240 Choosing Single Life
240 选择单身生活
As a wise man once said, we are all ultimately alone. But an increasing number of Europeans are choosing to be so at an ever earlier age. This isn't the stuff of gloomy philosophical contemplations, hut a fact of Europe's new economic landscape, embraced by sociologists, real- estate developers and ad executives alike. The shift away from family life to solo lifestyle, observes a French sociologist, is part of the "irresistible momentum of individualism" over the last century. The communications revolution, the shift from a business culture of stability to one of mobility and the mass entry of women into the workforce have greatly wreaked havoc on Europeans' private lives.
正如一位智者所说，我们所有的人最终都是孤身一人的。但是如今越来越多的欧洲人选择在更早的年龄阶段开始独身生活。这并不是悲观的哲学思考，而是社会学家，房地产开发商和广告主管都欣然接受的一种欧洲经济现象。一位法国社会学家说，这种从家庭生活到独身生活方式的改变是过去一个世纪里“个人主义不可抗拒势头”的一部分。通讯方式的革命，商业文化从稳定性到流动性的改变，还有大批女性进入职场，这一切都极大地扰乱了欧洲人的私人生活。
Europe's new economic climate has largely fostered the trend toward independence. The current generation of home-aloners came of age during Europe's shift from social democracy to the sharper, more individualistic climate of American-style capitalism. Raised in an era of privatization and increased consumer choice, today's tech-savvy workers have embraced a free market in love as well as economics. Modern Europeans are rich enough to afford to live alone, and temperamentally independent enough to want to do so.
欧洲新的经济形势极大地推动了独身生活这一趋势。现在的这一代独身主义者经历了欧洲从社会民主，到具有美国风格的那种更敏锐更带有个人主义色彩的资本的转变。成长在一个私有化的有越来越多的商品可供消费选择的时代，当代的这些精通技术的工人们在经济领域和爱情领域都享有一个较为自由的空间，现代的欧洲人足够富有，有能力过独身生活，并且他们在人格上也足够独立，所以会想过独身生活。
Once upon a time, people who lived alone tended to be those on either side of marriage-- twenty something professionals or widowed senior citizens. While pensioners, particularly elderly women, make up a large proportion of those living alone, the newest crop of singles are high earners in their 30s and 40s who increasingly view living alone as a lifestyle choice. Living alone was conceived to be negative dark and cold, while being together suggested warmth and light. But then came along the idea of singles. They were young, beautiful, strong! Now, young people want to live alone.
以前，独身者往往都处于婚姻的两级，要么是二十多岁的年轻职业人员，要么就是高龄的丧偶老人。现在，尽管退休人员，特别是老年妇女，仍占据着独身者中的一个很大的比例，但与此同时，最新涌现出来的独身者却都是年龄在三十几岁或四十几岁的高薪阶层，他们越来越多地选择单独生活作为一种生活方式。过去，人们总是认为单身生活是沉闷而且凄凉的，而与家人一起生活则是温馨，快乐的。但是，现在单身主义到来了。单身贵族们年轻，漂亮，健康！现在，年轻人想过单身生活。
The booming economy means people are working harder than ever. And that doesn't leave much room for relationships. Pimpi Arroyo, a 35-year-old composer who lives alone in a house in Paris, says he hasn't got time to get lonely because he has too much work. "I have deadlines which would make life with someone else fairly difficult. "Only an ideal woman would make him change his lifestyle, he says. Kaufmann, author of a recent book called "The Single Woman and Prince Charming," thinks this fierce new individualism means that people expect more and more of mates, so relationships don't last long if they start at all. Eppendorf a blond Berliner with a deep tan, teaches grade school in the mornings. In the afternoon she sunbathes or sleeps, resting up for going dancing. Just shy of 50, she says she'd never have wanted to do what her mother did give up a career to raise a family. Instead, "I've always done what I wanted to do：live a self- determined life."
繁荣的经济意味着人们比以前工作更加辛苦了，这使得人们没有很多的交流时间。一位独居巴黎的35岁作曲家皮姆丕·阿洛伊说，他没有时间感受寂寞，因为工作太忙了。“我总是有完成工作的最后期限，这使得我很难和别人一起生活。”他说只有一位理想的女人才可能使他改变生活方式。考夫曼是
最近出版的《单身女人和白马王子》一书的作者，他认为这种强烈的新个人主义意味着人们对伴侣的期望值越来越高，因此他们的关系即使真正开始，也不会持久。艾本德是一位有着古铜色皮肤的金发柏林人，她上午在小学教书，下午晒日光浴或者睡觉，休息好了去跳舞。年近50的她，说她从来就没有想过要重蹈她母亲的覆辙——放弃事业而去养家。相反，她说：“我总是傲我想做的事情。我的生活我做主。”