Many single people need help finding husbands or wives. Some people hire matchmakers. Others use computer dating services on the Internet. Now, at least two governments want to help their citizens tie the knot.
许多单身人士需要帮助来寻找丈夫或妻子。有些人雇佣媒人。其他人则使用互联网上的电脑红娘服务。现在，至少有两个政府希望帮助他们的公民促成姻缘。
One of them is the United States government The government in Washington gives each of the 50 states money to encourage marriage.The states are using it to persuade people that marriage is good. Some states are also offering classes on marriage. The government says that the future of the United States depends on strong families.However, its programs are not for all families. They are for one special group-the poor. They want to tell low-income people about the benefits of marriage. Some government officials argue that women with children should have husbands. If they have husbands, they will not need money from the government. Their husbands will work to earn money for their families. Some people are against government programs that promote marriage. They say that marriage is a private decision. They are also afraid that poor women might think they have to get married.
其中之一是美国政府。华盛顿政府拨款给其所有50个州以鼓励结婚。各州都在借此来劝说人们婚姻是美好的。一些州还开设了婚姻课程。政府表示，美国的未来取决于强大的家庭。但是，这个项目并非针对所有家庭。而是专门为一个特殊群体——穷人所准备的。他们想告诉低收入者婚姻的好处。一些政府官员认为，有孩子的妇女应该嫁人。如果他们有丈夫，他们就不再需要政府的钱。他们的丈夫将通过工作来为家人挣钱。一些人则反对政府提倡婚姻的做法。他们说结婚属于个人决定。他们还担心贫穷的女性可能会认为自己必须要结婚。
The American government is not the only one that is interested in marriage. The government of the tiny island nation of Singapore is spending money on marriage, too.Why is the government in Singapore interested in marriage? The government has noticed that women with college degrees often do not get married.Government officials think it is important for them to get married, so they have started a government dating service.The Social Development Unit(SDU)began in 1984.It organizes parties and trips for single people.It also teaches single people about marriage.The SDU says that 50,000 Singaporeans have met and married through this service.
美国政府并不是唯一一个对婚姻感兴趣的政府。像新加坡这种小岛屿国家的政府也在为结婚开销。新加坡政府为什么对婚姻感兴趣？他们已经注意到，那些拥有大学学位的女性通常不会选择结婚。政府官员认为结婚对他们来说至关重要，所以他们创办了一项由政府操办的交友服务。社会发展组（SDU）成立于1984年。它致力于为单身人士安排聚会与旅行。它还教会单身人士关于婚姻的知识。该组表示，已有50000名新加坡人通过这项服务认识彼此并喜结良缘。
And what do young Singaporeans think of the government dating services? Some of them are happy with it.Ms.Ralls-Tan says that the SDU helped her get married. She and her husband married two years ago.Today they have a six-month-old child.Others just laugh at it.“Single,desperate, and ugly" says a young woman at a local bar. Another says,“We're adults. And the government is not our parent.
新加坡的年轻人对政府的婚恋服务抱有什么看法呢？他们中的一些人对此很满意。罗尔斯·丹（Ralls-Tan）女士说，是社会发展组（SDU）帮助她结了婚。她和她丈夫两年前结的婚。如今，她们已育有一个六个月大的孩子了。其他人却只会嘲笑这一现象。就比如当地一家酒吧里的一位年轻女子所说：“单身，绝望，还很丑”。另一位说：“我们是成年人。政府又不是我们的父母。”
翻译：老戴
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