双语精读 || 迎潮而上的未婚妈妈们

原文 ：China’s government wants citizens to have larger families. With just 12m babies born last year, the country’s birth rate was the lowest since 1978, according to recently released data. China’s fertility rate—the average number of children a woman is likely to have during her lifetime—is among the lowest in the world, at 1.3.

译文 ：中国政府希望公民拥有更庞大的家庭。最近公布的数据显示，去年中国新生儿数量仅为 1200 万，是 1978 年以来出生率最低的一年。中国的生育率（指一位女性一生中平均生育的孩子数量）为1.3，是世界上生育率最低的国家之一。

解读 ：总和生育率要达到2.1才能维持正常的代际更替。如果低于这个水平，那么一个国家的人口会越来越少。

原文 ：In May officials allowed couples to have three children, having previously limited most to two (a one-child policy was enforced, often brutally, from 1979 to 2016). Local governments are encouraging procreation with new support that includes longer parental leave and fatter subsidies.

译文 ：今年5月开始夫妇被允许生三个孩子，此前大多数被限制生两个（1979年至2016年，独生子女政策经常是被残酷地执行）。地方政府正在以新的政策支持鼓励生育，包括更长的育儿假和更丰厚的补贴。

解读 ：“procreation”的动词原形“procreate”是一个正式的用法，其英文释义为“to produce children or baby animals”，中文可理解为“生育”。

原文 ：Divorced or widowed mothers can claim these benefits, but those who have never married, including lesbians whose unions are not recognised in China, usually cannot. Worse, some of them face fines. In March Ms Zhang took Shanghai’s medical-insurance bureau to court to demand equal treatment. “This isn’t just about the money,” says the 38-year-old, who works in the city’s financial district. “It’s about the right to give birth.”

译文 ：离婚或丧偶的母亲同样可以获得这些福利，但那些从未结婚的母亲，包括在中国不被承认的女同性恋群体，通常无法获得。更糟糕的是，她们中的一部分人甚至面临罚款。今年 3 月，Zhang女士将上海市医疗保障局告上法庭，要求获得同等待遇。“这不仅仅是钱的问题，”这位在该市金融区工作的38岁女性说。“这关乎生育的权利。”

解读 ：我们看待很多问题，必须要把它放到特定的历史环境中去分析。历史环境变化，我们看到这些问题的立场也必然会随之变化。在2021年看待1971年开始的计划生育，如果用一个英文单词来形容，就是“anachronism”。

原文 ：China does not explicitly ban extramarital births. Its marriage law guarantees the same rights for children born out of wedlock as those born in it. Yet the family-planning law says that procreation involves “a husband and wife”. Local officials often take that to mean that unwed mothers are in violation of that legislation.

译文 ：中国并没有明确禁止婚外生育，其《婚姻法》保障非婚生子女享有与婚生子女同样的权利。然而《计划生育法》规定生育涉及“夫妻”。地方官员通常认为这意味着未婚妈妈违反了该项法律。

解读 ：文中的“born out of wedlock”其实是一个固定用法，其英文释义为“if a child is born out of wedlock, its parents are not married when it is born”，中文即“非婚生的”之意。

原文 ：In a wealthy city like Shanghai, lost benefits would range from 30,000 yuan ($4,700) to 120,000 yuan. Unmarried mothers sometimes have to pay the same “social maintenance fees” that are extracted from couples who have more children than allowed. The levies can add up to several years of working-class income.

译文 ：在像上海这样富裕的城市，损失的福利从 3 万元（ 4700 美元）到 12 万元不等。未婚母亲有时不得不支付同样的“社会抚养费”，这项费用是向超生的夫妇收取的。这些税收加起来相当于工薪阶层几年的收入。

解读 ：“社会抚养费”在20世纪80年代初期叫“超生罚款”；1992年改为“计划外生育费”；2000年改为“社会抚养费”。2021年7月20日，社会抚养费等制约措施被取消。文中的“add up to”是个固定用法，英文释义为“to produce a particular total or result”，中文可理解为“总计达”。