with real-world "friend of a friend” introductions.
在美国，超过三分之一的婚姻始于网恋。互联网是美国人与异性交往的第二受欢迎的方式，并且正在快速赶上现实世界的“朋友介绍”。
⑤句从美国层面进行分析。
online match-up指“网恋”，match-up有“匹配，配对”的意思。
people of the opposite sex指“异性”，也可以说the opposite sex.
catch up with...表示“追赶，赶超”，比如：
China is fast catching up with America's innovations.
中国正迅速追赶美国创新。
敲黑板
一个作文万能开头模板：
THE internet has transformed the way people work and communicate. It has upended ..., from ... to .... But its most profound effect may well be on ...(写作话题)
一个阅读技巧：
时间转折，意思转折，today和now也暗含转折的逻辑关系。可以根据这一规律，由已知词推未知词。
一个写作句型：
Smartphones have put ... in people's pockets
几个高频表达：
be free from/of = without
mingle 交际、应酬
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