還記得當初楊振寧教授與翁帆的忘年戀引起的軒然大波嗎？有那么多不解和質疑，還有那么多等著看笑話的。幾年過去了，他們二人的消息還是會時不時出現在媒體報端，不過已不再是焦點了。今天要說的這個詞用在他們身上挺合適的，May-December romance，相信是因為國外這樣的情況也比較多見吧。

May-December romance refers to a romantic pairing where one person is significantly older than the other. The age difference is at least a decade, but often more. The phrase comes from the younger person being in the "spring" of his or her life (i.e., May), while the older partner is in his or her "winter" (i.e., December).

“忘年戀”指年齡相差很大的兩個人之間的戀愛關系。這里的年齡差距至少要有十歲，通常都多于十歲。用May-December romance這個短語來表示“忘年戀”大概是表示這段浪漫關系中年輕的一方處于生命的“春天”（即“五月”），而年長的那一方則可能處于生命的“冬季”（即“十二月”）。

May-December relationships are pretty common throughout history. British royalty often paired up differently aged partners based on family trees and political needs. Even modern arranged marriages can have a large age difference within the couple.

從歷史上來說，“忘年戀”的現象并不少見。英國王室經常會根據家族發展或政治需求而使年齡相差很大的兩個人聯姻。現代的包辦婚姻中也有很多年齡差距很大的夫婦。

These days, the politically correct term seems to be "age-gap relationships," and they're not just for movie stars.

如今，用政治上比較正確的詞語來表達“忘年戀”的話應該叫做age-gap relationships，而且這樣的事情并不只發生在電影明星身上。

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（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

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