《辛普森一家》播了20多年，在美国家喻户晓——这部成年人的动画，在很多细节都体现了现代生活的智慧。不过都有哪些方面呢？

1. Loneliness among the elderly
老年人的孤独

The problem: More than a quarter of people over 65 who live alone are lonely.
问题：四分之一65岁以上独自生活的老年人感到孤独。

Homer says: "Old people don't need companionship."
霍默说：“老年人不需要陪伴。”

2. Being a man
成为男人

The problem: There is a "crisis in modern masculinity", with men failing to cope with personal and professional pressures.
问题：有个短语“现代男性的危机”，指的是男人们难以应对个人和职业压力。

Homer says: "The code of the schoolyard, Marge! The rules that teach a boy to be a man. Let's see. Don't tattle. Always make fun of those different from you. Never say anything, unless you're sure everyone feels exactly the same way you do."
霍默说：“校园规矩啊，玛姬！教男孩成为男人的规则！咱们就说说吧：不能说闲话；一定要戏弄那些和你不一样的人；除非你确定每个人都和你有同感，否则啥也别说。”

3. Coping with pressure
应对压力

The problem: Research found that four in five 18 to 34-year-old men put on a brave face when they are anxious. Repressing those feelings won't help anyone.
问题：研究表明五分之四18至34岁的男人会在感到焦虑时做出勇敢的表情，但压抑那些感觉对谁都没好处。

Homer says: "Just squeeze your rage up into a bitter little ball and release it at an appropriate time, like that day I hit the referee with the whisky bottle."
霍默说：“你就把愤怒挤进一个令人感到痛苦的小球中，然后再在合适的时间释放出来，就像那天我拿威士忌瓶子打裁判那样。”

4. Young people
年轻人

The problem: A controversial one, this, but there is no denying that many young people feel that the future they wanted has been prevented by older generations.
问题：这一点是有争议的，但不可否认的是：很多年轻人感觉老一代阻碍了他们得到自己想要的未来。

Homer says: "I believe that children are our future. Unless we stop them now."
霍默说：“我相信孩子是我们的未来，但如果我们现在阻止他们就另当别论了。”

5. Diversity
多样性

The problem: Hate crimes against ethnic minorities in the UK leapt by more than 40 per cent in the month following the EU referendum.
问题：脱欧公投之后的那个月，英国针对少数族裔的仇视性犯罪大幅增加了逾40个百分点。

Homer says: "I'm a white male, age 18 to 49. Everyone listens to me, no matter how dumb my suggestions are."
霍默说：“我是一位白人男性，年龄在18至49岁之间。每个人都听我的，不论我的建议有多愚蠢。”

6. Politics
政治

The problem: We are so far beyond telling the truth in politics that Oxford Dictionaries has announced a joint US-UK word of the year: "post-truth".
问题：我们在政治中说的真话太少了，以至于牛津词典宣布今年的年度词汇是一个既英式又美式的单词：“后真相”。

Homer says: "People can come up with statistics to prove anything. Fourteen per cent of all people know that."
霍默说：“人们可以通过数据证明任何事情，14%的人都知道这点。”

7. Working life
工作

The problem: It was warned last year that a slump in productivity over the summer months could cost the private sector £8bn each year. The price of laziness is not to be sniffed at.
问题：夏季生产力骤降能让私营企业每年多花费80亿英镑，去年公布的这个数据向人们发出了警告，偷懒的代价不容小觑。

Homer says: "Lisa, if you don't like your job don't strike. Just go in every day and do it really half-assed."
霍默说：“丽莎，如果你不喜欢自己的工作，不要去罢工，只要每天去上班，每天干一半活就好了。”

8. Fatherhood
父爱

The problem: Piling pressure on children can be both debilitating and damaging.
问题：孩子身上的压力越来越大，既令人疲乏不堪，又对孩子造成伤害。

Homer says: "OK, son. Just remember to have fun out there today. And if you lose, I'll kill you."
霍默说：“好的，儿子，今天只要记住好好玩就行了。如果你输了，我就杀了你。”

9. Marriage
婚姻

The problem: Figures released earlier this month showed that women do 60 per cent more unpaid household work than men. Women still spend twice as much time in the kitchen as men, and around two hours more per week on laundry.
问题：本月早些时候公布的数据显示，女性做的无偿家务比男性多60%。女性在厨房里的时间是男性的两倍，每周用于洗衣服的时间也比男性多出约两个小时。

Homer says: "Marge, I'm going to miss you so much. And it's not just the sex. It's also the food preparation."
霍默说：“玛姬，我会非常想念你的，不仅是性爱的缘故，还想念你做的食物。”

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