《中英對照讀新聞》107-year-old virgin attributes long life to no sex 107歲處女將長壽歸因於沒性愛

◎陳成良

Over the years many a centenarian has delivered their secret for a long life. Not smoking, daily exercise, moderate drinking, being married （and sometimes not being married） have all had their champions.

過去這些年，許多百歲人瑞都發表過長壽的秘訣。不抽菸、每天運動、飲酒適度、結婚（某些例子保持未婚），都有擁護者。

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But a woman celebrating her 107th birthday says that celibacy has been the key to her long life.

但一名慶祝107歲生日的女性表示，獨身一直是她長壽的秘訣。

Miss Meadmore, of Truro, Cornwall, who remembers the Titanic sinking and the start of the First World War, said that in her youth in the 20s and 30s having sex meant getting married.

家住康瓦爾郡特魯羅市、至今仍記得鐵達尼號沉沒以及第一次世界大戰爆發的蜜德摩小姐表示，在她20、30歲的年輕歲月時，性愛等於結婚。

She didn’t want to settle down and rejected several marriage proposals. Miss Meadmore said：“People have asked whether I am a homosexual and the answer is no.”

她不想定下來，並拒絕好幾次求婚。蜜德摩小姐說：「有人問我是不是同性戀者，我的答案是否定的。」

“I have just never been interested in or fancied having sex. I’ve always had lots of platonic friendships with men but never felt the need to go further than that or marry.”

「我只不過是對性愛從不感興趣也不喜歡。我向來有不少維持柏拉圖式友誼的男性朋友，但從不覺得需進一步發展或結婚。」

Miss Meadmore says she has always been too busy for relationships and thought of physical intimacy as a ’hassle’.

蜜德摩小姐說，她一直都沒時間談戀愛，也認為肌膚之親是「麻煩」。

新聞辭典

celibacy：名詞，（尤指修道者立下宗教誓約而遵守的）獨身生活；禁慾。例句：Catholic priests take a vow of celibacy.（天主教神父發誓不結婚。）

settle down： 片語，文中指安定下來；也可指「舒適地躺下」。例句： He settled down in his armchair to read a new novel.（他安閒地坐在扶手椅上閱讀一本新小說。）

hassle：名詞，麻煩。例句：It was a real hassle to apply for the insurance money.（申請保險金實在是一件麻煩事。）