是的，他们是有一个孩子了​

如你所见，今日吃瓜。

我觉得微博应该改slogan：随时随地，发现新孩子！

⚠️还是那句话：理智吃瓜，学习为重。

借（cèng）此（gè）机（rè）会（diǎn），我们来看看经济学人（The Economist）的一篇文章，看看啥时候生孩子比较好？What's the best age to have a baby?

无注释原文：

What's the best age to have a baby?

The Economist

Babies are expensive – for women more than for men. The combination of maternity leave and childcare responsibilities, the burden of which, fairly or not, tends to fall on the mother, makes the career ladder dangerously greasy. A study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies showed that while the difference in wages between men and women was a mere crack in their 20s, it widened to a chasm in their 30s. Twelve years after their first child was born, British women are paid on average 33% less than men of the same age.

But while women may feel powerless to change childcare policy and entrenched social norms, they might be able to boost their earnings by waiting to conceive until they are more established in their careers. A study published in 2016 based on data from Denmark found that although all mothers experienced a short-term loss in earnings when they had a child, women who were 31 or older when they had their first baby had a higher lifetime income than women who had a baby before the age of 31. In fact, the study concluded that women who waited until 31 to have a child earned more over their entire careers than women without children.

The study’s authors suggest that older women, who tend to be more highly skilled, are harder to replace in the workplace – so companies may bend over backwards to support them. Older women may also be more attached to their careers, and less willing to give them up. And they tend to earn more so are better placed financially to offload their children on other people during the day.

Yet according to this study, there’s not much to be gained financially from delaying having children until after the age of 34. College-educated women who have their first child between the ages of 31 and 34 earn on average 13% more than women without children. However, women who have their first child between the ages of 34 and 37 earn only 2% more than women without children.

So, setting aside a couple of caveats – the researchers looked only at women with one child, and Denmark has generous childcare policies – the study implies that the best time, career-wise, to have your first child is between the ages of 31 and 34. Having a child before the age of 25 is particularly impoverishing: the study found that it reduces lifetime income by two years’ worth of earnings. The reason, the researchers suggest, is that people’s earnings these days are determined largely by their human capital, which accumulates at a higher rate when people are younger. So taking time off work in your 20s will have a bigger impact on earnings than taking time off in your 30s. That chimes with the researchers’ finding that college-educated women suffer the biggest disadvantage: they have the highest potential earnings, so their incomes are hit hardest by taking time off to have a baby in their 20s.

Given that female fertility is already declining by the age of 30 and the risk of conceiving a child with Down’s syndrome is rising, 31-34 seems the optimal age for a woman to produce her first child. But she should also consider the age of her partner. A recent study by Harvard Medical School found that there was a 62% drop in sperm supply between men in their early 30s and those in their early 40s, making conception harder. The reasons for the drop are not yet known, but it does suggest the pulling power of sugar daddies may be on the wane.

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注：中文文本为机器翻译仅供参考，并非一一对应

含注释全文：

What's the best age to have a baby?

The Economist

Babies are expensive – for women more than for men. The combination of maternity leave and childcare responsibilities, the burden of which, fairly or not, tends to fall on the mother, makes the career ladder dangerously greasy. A study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies showed that while the difference in wages between men and women was a mere crack in their 20s, it widened to a chasm in their 30s. Twelve years after their first child was born, British women are paid on average 33% less than men of the same age.

生孩子的费用很高 -- 对女性来说比对男性来说更高。产假和育儿责任相结合，无论公平与否，负担往往落在母亲身上，这使得职业发展阶梯变得危险而难以向上爬。财政研究所（Institute for Fiscal Studies）的一项研究表明，虽然男女之间的工资差异在20多岁时仅仅只是一条细缝，但在30多岁时却扩大为一条鸿沟。在第一个孩子出生12年后，英国女性的工资平均比同龄男性低33%。

maternity leave表示“产假”，英文解释为“a period of paid absence from work, in Britain currently six months, to which a woman is legally entitled during the months immediately before and after childbirth”。

对应的：

📍paternity leave表示“父亲享有的产假（陪护假/陪产假）”，英文解释为“If a man has paternity leave, his employer allows him some time off work because his child has just been born.”

表示“职业阶梯”，英文解释为“a series of jobs from the lower paid with less responsibility to the highest paid with the most responsibility within a company or particular profession”。

1）表示“油腻的”，英文解释为“(of food) cooked with too much oil”，如：greasy chips油腻的炸薯条；

2）表示“多油的；油污的；沾油脂的”，英文解释为“covered in a lot of grease or oil”，如：greasy fingers/marks/overalls沾满油脂的手指；油渍；满是油污的工作服；

3）表示“（头发或皮肤）油性的；多脂的”，英文解释为“(of hair or skin) producing too much natural oil”，如：long greasy hair油性长发。

📍有个说法叫the greasy pole字面意思就是充满油的杆子，言外之意，很滑，难以向上爬，此处文中make the career ladder dangerously greasy，让职业阶梯变得油滑（难以向上爬），可以猜到也是想要表达类似含义。而the greasy pole本身也可以指“涂油杆（到达专业之巅的艰难道路）；险峻的职业阶梯”（The route to advancement in one's place of employment or education, likened to a greased pole that is slippery and difficult to climb.）

Climbing the greasy pole

作名词，表示“裂缝，缝隙；裂口”，英文解释为“a very narrow space between parts of something”举个🌰：

We peered through the crack in the floorboards.

我们透过地板块之间的缝隙使劲看。

1）表示“（岩石、地面或冰面的）裂隙；峡谷；深渊”，英文解释为“a very deep, narrow opening in rock, ice, or the ground”举个🌰：

They leaned over the rails and peered down into the dizzying chasm below.

他们靠在栏杆上向下凝视令人眩晕的深渊。

2）表示“（两种观点或两个团体之间的）深刻分歧，显著差别”，英文解释为“a very large difference between two opinions or groups of people”举个🌰：

There is still a vast economic chasm between developed and developing countries.

发达国家和发展中国家之间仍然存在着巨大的经济差距。

But while women may feel powerless to change childcare policy and entrenched social norms, they might be able to boost their earnings by waiting to conceive until they are more established in their careers. A study published in 2016 based on data from Denmark found that although all mothers experienced a short-term loss in earnings when they had a child, women who were 31 or older when they had their first baby had a higher lifetime income than women who had a baby before the age of 31. In fact, the study concluded that women who waited until 31 to have a child earned more over their entire careers than women without children.

但是，虽然女性可能会感到无力改变育儿政策和根深蒂固的社会规范，但她们也许可以通过等她们在事业上更有地位时再怀孕，从而提高收入。2016年发表的一项基于丹麦（Denmark）数据的研究发现，虽然所有的母亲在生孩子时都会经历短期的收入损失，但生第一胎时年龄在31岁或以上的女性比31岁之前生孩子的女性一生收入更高。事实上，该研究认为，等到31岁才生孩子的女性在整个职业生涯中的收入要高于没有孩子的女性。

表示“牢固确立的；根深蒂固的；积重难返的”，英文解释为“Entrenched ideas are so fixed or have existed for so long that they cannot be changed.”举个🌰：

It's very difficult to change attitudes that have become so deeply entrenched over the years.

改变多年以来形成的根深蒂固的旧看法是很困难的。

🎬电影《别让我走》（Never Let Me Go）中的台词提到：The tide is with the entrenched mindset, with values that are still unexamined 他们固步自封 抱残守缺 坚守着未经证实的价值观。

表示“规范；行为标准”，英文解释为“standards of behaviour that are typical of or accepted within a particular group or society”，如：social/cultural norms 社会/文化规范。

1）conceive (of) sth (as sth)表示“想出（主意、计划等）；想象；构想；设想”，英文解释为“to form an idea, a plan, etc. in your mind; to imagine sth”举个🌰：

God is often conceived of as male.

上帝常常被想象为男性。

2）另一个含义表示“怀孕；怀（胎）”，英文解释为“When a woman conceives or conceives a child , she becomes pregnant”。

🎬电影《云图》（Cloud Atlas）中的台词提到：One may transcend any convention, if only one can first conceive of doing so. 一个人可以打破任何陈规，只要这个人能首先想到这样做。

🎬电影《最后的维加斯》（Last Vegas）中的台词提到：My brain cannot conceive how old this body is. 我的脑袋没办法接受老去的躯体。

🎵歌曲《A Better Way》中就有这么一句歌词：

I'll try

established 作形容词，可以表示“（因为优秀而）被认可的，著名的”，英文解释为“used for describing someone who is known for doing a job well, because they have been doing it for a long time”，如：an established artist/star 著名艺术家/明星。

The study's authors suggest that older women, who tend to be more highly skilled, are harder to replace in the workplace – so companies may bend over backwards to support them. Older women may also be more attached to their careers, and less willing to give them up. And they tend to earn more so are better placed financially to offload their children on other people during the day.

该研究的作者认为，年龄较大的女性，往往更老练，在职场上很难被取代--所以公司可能会竭尽全力支持她们。年龄较大的女性也可能对自己的事业比较上心，不太愿意放弃。而且她们往往赚得更多，所以在经济上更有优势，可以在白天把孩子推给别人来照料。

字面意思就是向后弯腰，表示“竭力，尽力，拼命”，英文解释为“to try very hard to do something”举个🌰：

I've been bending over backwards trying to help you, and this is all the thanks I get!

我一直在尽力帮助你，没想到这就是你对我的感谢！

offload sth/sb (on/onto sb)表示“把（担子等）转移（给别人）；减轻（负担）；卸（包袱）；卸去（累赘）；把（不想要的东西转移（给别人）”，英文解释为“to get rid of something that you do not want by giving it to someone else”举个🌰：

I managed to offload some of our old furniture onto a friend who just bought a house.

我已把我们的一些旧家具给了我一位刚买了房的朋友。

Yet according to this study, there's not much to be gained financially from delaying having children until after the age of 34. College-educated women who have their first child between the ages of 31 and 34 earn on average 13% more than women without children. However, women who have their first child between the ages of 34 and 37 earn only 2% more than women without children.

然而根据这项研究，推迟到34岁以后再生孩子，在经济上并没有什么好处。受过大学教育的女性，如果在31岁到34岁之间生第一个孩子，平均收入比没有孩子的女性高出13%。然而，在34岁至37岁之间生第一个孩子的女性，其收入只比没有孩子的妇女多2%。

So, setting aside a couple of caveats – the researchers looked only at women with one child, and Denmark has generous childcare policies – the study implies that the best time, career-wise, to have your first child is between the ages of 31 and 34. Having a child before the age of 25 is particularly impoverishing: the study found that it reduces lifetime income by two years' worth of earnings.

因此，撇开几个注意事项--研究人员只研究了有一个孩子的女性，而且丹麦有丰厚的育儿政策--这项研究意味着，从职业角度来说，生第一个孩子的最佳时间是31岁到34岁之间。在25岁之前生孩子尤其会让人穷困潦倒：研究发现，这将使一生的收入减少大概两年所赚的钱。

1）表示“把…搁在一边；暂缓处理”，英文解释为“to ignore or not think about a particular fact or situation while considering a matter”举个🌰：

Setting aside the question of cost, what do you think of the idea in principle?

先把成本问题搁在一边，理论上讲你觉得这个意见怎样？

2）表示“拨出，留出（金钱或时间）”，英文解释为“to save something, usually money or time, for a special purpose”举个🌰：

I set aside half an hour every evening to learn Japanese.

我每天晚上都留出半个小时学日语。

He had some money in an account that he'd set aside for his kids.

他为孩子们存了一笔钱。

📍纽约时报（The New York Times）一篇讲述我们需要感恩，但不一定在感恩节的文章中提到：After all, if there’s a day on which the benefits of gratitude are maximized, surely it’s the national holiday set aside for the purpose of expressing that emotion. 毕竟，如果某一天感恩的好处被最大化，那这一天一定会是为了表达这种感情而专门设置的国家节日。

3）表示“撤销，驳回（判决）”，英文解释为“If a judge or court sets aside a previous decision or judgment, they state that it does not now have any legal effect, usually because they consider it to have been wrong.”举个🌰：

The Court of Appeal set aside his conviction.

上诉法院撤销了对他的判决。

📍还是纽约时报（The New York Times）一篇讲述孙杨禁赛八年裁决被撤销的文章中提到：The global antidoping body said in an emailed statement that it was aware of the Swiss federal court's decision to set aside Sun's ban. 全球反兴奋剂机构在一份电子邮件声明中表示，它已悉知瑞士联邦法院撤销孙杨禁赛令的决定。

caveat /ˈkeɪvɪˌæt/ 表示“警告；提醒；告诫；限制条款”，英文解释为“A caveat is a warning of a specific limitation of something such as information or an agreement.”举个🌰：

There was one caveat: ....

提醒一下：...。

表示“使贫困，使赤贫”，英文解释为“Something that impoverishes a person or a country makes them poor.”举个🌰：

We need to reduce the burden of taxes that impoverish the economy.

我们需要减少使经济贫困的租税负担。

The reason, the researchers suggest, is that people's earnings these days are determined largely by their human capital, which accumulates at a higher rate when people are younger. So taking time off work in your 20s will have a bigger impact on earnings than taking time off in your 30s. That chimes with the researchers' finding that college-educated women suffer the biggest disadvantage: they have the highest potential earnings, so their incomes are hit hardest by taking time off to have a baby in their 20s.

研究人员认为，原因是25岁之前人们的收入主要是由人力资本（human capital）决定的，而人力资本在人们年轻时的积累速度更高。因此，20多岁时请假对收入的影响会比30多岁时请假更大。这与研究人员的发现不谋而合，受过大学教育的女性遭遇的劣势最大：她们的潜在收入最高，所以20多岁请假生孩子对她们的收入打击最大。

表示“与…相一致（或相似）”，英文解释为“to agree with sth; to be similar to sth”举个🌰：

His opinions chimed in with the mood of the nation.

他的主张与国民的心态相吻合。

Given that female fertility is already declining by the age of 30 and the risk of conceiving a child with Down's syndrome is rising, 31-34 seems the optimal age for a woman to produce her first child. But she should also consider the age of her partner. A recent study by Harvard Medical School found that there was a 62% drop in sperm supply between men in their early 30s and those in their early 40s, making conception harder. The reasons for the drop are not yet known, but it does suggest the pulling power of sugar daddies may be on the wane.

鉴于女性生育率在30岁时已经在下降，而怀上唐氏综合症（Down's syndrome）孩子的风险也在上升，31-34岁似乎是女性生育第一个孩子的最佳年龄。但女性也应该考虑伴侣的年龄。哈佛大学医学院最近的一项研究发现，30岁出头的男性和40岁出头的男性之间的精子供应量下降了62%，使受孕变得更加困难。目前还不知道下降的原因，但这确实说明“干爹”的吸引力可能正在减弱。

表示“吸引力，魅力”，英文解释为“the ability to attract people”举个🌰：

Although she hasn't made a movie for four years, her pulling power is as great as ever.

尽管她有4年没拍电影了，但魅力仍然不减当年。

表示“老色鬼，甜爹”，可以理解为中文的“干爹”，英文解释为“a rich and usually older man who buys presents for or gives money to a younger person, especially a woman, usually so that the younger person will spend time with him and have a sexual relationship with him”。

表示“（权力、人气等）衰落，减弱”，英文解释为“becoming less strong, powerful, popular, etc.”举个🌰：

There are signs that support for the company is on the wane.

有迹象表明该公司的支持率正日益下降。

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