Game of Thrones and other addictive box sets are preventing British couples having as much sex as they did in the past, a Cambridge University statistician has warned. |
劍橋大學的統計學家警告稱，《權力的游戲》等讓人上癮的劇集系列使英國夫妻之間的性生活減少。

David Spiegelhalter, a professor of the Public Understanding of Risk, said the trend in declining sex rates over the last 30 years was ‘very worrying.’
大衛?斯皮格豪特是公眾風險認識部門的教授，他表示，在過去30年，英國人性生活比率下降的趨勢“非常令人擔憂”。

In 1990 couples had sex around five times a month, but now it is just three times, a 40 percent decrease in just 20 years. If currents trends continue couples would not be having sex at all by 2030.
在1990年，一對夫妻每月大約有五次性生活，但現在只是三次，短短20年間跌幅達40％。如果現在的趨勢繼續發展，到2030年英國的夫妻將不會再有性生活。

Previously researchers have warned that couples are killing the mood by bringing their iPads to bed. But Prof Speigelhalter said it was the rise of ‘massive connectivity’ embodied by Netflix, smartphones and box-sets which meant people never needed to be bored.
此前研究人員警告說，夫妻把iPad帶到床上的這種行為非常“掃興”。不過斯皮格豪特教授說，原因在于網飛公司、智能手機以及系列劇集所呈現的“大量連接”的興起，這意味著人們永遠不會覺得無聊。

Speaking at the Hay Festival, Prof Speigelhalter said: “How many times have you had sex in the last four weeks? You can start seeing the changes in society.
斯皮格豪特教授在海伊文學節上說：“在過去四周你有多少次性生活？你可以開始看到社會發生的變化”。

“People are having less sex. Sexually active couples between 16 and 64 were asked and the median was five times in the last month in 1990, then four times in 2000 and three times in 2010.
“人們現在的性生活次數比以前少。 我們對16歲至64歲之間性生活活躍的夫婦進行訪問，1990年上個月性生活次數的中位數是五次，2000年是四次，2010年是三次。”

“At this rate by 2030 couples are not going to be having any sex at all. Which is a very worrying trend.
“按照這個速度，到2030年夫妻之間將不會有任何性生活。 這個趨勢非常令人擔憂。”

“You say why? Statisticians say I don’t know. One of the researchers mentioned the word iPad. I think it’s the box set, Netflix. OMG I’ve got to watch the entire second series of Game of Thrones.
“你問為什么？ 統計學家說，我不知道。其中一名研究人員提到iPad。 我認為是因為系列劇集、網飛公司。 哦，天吶，我已經看完了《權力的游戲》第二季的全部劇集。”

“The point is that this massive connectivity, the constant checking of our phones compared to just a few years ago when TV closed down at 10.30pm or whatever and there was nothing else to do. Even power cuts which helps. Now people are having less sex and it’s true.”
“關鍵在于，現在有了這種‘大量連接’，我們一直不斷查看自己的手機。而就在幾年前，電視臺晚上10點半就基本停播了等等，沒有什么其他事情可做。甚至停電也有幫助。現在人們的性生活減少，這是真的。“

Prof Speigelhalter also said that couples who had sex more often were more likely to have boys, because statistics showed that getting pregnant earlier in a woman’s ovulation cycle favoured male children.
斯皮格豪特教授還說，有更多性生活的夫妻更有可能生男孩，因為統計數據顯示，在女性的排卵周期早期懷孕有利于生男孩。

It is why there is often a big surge in the birth of boys at the end of wars when soldiers return home and are having increasing amounts of sex.
這就是為什么在戰爭結束時男嬰的出生率激增，因為士兵回家后性生活次數增加。

“When are more boys born? End of wars. More boys are born when people are having more sex,” said Prof Spiegelhalter.?
“什么時候出生的男孩多？ 戰爭結束后。當人們有更多的性生活時，會生育更多的男孩。”斯皮格豪特教授說。

“If you’re having a lot of sex then it’s more likely you’ll get pregnant before the time of peak fecundity.
“如果你的性生活次數很多，那么你更可能在生育力高峰前懷孕。”

“There is some evidence from animals that there is a very small increased chance of having a boy if you conceive earlier. Don’t use this choice as a sex choice method, it only works at population level.
“有一些來自動物的證據表明，如果你懷孕越早，生出男孩的幾率會稍高。不要以此作為選擇嬰兒性別的方法，它只有在種群水平上才有效。”

Fertility rates rose in Britain at the end of the Second World War until the invention of the contraceptive pill, at which time they began to fall dramatically.
英國的生育率在第二次世界大戰結束時上漲，直到避孕藥發明后，生育率開始大幅下降。

There was an unexpected peak in 1973, which Professor Spiegelhalter said might be to do with the 1973 oil crisis when the Ted Heath government instigated a three-day week to save fuel and power cuts were common.
在1973年有一個意想不到的生育高峰期，對此斯皮格豪特教授說，這可能與1973年的石油危機有關，泰德?希思政府發起每周工作三天的運動以節省燃料，那時拉閘限電是很常見的。

Vocabulary

fecundity：生育力，繁殖力
conceive：懷孕

英文來源：每日電訊報
翻譯：朱善美
編審：yaning