原 文 泛 讀
“好男人”越來越難找了。。。
為什麼呢？因為接受高等教育的女性比例已經超過了男性，據估計，每有3個男性取得學士學位，就有4個女性也取得了學士學位，而且在研究生學歷上這種差距更大
這種趨勢會帶來什麼結果呢？
好的一方面是什麼？
同時又有什麼潛在的問題會出現呢？
A Good Man Is Getting Even Harder to Find
The future of mating looks grim as more educated women compete for fewer eligible males。
When my daughters were small they had a favorite bit of doggerel that prefigured some early feminist leanings。
“Girls go to college to get more knowledge/Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider，” they would chant at me， and， with more evident passion， at any young males in their vicinity。 I’d try to take issue with the grammatical betise in the second line that， I would point out， slightly undermined the premise of the jibe， but it was no good。 Girls were smarter than boys and immeasurably superior in just about every other respect。
On that， of course， I have never dared demur。
But as it turns out， and as my girls progress with grace and accomplishment up the gilded escalator of their liberal education， there’s a searing piece of truth in that couplet that points up a deep demographic chasm in this country and in much of the developed world。
The gender imbalance in educational attainment is getting larger every year。 That may spell good news， ultimately， for income and employment equality—but it presages increasingly problematic social conditions for generations of men and women。
According to the U。S。 Department of Education， more than 57% of the class of 2018 who graduated with bachelor’s degrees were female。 The gap for master’s degrees was even wider： 59% to 41%。
In the game of life, love and relationships, the educational disparity between men and women is a problem.
This gender imbalance has existed since 1981， when more women than men graduated for the first time， and it’s widened just about every single year since then。 In fact， the Department estimates that by 2027 women will account for about 60% of all bachelor’s degrees awarded。
Now， from the perspective of economic justice and equity， we can surely stipulate that this is progress。 It may be the most tangible piece of evidence of a fundamental change in sexual equality since women were given the vote。 If education really is the key to lifetime earning potential， then slowly， perhaps， steadily， we can expect the gap in pay and opportunities to narrow。
I realize of course that there are many other reasons for gender differences in economic outcomes， and many of those aren’t going away。 But the impact of a more highly educated female population in the workforce should be substantial。
But while the economic consequences may play out this way， it’s worth pondering some of the social effects。 In the much larger game of life， love and relationships， the growing educational disparity between men and women is a problem。
It is estimated that for every three men with bachelor’s degrees in their 20s and 30s， there are now four women。 Most studies of human heterosexual attraction suggest both that intellectual capacity and achievement is an important attractor and that people tend to gravitate toward a partner with roughly the same level of attainment。
But every year， the pool of eligible male graduates is getting smaller relative to the number of women。 Now of course college isn’t everything， and many women will find a perfect mate who hasn’t been through the four-year playground of parties， sleeping and the occasional lecture。 But the reality is that more of them are going to have to if they want a meaningful relationship。
And there’s a larger problem confronting these new cohorts of well-educated women。 It’s always been assumed that women are more selective in seeking out a partner of the opposite sex。 Men are notoriously undiscriminating； women， obviously more refined and sophisticated， are more choosy。 But with data now available from dating apps we are beginning to get a sense of just how big this gap is too。
Aviv Goldgeier， an engineer with the dating app Hinge， was recently interviewed about data he’d compiled on the “likes” of straight men and women。 If we think of attractiveness in terms of an economic asset， we can measure how evenly or unevenly distributed that asset is among men and women。 Economists use a measure—the Gini coefficient—to estimate the level of inequality in an economy。 The nearer the number is to 0， the more evenly distributed the wealth。 The closer it is to 1， the more unequal it is。
It turns out that the Gini index for males is 0。542—a high level of inequality。 A small number of men hold most of the attractiveness assets。 For women， in the eyes of men， the attractiveness assets were much more evenly spread—a Gini index of just 0。376。 Grim confirmation： A much smaller number of men are considered eligible by women than is the case for women as viewed by men。
In other words， when they’ve finished college， it’s women who may need to go to Jupiter to find a decent partner。
詞 匯 卡 片
1.
grim ［ɡrm］ adj。
worrying， without hope
令人擔憂的，令人沮喪的
- When he lost his job， his future looked grim。
他失業以後前途不容樂觀。
- Millions of Britons face the grim prospect （=something bad that will probably happen） of dearer home loans。
許許多多的英國人未來可能面對一個嚴酷的事實: 住房貸款負擔更加沉重。
- We received the grim news in silence。
我們默默地接受這個令人沮喪的訊息。
2.
eligible ［el。。d。bl］ adj。
An eligible person is not married and is thought to be a suitable future marriage partner， especially because they are rich and attractive。
（作為結婚物件）理想的，合適的
- I can think of several eligible bachelors of my acquaintance。
在認識的人當中我能想到有幾位條件不錯的單身漢。
注：
此外，該詞還有一個意思：
having the necessary qualities or satisfying the necessary conditions
具備條件的；有資格的；合格的
- Are you eligible for early retirement/maternity leave？
你符合提前退休／休產假的條件嗎？
- You might be eligible for a grant。
你或許有資格得到獎學金。
- Only people over 18 are eligible to vote。
只有18歲以上的人才有資格投票。
3.
doggerel ［dɡ。r。l］ UN
poetry that is silly or badly written
蹩腳詩；打油詩
4.
prefigure ［prifɡ。r］ vt。
to show or suggest that something will happen in the future
預示；預想，預見
- His paintings prefigure the development of perspective in Renaissance art。
他的繪畫預示了文藝復興時期的藝術作品中透視畫法的發展。
5.
leaning ［li。n］ CN
a particular set of beliefs， opinions， etc。 that someone prefers
（指信念、意見等的）傾向性
- I don‘t know what his political leanings are。
我不知道他的政治傾向。
- a person with socialist leanings
具有社會主義傾向的人
- a leaning towards comedy rather than tragedy
偏愛喜劇而不是悲劇
6.
vicinity ［vsn。。ti］
the area around a place or where the speaker is
周圍地區；鄰近地區；附近
- There are several hotels in the immediate vicinity of the station。
就在車站附近有好幾家旅館。
- We could see that there were several open Wi-Fi networks in the vicinity。
我們可以看見在附近就有好幾個供公眾使用的無線網路。
- Anyone who happened to be in the vicinity could have been injured or killed。
偶然身處附近的任何人都有可能受傷或者死亡。
注：
1。 文中的in their vicinity即“在她們周圍的”的意思
2。 該詞常以單數形式出現
7.
take issue with
to disagree strongly
對…持強烈異議，很不贊同
- I took issue with him over his interpretation of the instructions。
我不贊同他對命令的理解。
8.
betise ［bi’ti：s］ CN
an act of foolishness or stupidity
<法>愚蠢的行為
- Do not make such a betise again。
不要再犯這種錯誤了。
9.
premise ［prem。s］ CN
an idea or theory on which a statement or action is based
（作為先決條件的）假定，前提
- ［ + that ］ They had started with the premise that all men are created equal。
他們是從人人生來平等這一前提出發的。
- The research project is based on the premise stated earlier。
這項研究計劃是基於早先提出的假設之上的。
10.
jibe/gibe ［dab］ CN
an insulting remark that is intended to make someone look stupid
嘲諷話
- Unlike many other politicians， he refuses to indulge in cheap jibes at other people‘s expense。
與許多其他政治家不同，他從不對他人濫加嘲諷。
11.
immeasurably ［me。r。。bli］ adv。
You use immeasurably to emphasize the degree or extent of a process or quality。
極度地；極大地
- They have improved immeasurably since their arrival。
他們自來到這裡以後，有了很大改進。
- The situation today is immeasurely more acute than it was 25 years ago。
今天的形勢遠比25年前嚴峻。
12.
demur ［dm（r）］ vi。
to express disagreement or refuse to do something
提出異議；拒絕
- The lawyer requested a break in the court case， but the judge demurred。
律師請求休庭，但法官沒有同意。
- They demurred politely， but finally agreed to stay。
他們禮貌拒絕，但最後還是同意留下。
注：
該詞的過去式和過去分詞都要雙寫r
13.
spell vt。
to have sth as a result； to mean sth
- The crop failure spelt disaster for many farmers。
對許多農民來說，莊稼歉收就意味著災難。
- The lack of rain could spell disaster for farmers。
少雨會給農民帶來災難。
注：
該詞的後面一般接消極的結果，但原文中是好的結果（good news），所以，語言是處在不斷變化中的，要多讀地道文章哦
14.
presage ［pres。d］ vt。
to show or suggest that something， often something unpleasant， will happen
預示，預兆（尤指不祥之事）
- But still the economy is not showing signs of any of the excesses that normally presage a recession。
但經濟仍未顯露出任何過剩的跡象，這些跡象通常預示經濟衰退。
- The large number of moderate earthquakes that have occurred recently could presage a larger quake soon。
最近多次發生中等強度的地震預示著可能很快就會發生更強烈的地震。
15.
stipulate ［stp。j。let］ vt。
to say exactly how something must be or must be done
規定，約定；明確說明
- She agreed to buy the car， but stipulated racing tyres and a turbo-powered engine。
她同意買這輛車，但指明要裝賽車輪胎和渦輪動力引擎。
- ［ + that ］ The law stipulates that new cars must have seat belts for the driver and every passenger。
法律規定新車必須為駕駛員和每位乘客配備坐椅安全帶。
- ［ + question word ］ We have signed a contract which stipulates when the project must be completed。
我們已簽署合同，規定了專案必須完成的時間。
注：
原文的we can surely stipulate that this is progress就是“我們可以肯定地說，這是進步”
16.
ponder ［pn。d（r）］ vt。/vi。
to think carefully about something， especially for a noticeable length of time
沉思，默想，考慮
- She sat back for a minute to ponder her next move in the game。
她在椅背上靠了一會兒，思考下一步棋該怎麼走。
17.
gravitate ［ɡrv。。tet］ towards/to sb/sth
to be attracted by or to move in the direction of something or someone
吸引到；受吸引而轉到
- Susie always gravitates towards the older children in her playgroup。
蘇茜在幼兒遊戲組裡總是愛跟比她大的孩子玩。
注：
該短語本身就是“被”的含義了，在使用時就不要畫蛇添足地說成“be gravitated to”了
18.
playground
a place where a particular group of people enjoy themselves
娛樂場所
- This area of the coast is the playground of the rich and famous。
海濱的這片區域是富人和名人們的娛樂場。
注：
1。 該詞只以單數形式出現
2。 文中的be through the four-year playground of parties， sleeping and the occasional lecture描述得既扎心又真實，哈哈哈～
19.
cohort ［k。ht］ CN
a group of people who share a characteristic， usually age
有共同特點（通常指年齡）的一群人
- This study followed up a cohort of 386 patients aged 65+ for six months after their discharge home。
這項研究對386位年齡在65歲以上、出院回家的患者進行了6個月的跟蹤觀察。
注：
該詞用作主語時，謂語動詞可加s也可不加
20.
the Gini coefficient
基尼係數
背景知識：
基尼係數是指國際上通用的、用以衡量一個國家或地區居民收入差距的常用指標。
基尼係數最大為“1”，最小等於“0”。基尼係數越接近0表明收入分配越是趨向平等。國際慣例把0。2以下視為收入絕對平均，0。2-0。3視為收入比較平均；0。3-0。4視為收入相對合理；0。4-0。5視為收入差距較大，當基尼係數達到0。5以上時，則表示收入懸殊。
基尼指數最早由義大利統計與社會學家Corrado Gini在1912年提出。
語法/長難句分析
But as it turns out， and as my girls progress with grace and accomplishment up the gilded escalator of their liberal education， there’s a searing piece of truth in that couplet that points up a deep demographic chasm in this country and in much of the developed world。
自己先試著分析：
1. 這句話的主幹是什麼？
2. 其他成分是什麼？
主幹：
But as it turns out， and as my girls progress with grace and accomplishment up the gilded escalator of their liberal education， there’s a searing piece of truth in that couplet，其中的as。。。 and as。。。是時間狀語從句
其他成分：
that points up a deep demographic chasm in this country and in much of the developed world是定語從句修飾truth，that指代truth，在從句中作主語
we think about and work with是定語從句修飾things，關係代詞which/that省去了，因為其在定語從句中作介詞about和with的賓語
注：
1。 學學人家是怎麼描述人越來越優雅，學業水平越來越高的：as my girls progress with grace and accomplishment up the gilded escalator of their liberal education，句子漂亮到簡直想哭～
［ 再次強調一下，文中劃線句子無條件背熟！］
2。 demographic chasm就是difference/gap between the two genders的意思
3。 that couplet即“Girls go to college to get more knowledge/Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider”
趁 熱 打 鐵
任選上面20個詞中的1個造句，
下方評論
告訴我哦，會一一回復噠～
分享
是一種動力
點贊
是一種鼓勵
