【翻譯練習】跟另一半差幾歲最適合？

What’s the best age gap in a relationship?

作者：Soumaya Keynes
來源：https://www.economist.com/1843/2017/06/26/whats-the-best-age-gap-in-a-relationship

從離婚率到壽命，證據會說話

We examine the evidence, from divorce rates to life expectancy

假如有個朋友選擇跟一個年紀能當爸媽的人交往，我們常有的反應，是看看這個決定有沒有通過「伴侶年齡除以二再加七」的測試。這個公式的來源已不可考，代代相傳，用來合理化 (不過更常見的是用來斥責) 對方的找伴行為。22 歲的人跟 18 歲的人交往，可以接受。38 歲的人不適合跟 23 歲的人交往，但跟 26 歲的人就沒問題。自身年紀愈大，允許的年齡差距也愈廣：50 歲的人能找的對象甚至上看 86 歲。

When a friend opts to date someone who is old enough to be their parent, a common response is to see if the decision passes the “half their age plus seven” test. The rule, whose origins remain mysterious, has been passed down through generations as a way of justifying or, more commonly, pouring scorn on other people’s couplings. It’s fine for a 22-year-old to go out with an 18-year-old. It’s not ok for a 38-year-old to go out with a 23-year-old, however a 26-year-old would be fair game. The older you get, the wider the permissible age gap: a 50-year-old can venture as old as 86.

理論上是如此。實際上，約會網站 OKCupid 共同創辦人魯德 (Christian Rudder) 的研究發現，男女兩性對年齡差的看法稍有不同。女性使用者想找跟自己差不多同齡 (或比自己大一、二歲) 的男性；至於男性不管自己幾歲，都想找二十歲出頭的女性。女性一向偏好雙方年紀別差太多；男性則是無比執著年輕正妹，結果男性年紀愈大，偏好的年齡差也跟著拉大。

That’s the theory. In practice, research conducted by Christian Rudder, co-founder of OKCupid, a dating website, suggests that when it comes to age gaps, men and women have slightly different ideas. While female users look for men roughly the same age as them (or perhaps a year or two older) men prefer women in their early twenties, regardless of their own age. While women prefer a small and constant age gap, men are so hooked on the idea of a nubile young partner that they prefer a larger age gap the older they get.

男性找伴的作法是否明智？理論上，有許多理由支持年齡差小一點比較好。如果伴侶兩人能一起哼唱童年時期最愛的電視主題曲，或許會讓彼此心靈契合，不要吵到旁人就好。而且，如果能在相近的時間一同體驗免費搭公車的樂趣，或是能夠合辦盛大生日派對進而省錢，這些事情顯然很吸引人。

Are men searching wisely? In theory there are plenty of reasons to favour a small age gap. The ability of both members of a couple to sing a favourite childhood television theme tune could bond them together, at the risk of irritating those nearby. And sharing the joy of getting a free bus pass at a similar time, or saving money from combining big birthday parties, is clearly attractive.

有些經濟學家想知道，伴侶年齡差愈小，所能享有的社會好處會不會愈多，原因是較小的年齡差或許有助縮減性別收入落差。由於收入隨年齡遞增，而且女性找的對象往往是較年長的男性，於是女性在生小孩時候左右的相對收入，可能會令女性對離職一事稍感壓力。話雖如此，一份比較丹麥雙胞胎姊妹的研究顯示，平均而言，與較年長男性結婚的女性，跟與自身年紀相近男性結婚的女性，兩者收入並無不同。

Some economists have wondered whether smaller age gaps between partners could have wider, societal benefits, as they might help to narrow the gender earnings gap. Because earnings rise with age, and women tend to couple with older men, relative earnings around the time of childbirth could put subtle pressure on women to drop out of work. That said, a study that compared Danish twin sisters found that the earnings of women who married older men were no different, on average, than those who married men closer to them in age.

年齡差較小，跟另一半關係長久穩定的機會是否也會較高？2014 年，《大西洋》月刊稱「相較於年齡相同或差不多的伴侶，年齡相差五歲的伴侶離婚機率高出 18%」。該研究調查了美國的持續中與已仳離的伴侶，確實可從中看出離婚率與年齡差之間的關聯；然而，該研究並未證明兩者有因果關係。會選擇跟年齡差距大的人結婚，這類人的性格特質也許才是拉高離婚率的因素，而非年齡差造成。英國國家統計局的一份研究，也會讓想找魅力大叔大嬸作伴的陽光青年男女備感振奮。該研究在英格蘭與威爾斯並未發現年齡差與離婚率之間有顯著關聯；不過若干證據顯示，三十歲後跟比自己大十歲以上的伴侶結婚的女性，離婚率較高。

Could a smaller age gap also make couples more likely to stay together? In 2014, the Atlantic claimed that “a five year age difference makes a couple 18 percent more likely to get divorced, compared to a couple born on or around the same year.” While the study cited – which polled American couples and ex-couples – did show an association between divorce rates and age gaps, it did not prove a causal link. Something about the kind of person who opts into a marriage with a large age gap could be driving the higher divorce rates, rather than the age gap itself. A bright young thing considering a silver fox should also take heart from a study by Britain’s Office of National Statistics. It did not find a strong link between age gaps and divorce rates in England and Wales, though there was some evidence that women marrying later than 30 who were more than ten years older than their spouse were more likely to divorce.

社會大眾確實普遍覺得，伴侶年齡差距大，可能會影響自己的老年生活。老了神智不清時，有人可以在身邊照顧自己，實在是妙事一樁，還能避免孤苦無依。所以會找更年輕健康的另一半，這件事就說得通了，至少自己的如意算盤是這麼打的。另一份由斯德哥爾摩大學人口統計學資深講師德瑞弗 (Sven Drefahl) 進行的研究，以 50 歲以上的丹麥人作為研究對象，發現伴侶較年輕的男性，其壽命比伴侶年紀相當的男性還長。就算控制了教育、財富等因素，結果仍顯示配偶年紀愈大，男性研究對象存活率愈低。同樣地，這種現象或許並非因果關係：健康男性或許較能吸引到較年輕伴侶，而且較能度過樂齡人生。但匪夷所思的是，這種現象似乎不適用於女性身上，無論女性年紀多大，跟配偶年齡相差愈多，女性研究對象存活率愈低。德瑞弗指出，女大男小組合的女性存活率依然較低，可能是因為這類女性比較不用依靠另一半過活，所以就比較沒能受惠於較年輕伴侶的充沛活力。

Common sense does suggest that a large age gap would have implications for old age. Having someone to look after you in your dotage is wise, as is avoiding widowhood. A younger, healthier partner could make sense, at least from your side of the equation. Another study by Sven Drefahl of the University of Stockholm looked at people over the age of 50 in Denmark, and found that men with younger spouses survived for longer than those with ones of a similar age. The older their spouse, the worse their survival chances, even after controlling for things like education and wealth. Again, the link might not be causal: healthy men might be particularly able both to attract younger mates and live to a ripe old age. But mysteriously, this phenomenon does not appear to apply to women, where the bigger the age gap, the worse their survival chances, regardless of whether they were younger or older. In the case of women with younger husbands, Drefahl suggested, the gender difference could be due to women being less reliant on their partner for support, and so benefiting less from the energies of a younger spouse.

因此，上述證據證明了 OKCupid 使用者何以如此選擇：女性應該盡可能找跟自己年齡相近的男性，男性則應該找更年輕的女性。然而，真正的經濟學家會尋求更理想的證據，也許是把隨機伴侶的婚姻美滿程度拿來跟各種年齡差比較。這些經濟學家很不幸地會發現，但我們普通人很幸運地會發現，人人各有所好，而且隨便你要不要理會那愚蠢的經驗法則。

What evidence there is, therefore, vindicates the choices of OKCupid’s users: women should pick men who are as close as possible in age to them, while men should look for younger women. A true economist, however, would look for better evidence, perhaps by comparing the marital bliss of random couples with varying age differences. Unfortunately for them, but luckily for the rest of us, people make their own choices – and are free to ignore silly rules of thumb.