今年回家，你被催婚了吗？如果你单身且“大龄”，那你的催婚团可能除了亲朋好友，还要加上公司老板。
春节前，中国有两家公司宣布，除了传统的7天春节假期，30周岁及以上的单身“非一线”女性员工将获得额外8天的“相亲假”，希望她们早日找到伴侣，以便更安心工作。
消息一出，不少人称赞“别人家的公司”真有人情味。但也有网友表示，为什么只给女员工多放假，不给男员工放假她们去跟谁相亲……
事实上，此前也曾有公司提出“相亲假”，因为面向全体员工，并未区分性别，所以并没有激起什么水花。相比之下，这次之所以能够造出刷屏之势，正是因为他们打着“关爱女员工”的旗号，又一次将“大龄单身女青年”推到了风口浪尖。
本篇课程首发于2019年2月3日，选自 The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-dating-leave-single-women-company-lunar-new-year-relationship-a8742336.html
Chinese companies offer 'dating leave' to single female employees aged over 30
① Two Chinese companies are giving single female employees over the age of 30 an extra eight days of annual "dating leave".
② The companies behind a Song dynasty-themed tourist attraction in eastern China have said unmarried women over 30 in "non-frontline" roles would be given an additional eight days of leave over the Chinese New Year to "go home and date".
③ Employees at the firms were said to have welcomed the move.
④ Single women in China in their late 20s and early 30s are deemed to be "leftover women," or shengnv, due to engrained traditional beliefs that women who are not married by then are undesirable.
⑤ More women in the world's most populous country are choosing to focus on their careers and are marrying later or simply not marrying at all.
⑥ According to a recent survey by LinkedIn China and L'Oreal China, nearly 80 per cent of women born after 1995 chose to describe themselves as "economically independent", compared to just over 20 per cent who ticked the traditional "loving wife and mother" option.
▍生词好句
dating leave: 相亲假；约会假
date /deɪt/: n./vt. 约会
leave /liːv/: n. 假期 vi./vt. 离开
aged /eɪdʒd/: adj. ……岁的
over the age of 30: 30岁以上 (aged over 30)
dynasty /ˈdɪnəsti, ˈdaɪ nəsti/: n. 朝代
themed /θiːmd/: adj. 以……为主题的
tourist attraction: 旅游景点
non-frontline: adj. 非一线的
frontline /ˈfrʌntlaɪn/: adj. 一线的 n. 一线
additional /əˈdɪʃənəl/: adj. 额外的 (extra)
be said to do sth.: 据说……
move /muːv/: n. 举措；举动
be deemed/considered to be: 被认为是
leftover women or shengnv: 剩女
due to / because of: 因为；由于
engrained/rooted traditional beliefs: 根深蒂固的传统观念
engrain /ɪnˈɡreɪn/: 使……根深蒂固
undesirable /ˌʌndɪˈzaɪərəbəl, ˌʌndɪˈzaɪrəbəl/: 不受欢迎的
populous /ˈpɒpjələs, ˈpɑːpjələs/: adj. 人口众多的
simply /ˈsɪmpli/: adv. 简直；根本
survey /ˈsɜːveɪ, ˈsɜːrveɪ/: n. 调查
per cent / percent: adv. 百分之……
Generation Z: Z世代 (1995年到2005年左右出生的人)
individualism /ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒuəlɪzəm/: n. 自我性；个人主义
describe oneself as sth.: 将自己形容/自诩为……
economically independent: 经济上独立的
tick /tɪk/: vt. 打勾 (check a mark)
loving wife and mother: 贤妻良母
▍词汇拓展
1. dating leave: 相亲假；约会假
· date: n./vt. 约会
· leave: n. 假期 vi./vt. 离开
blind date: 相亲
annual leave: 年假
sick leave: 病假
maternity leave: 产假
2. 关于“年龄”的表达
young people aged 14 to 18: 14到18岁的年轻人
over the age of 30: 30岁以上 (aged over 30)
adults aged over 50 / adults over the age of 50: 50岁以上的成年人
children aged under 18 / children under the age of 18: 18岁以下的孩童
3. in "non-frontline" roles: 非一线工作者
· frontline: adj. 一线的 n. 一线
They are on the frontline of public debate.
他们处于舆论的风口浪尖。
4. be said to do sth.: 据说……
It is said that YLYK is one of the best online English learning apps.
据称，友邻优课是线上英语学习最好的应用程序之一。
5. be deemed/considered to be: 被认为是
The strike was deemed/considered to be illegal.
这次罢工被认为是非法的。
6. 用 or 连接中英文语境下的同义表达
leftover women or shengnv: 剩女
Tik Tok or Douyin: 抖音
WeChat or weixin: 微信
7. due to / because of: 因为；由于
Evening classes were cancelled due to/because of heavy snow.
晚课因大雪而取消。
8. undesirable: 不受欢迎的
We are not undesirable; we are unattainable.
我们不是没人要，而是你们得不到。
9. populous: adj. 人口众多的
Guangdong is the most populous province of China.
广东是中国人口第一大省。
10. simply: adv. 简直；根本
That would be simply wonderful!
那简直太棒了！
11. 副词 + 形容词
economically independent: 经济上独立的
China, as an economically powerful country, …
中国作为经济强国
12. tick: vt. 打勾 (check a mark)
Tick the description that best fits you.
给最符合你的描述打钩。
Tick each item on the list as you complete it.
每完成一份工作，就在表单上打个勾。
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▍内容校对
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