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本帖最后由 woikuraki 于 2012-3-31 23:24 编辑
【中文标题】龙年即将迎来婴儿潮
【原文标题】The Year of the Dragon is also the Year of the Baby
【登载媒体】洛杉矶时报
【来源地址】http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dragon-babies-20120207,0,3810249.story
【译者】花落无声
【翻译方式】人工
【声明】欢迎转载，请务必注明译者和出处 bbs.m4.cn。
【原文库链接】http://bbs.m4.cn/forum.php?mod=v ... 9&page=1#pid5562145
【译文】
Many Asian American families are preparing to grow in the Year of the Dragon, which according to centuries-old tradition is a particularly promising year to have a child.
许多亚裔美国家庭都准备着在龙年添丁，根据几个世纪以来的传统，龙年是添丁的极好年份。
The dragon dance celebrates the lunar new year at Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, one of the largest Buddhist monasteries in the United States. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times / January 23, 2012)
图片：哈仙达岗的西来寺中庆祝春节的舞龙，西来寺是美国最大的佛教寺院之一。
Taiko and Gemma Chen may not celebrate all 15 days of the lunar new year, nor do they believe they are sweeping away prosperity by cleaning the house. But there is one centuries-old tradition the Asian American couple still swears by: having a baby in the Year of the Dragon, considered the most auspicious year in the 12-year zodiac cycle.
Taiko Chen和Gemma Chen可能不会庆祝春节整整15天，他们也不相信打扫房子会扫走财运。然而有一个持续几个世纪的传统是亚裔美国夫妇还在相信的：要在龙年生子，因为龙年是12生肖年里最吉利的一个。
"We're both dragons ourselves," said Gemma Chen, "so three dragons in the family would be really, really lucky. And we're 36, so we can't wait another 12 years.
“我们自己都是属龙的。” Gemma Chen说，“所以要是我们家有三条龙，这会真的真的非常吉利。我们已经36岁了，不能再等12年了。”
In Chinese, Vietnamese and other Asian communities across the world, it is widely accepted as fact that each dragon year brings a new wave of dedicated families eager for a "dragon baby." Every 12 years, media in China and southeast Asia report a surge in birthrates, with some maternity wards limiting the number of patients they accept for the year.
在中国、越南和世界上其他的亚洲社会中，很多人都承认这个事实：每一个龙年都会有新一波专注的家庭渴望要一个“龙宝宝”。每12年，中国和东南亚的媒体都会报道出生率的激增，还有一些产科病房限制本年度接待患者的数量。
Even in the United States, the allure of the dragon baby still holds for many families.
即使在美国，龙宝宝对很多家庭还是有着诱惑力。
"We've had a 250% increase in Chinese, Vietnamese clients in the last two months," said Kathryn Kaycoff Manos, co-founder of Global IVF and Agency for Surrogacy Solutions in Los Angeles.
“过去两个月里，我们接待的华裔和越南裔客户增加了250%。” 位于洛杉矶的全球体外授精及代孕机构创始人之一Kathryn Kaycoff Manos说。
Kaycoff Manos said she had never seen a cultural trend like this before.
Kaycoff Manos说她以前从没看到过任何一个文化趋向像这个一样。
"When I met a client about a year ago, they told us, 'We only want a baby in the Year of the Dragon,'" she said. "We sort of put that on the back burner, but suddenly we were getting all these phone calls from Asian clients. At first we thought it was because the economy was getting better. Now we understand."
“大概一年前我遇到一对客户，他们告诉我们，‘我们只想要一个龙年出生的孩子’。”她说。“我们有点把这个放在了次要位置，但是突然间我们接到了所有那些从亚洲客户那儿打来的电话。一开始我们以为是因为经济在复苏的缘故。现在我们明白了。”
Obstetricians and fertility centers in Greater Los Angeles, particularly in the San Gabriel Valley, have also noted an increasing number of Asian American patients planning to have babies this year.
大洛杉矶地区（尤其是圣盖博谷）的产科医师和生育中心也提到了计划在今年要孩子的亚裔美国患者数量增加了。
Some centers have found ways to prepare specifically for the dragon baby boom.
一些中心已经找到了专门为龙年婴儿潮做准备的方法。
Kaycoff Manos' company created the Dragon Baby Special, a personalized service that helps Chinese clients deliver babies in time through in vitro fertilization or surrogacy, connecting with bilingual fertility clinics and hiring Chinese translators.
Kaycoff Manos的公司推出了“龙宝宝特礼”，这是一项个性化服务，通过体外授精或代孕来帮助华裔客户及时生下孩子，和双语生育诊所有联系，并且雇用中文翻译。
Gemma Chen said she was at a good point in her career as a pharmacist and began planning in October for a child. The superstitious couple from Temple City asked that they be identified by their nicknames because they did not want to jinx the pregnancy. She hopes that her dragon baby, due in late fall, will be born with the brightest future possible.
Gemma Chen说她作为药剂师的事业正处于很好的状态，她在10月开始计划生子。这对来自天普市的迷信夫妇要求用绰号称呼他们，以免给怀孕过程带来不祥。她希望自己将在深秋出生的龙宝宝生来就有着尽可能明朗的未来。
"A lot of times, when we look at successful people — co-workers, friends — they tend to be dragons," her husband said. "Who knows if it's coincidence."
“很多时候我们看成功人士——比如同事或者朋友——他们都倾向于是属龙的人。”她的丈夫说。“谁知道这是不是巧合。”
Although most ancient superstitions have disappeared from the conscience of second- and third-generation Asian Americans, the belief that the Year of the Dragon is lucky has persisted.
尽管大部分古老的迷信都从第二代或第三代亚裔美国人的头脑中消失了，龙年是吉利的这个信念却一直留了下来。
The dragon legend has remained consistent and has been passed down since early in Asian history, said Rick Chiu, a cultural presenter at the American Hakka Center in El Monte.
龙的传说始终如一，从亚洲历史的早期传下来，Rick Chiu说，他是位于艾尔蒙特市的美国客家中心的一名文化交流大使。
"It's one of the few unifying stories in all of Asia," he said in Mandarin. "China, Vietnam, Korea — there are political and geographic differences today, but the deep cultural history is all the same."
“这是为数不多的在整个亚洲都一致的故事之一。”他用普通话说。“中国、越南、两韩，在今天他们之间有着政治和地理上的差异，但是深入的文化历史都是相同的。”
According to legend, the wife of the earliest emperor could not carry a child. She finally gave birth to a son who was a descendant of the dragon, brought to Earth to rule mankind. From then on, all people in the ancient Chinese kingdom considered themselves children of the dragon.
根据传说，最早的皇帝的妻子不能怀孕。她最终生下了一个是龙的后代的儿子，他是被带到人间去统治人类的。从那时起，所有古代中国的人都认为自己是龙的子孙。
"Because of these roots, the dragon is considered to be a symbol of royalty, of power, of the most successful," Chiu said. "Up until about 100 years ago, only the emperor's circle could wear dragon embroidery and have the word dragon in their name. Otherwise, execution. Every Chinese word for an emperor's possessions — dragon chair, dragon cup, dragon boat — is associated."
“因为这些根源，龙被认为是皇室、权力和成功的标志。” Chiu说。“仅仅大概100年前，还只有皇族可以穿带龙纹刺绣的衣服，或者在名字有龙。（注：这事貌似不是吧亲？我怎么记得古人好多都有龙字的啊- -。。。）违反了这些的话会被处决。每一个皇帝财产的中文词语——龙椅、龙杯、龙舟——都是和龙有关联的。（注：话说龙舟不是只有皇帝才能用吧啊喂- -。。。。赛龙舟的好吗。。。）”
Long, the Chinese character for dragon, is so deeply integrated into the language, Chiu said, that Chinese-speakers subconsciously internalize the importance of the dragon whenever they say everyday proverbs.
Long，中文的龙，和中文是如此深地联系在一起，Chiu说，以至于说中文的人在说日常谚语的时候会下意识地将龙的重要性内化。
The dragon is also the only mythical creature in the Asian zodiac, a cycle that features 12 animals that embody unique characteristics — a dog is shy but loyal; a tiger aggressive and difficult to get along with. The dragon can swim and fly, traversing the seas as well as heaven. This symbolizes a life with no obstacles.
龙也是亚洲生肖里唯一一个神话生物，生肖是12个代表不同性格的动物，比如狗是羞涩但是忠诚的，虎是有攻击性、不好相处的。龙可以游泳和飞翔，可以穿越海洋和天空。这象征着毫无障碍的人生。
Parents hope a dragon baby will have a better chance of becoming a leader, a modern-day emperor. The child's success in turn brings good fortune to the entire family.
父母希望龙宝宝会有着更好的机会成为领导人——现代的皇帝。当然孩子的成功会给整个家族带来好运。
One first-generation Vietnamese couple from Monrovia did not devotedly follow the zodiac, even though their parents consulted the almanac before their wedding to ensure that their signs, dog and rooster, were compatible.
一对来自蒙罗维亚的第一代越南夫妻并没有一心一意地跟随生肖，虽然他们的父母在他们结婚前查了历书来保证他们的生肖——狗和鸡——是匹配的。
But they are now believers. The couple, who also feared publicity would be bad luck for the pregnancy, asked not to be named. The 42-year-old wife said she has tried for 14 years to have a baby, resulting in 10 miscarriages.
但他们现在相信了。这对也害怕公开会给怀孕过程带来厄运的夫妻要求不署名。这位42岁的妻子说她已经试了14年想要一个孩子，但只得到10次流产。
"Every specialist had given up," she said, "but we are finally having a baby through a surrogate. When everything fell into place, it happened to be in a dragon year.
“所有专家都放弃了，”她说，“但是我们最终会通过代孕得到一个孩子。当每件事都落实好的时候，正好是在龙年。”
"Everything is now more perfect," she said. "It's lucky for us. It makes us feel more hope for the baby."
“现在每件事都更完美了，”她说，“这对我们来说是幸运的。这让我们对这个孩子有了更多的希望。”
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狗仔卡
发表于 2012-2-7 13:14
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