疫情期間，越來越多的單身人士萌生成家念頭，日本的婚介產業蓬勃發展。此次疫情或將改善日本下滑的結婚率，但該勢頭究竟能夠持續多久就很難說了。
這篇文章刊登在《經濟學人》2020年6月6日這一期，感興趣的同學可以參照下方原文進行閱讀。文章一共六段，今天我們選取其中四段進行講解，分別對應原文的第1、2、3、6段。
·註：本文原文摘選字The Economist (JUNE 6TH–12TH 2020 | Asia)，原文版權歸雜誌所有，僅供個人學習交流使用。
今日重點：
重點單詞:knot, beget, rendezvous, rush, altar, shrine, spike...
重點短語:tie the knot, go/walk down the aisle, get hitched, coop up...
第一段以佑都為例，引出主題：疫情促使日本人尋找結婚伴侶。
【Para.1】
He had always imagined he would get married someday. Then covid-19 hit. Yuto (not his real name), a 31-year-old hotel employee from the southern city of Kumamoto, found himself confined to his home, alone. He decided to accelerate his wedding plans, and signed up for an online match-making service to find the love of his life—fast.
knot n. a join made by tying together two pieces or ends of string, rope, etc.
（用繩索等打的）結
to tie a knot 打結
to tie the (marriage) knot
引申為結緣；結婚（永結同心；喜結連理）
Len tied the knot with Kate five years ago.
萊恩5年前和凱特結婚了。
After dating for five years, we finally decided to tie the knot.
我們在一起五年了，準備結婚。
Let’s tie the knot (let’s get married).
我們結婚吧。
除了get married/tie the knot表達結婚，我們還可以說：
（1）go/walk down the aisle
aisle是「走道、通道」的意思，結婚時新人會走過一個通道。
She became a mother within a year of walking down the aisle.
她結婚一年就做了媽媽。
（2）get hitched
They got hitched last Sunday.
他們上周日結的婚。
beget v. To beget something means to cause it to happen or be created.
招致；導致；引起
Poverty begets debt...
窮則債聚。
Violence begets more violence.
暴力招致暴力。
match-making n. the arranging of marriages or initiation of romantic relationships between others
做媒; 牽線搭橋
matchmaker 媒人
本段參考譯文：31歲的佑都(化名)來自日本南部城市熊本，是一名酒店職員，一直設想自己大概會在未來的某一天結婚。但隨後發生了新冠疫情。他突然發現自己囿於家中，形單影隻；於是決定加快自己的結婚計劃，並註冊了一個在線相親服務平臺，以便能快速找到他的終生伴侶。
第二段指出對此，不少婚介公司推出了無需接觸的約會項目。
【Para.2】
Yuto is not alone. Since the pandemic broke out, more Japanese singles have been on the hunt for spouses. Sunmarie, a match-making agency, reported a 30% rise in inquiries in April compared with the year before. Both Sunmarie and O-net, a rival agency, have tried to adapt to the times, offering an online rendezvous service since early April, when the government began curbing gatherings in much of the country. LMO, another firm, offers drive-through meetings, in which singletons can introduce themselves from their cars, in the empty car parks of wedding halls.
spouse n. ( formal or law 律 ) a husband or wife 配偶
At the last minute, I threw them a curve ball by saying, 'We're going to bring spouses'.
在最後一刻，我給他們出了一個難題，說：「我們要帶家屬來。」
He would eventually become a dutiful spouse.
他最終會成為一位盡責的丈夫。
rendezvous n. /ˈrɑːndeɪvuː/ ~ (with sb) an arrangement to meet sb at a particular time and place 約會
We have a rendezvous for next week, don't we?
我們下周有個約會，是不是？
singleton n. a person who is not married or in a romantic relationship
單身男子（或女子）
Bank is a 38-year-old singleton who grew up in Philadelphia.
班克是一名38歲的單身漢，在費城長大。
本段參考譯文：而且佑都並非個例。自大流行爆發以來，越來越多日本單身人士開始尋找結婚對象。婚介機構Sunmarie報告稱，4月份的婚姻問詢數量比去年同期增長了30%。不管是Sunmarie，還是它的競爭對手O-net都在努力適應眼下的局勢。自4月初日本政府開始在國內大部分地區限制集會以來，它們就推出了在線約會服務。另一家婚介公司LMO也推出免下車相親項目——單身男女們可以把車停在空無一人的婚禮大廳，在車裡作自我介紹。
Cooped up in their homes alone for an extended period, singles are getting lonely—hence the surge in business for match-makers, explains Amano Kanako of NLI Research Institute, a think-tank. With covid-19 dominating the news, lonely hearts are also increasingly anxious about the future: they want a partner with whom to face the unknown. 「Those who vaguely thought about getting married one day are realising that the time is now,」 says Kobayashi Jun of Seikei University.
coop up v. [ usually passive ] If you are cooped up somewhere, you are in a small, closed space from which you cannot escape, or you feel as if you are.
把…關（或禁錮）起來；拘禁
I hate being cooped up inside working when it's a sunny day outside.
我討厭在外面陽光燦爛的時候自己只能在室內工作。
句子分析：
原文：Cooped up in their homes alone for an extended period, singles are getting lonely—hence the surge in business for match-makers, explains Amano Kanako of NLI Research Institute, a think-tank.
本段參考譯文：來自智庫機構—NLI研究所的天野加奈子解釋說，單身人士長時間獨自呆在家裡，會感到越來越孤獨；因而婚介業務出現激增。此外，隨著新冠報導鋪天蓋地，單身者們也越來越擔心未來：他們想要有個伴侶來一起面對未知。成蹊大學的小林淳談道:「那些對婚姻只有粗略計劃的人們逐步意識到，現在是時候結婚了。」
第六段指出結婚率很快就會回到原先的軌道上去。
【Para.6】
Yuto from Kumamoto is already thinking about settling down with a 43-year-old Tokyoite he met online two months ago. Yet the rush to the altar (or shrine) may be short-lived. After the spike of 2012, there were 8,200 fewer weddings in 2013.
Tokyoite n. /'təukjəuait/ 東京人
rush n. The rush is a period of time when many people go somewhere or do something. 高峰期
早高峰：the morning rush hour
晚高峰：the evening rush hour
春運：Spring Festival travel rush/Spring Festival travel season
Chunyun, or Spring Festival travel rush is the largest human migration on earth happening annually.
春運是每年最大規模的人類遷徙。
The shop's opening coincided with the Christmas rush.
這家商店的開張正趕上聖誕節購物高峰。
gold rush 淘金熱
altar n. a holy table in a church or temple （教堂、廟宇的）聖壇，祭壇，祭臺
the high altar (= the most important one in a particular church) 教堂正祭臺
The altar was flanked by two Christmas trees
聖壇兩側是兩棵聖誕樹。
shrine n. A shrine is a place of worship which is associated with a particular holy person or object. 聖地;聖祠;神廟;神龕
At the shrine of the god there were offerings, libations and incense.
神殿裡供奉著犧牲、鬯酒和貢香。
spike n. (informal) (especially NAmE) a sudden large increase in sth 猛增；急升
a spike in oil prices 油價的急劇上漲
The US dollar spiked to a three-month high.
美元猛然升值到三個月來的最高價。
本段參考譯文：熊本市的佑都已經在考慮和他兩個月前在網上認識的一個43歲的東京人安定下來。然而，這股湧向結婚殿堂的熱潮可能很快就會退去。在2012年的結婚熱後，2013年舉行的婚禮一下子減少了8200場。
今天的講解就到這裡啦。已經陸陸續續進入開學周啦，大家是不是還停留在假期的安逸當中呢？趕緊調整好狀態，迎接新學期叭~
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