Facebook has unleashed a new dating service
Facebook 推出了一项新的约会服务
It could return dating to its pre-internet ways
它可能会把约会带回到互联网出现之前的时代
1. IN AMERICA it is no longer merely acceptable to meet your romantic partner on the internet. It is the norm. The latest data from a long-running survey by researchers at Stanford, released this summer, shows that 40% of new heterosexual couples met online in 2017, far more than at bars, through friends or at work. For gay couples the proportion is even higher, at 60%.
在美国，人们不再仅仅接受在网上遇到自己的另一半。这成了常态。斯坦福大学研究人员今年夏天发布的一项长期调查的最新数据显示，2017年，40%的新异性恋伴侣是在网上认识的，远远超过在酒吧、朋友或工作场所。对于同性恋伴侣来说，这一比例甚至更高，达到了60%。
2. Little wonder, then, that Facebook is bringing a dating service to the richest denizens of its internet fief. Facebook Dating launched in America on September 5th, having been tested first in smaller markets such as Colombia and Canada. American Facebook users seeking significant others can now find the dating service in a dedicatedtab within the firm’s smartphone app. Willing daters must explicitly create a profile and fill in their preferences. Users may, if they wish, tap into their social graph to look for matches among friends of friends, but that option is not on bydefault. Facebook says any data generated while searching will be kept separate from its main service and not used to target ads.
因此，Facebook为其互联网领地上最富有的居民提供约会服务带给也就不足为奇了。Facebook Dating于9月5日在美国推出，首先在哥伦比亚和加拿大等较小的市场进行了测试。寻找另一半的美国Facebook用户现在可以在该公司智能手机应用程序的一个专门标签页上找到约会服务这个标签。想要约会的人必须明确创建个人资料，并填写自己的偏好。如果用户愿意，他们可以点击自己的社交图，在朋友的朋友之间寻找匹配项，但该选项在默认情况下是不打开的。Facebook表示，搜索过程中产生的任何数据都将与其主要服务分开，不会用于定向广告。
3. Facebook Dating has the potential to break one of the most interesting features of internet dating. Most dating apps pair up strangers, rather than friends of friends. For instance Tinder, the most popular dating app, pairs people up by allowing them to choose from a menu of potential partners within a setradius of where they are. OKCupid, a more old-school text-based approach, asks users to read through a profile. Real-life pairings are usuallycircumscribed by a person’s social sphere, and the chances of meeting a total stranger are low. But online most people are paired with strangers. Some sociology research suggests that this means that online dating has the potential to create couples from more diverse backgrounds than would tend to form in real life, possibly helping to reduce income inequality over time.
Facebook Dating有可能打破互联网约会最有趣的功能之一。大多数交友软件都是配对陌生人，而不是为好友的好友配对。例如，最受欢迎的约会应用Tinder，允许人们在他们所处的特定范围内从潜在伴侣的菜单中进行选择，然后配对。OKCupid采用的是一种更传统的基于文本的配对方法，它要求用户阅读个人资料。现实生活中的配对通常受到一个人的社会圈子的限制，遇到一个完全陌生的人的几率很低。但在网上，大多数人都是与陌生人配对。一些社会学研究表明，这意味着在线约会可能比现实中更容易产生背景不一样的伴侣，随着时间的推移，这可能有助于减少收入不平等。
4. Facebook’s effort will also make it possible to match anonymously, buttrawling through friends of friends is likely to prove morealluring. Thus Facebook is remaking the old world that was governed by social ties, probably reducing any benefits that may have come with lessassortative coupling through online dating.
Facebook的努力也将使匿名配对成为可能，但在好友的好友中搜索可能更有吸引力。因此，Facebook正在重塑由社会关系统治的旧世界，可能会减少通过在线约会带来的非选型配对带来的好处。
5. These areinauspicious times for Mark Zuckerberg’s company toroll out a dating service. The firm is under antitrust investigation from attorneys-general in eight American states and the District of Columbia. The firm’s record on handling user data is poor. Adding dating information to the mix—which includes sexual orientation and, perhaps, HIV status—seems bold at best, misguided at worst.
对于马克·扎克伯格的公司来说，现在推出一项约会服务并不是个好时机。该公司正在接受美国8个州和哥伦比亚特区总检察长的反垄断调查。而且该公司在处理用户数据方面有不良记录。将约会信息——包括性取向，也许还有艾滋病病毒的状况——加入到其信息处理中，往好了说似乎是大胆，往坏里说则是误导。
6. Still, recent history suggests Facebook Dating will be a success. The firm has more tools at its disposal to help its amorous users find a good match than any other dating service, thanks to its huge user base and itstrove of their data. Although user growth on Facebook itself is slowing, users seem generally unfazedby the firm’s numerous missteps. Its other services, including WhatsApp and Instagram, are still growing strongly. If that success is anything to go by, it suggests that future versions of the Stanford survey may do well to break out a new category of coupling: Facebook.
尽管如此，近期的记录表明，Facebook Dating将会取得成功。该公司拥有比其他任何约会服务商更多的工具来帮助恋爱中的用户找到合适的对象，这要归功于其庞大的用户群和数据库。尽管Facebook自身的用户增长正在放缓，但用户似乎对该公司的众多失误并不感到担忧。该公司的其他服务，包括WhatsApp和Instagram，用户仍在强劲增长。如果这一成功可以作为参照的话，它表明斯坦福大学未来的调查版本可能会很好地打破一个新的配对类别：Facebook。
精读解析
篇章结构
P1—P2：在线约会在美国已经很常见，Facebook推出其约会APP：Facebook Dating。
P3—P4：Facebook Dating的特别之处：不同于其他社交软件，Facebook Dating是在好友的好友之间配对，这意味着其配对用户之间的社会关系是重合的。
P5：Facebook Dating目前面对的形势：Facebook正在受到反垄断调查，而且Facebook公司在处理用户信息方面也有污点。
P6：Facebook Dating仍将因其优势而取得成功。
重点单词
acceptable/ək'septəb(ə)l/adj. 值得接受的, 可接受的
【例句】
The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.
我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
denizen /'denɪz(ə)n/ vt. 给…居住权；移植 n. 居民；外来语；外籍居民
【例句】
The common English sparrow is a denizen of America; it was first brought from Europe to America about 1850.
美洲的英国种麻雀是外来的，大约在1850年第一次由欧洲带到美洲。
fief/fiːf/ n. 封地，采邑
【例句】
Few if any foreigners in the past half-decade have reached so deeply into the territorial nooks and crannies of Somalia's myriad fiefs.
在过去五十年里，几乎没有外国人像他那样深入到索马里众多割据地区的角角落落。
dedicated /ˈdedɪˌkeɪtɪd/ adj. 专注的;献身的；专用的
【短语】
dedicated computer专用计算机
dedicated line专用线
【例句】
This room is dedicated to food preparation.
这个房间是专门准备食物的。
default/dɪ'fɔːlt/ vi. 违约; 拖欠债务；弃权 n. 违约; 缺席; 拖欠；弃权
【短语】
in default不履行责任;失职
in default of
因缺少；在缺少…时
judgment by default
缺席审判；缺席判决
make defaultv. 缺席
【例句】
He lost the tennis match by default.
他因缺席而输了网球赛。
graph /grɑːf/ n. 图表, 曲线图
【例句】
This is a graph that shows our rate of adoption.
这是我们订单接受率的图表。
radius/'reɪdɪəs/ n. 半径，半径范围；辐射光线；有效航程；桡骨
【例句】
What is the radius of this circle?
这个圆的半径有多长?
He'll take out anyone within a two-block radius.
两个街区半径内的所有人都会被他炸死。
circumscribe/'sɜːkəmskraɪb/ vt. 在…周围划线；划定…范围;限制,限定
【例句】
The patient was placed on a very circumscribed diet;he was forbidden to have coffee, spices, or raw fruits or vegetables.
这病人的饮食极受限制，他不能喝咖啡，吃香料或生的水果蔬菜。
trawl through查阅；挑选
【例句】
When the financial crisis struck and banks started worrying about the health of counterparties, they had to call in lawyers and trawl through thousands of such agreements to work out what collateral they were obliged to accept or post.
当金融危机来袭，银行开始担心交易对手的运营情况时，他们必须召集律师，查阅数千份协议，以便找出他们应该接受或者过账的抵押品。
alluring/ə'l(j)ʊərɪŋ/ adj. 诱惑的, 迷人的
【例句】
The new malls, ringed by car parks, are handy, even alluring.
新型购物中心被停车位环绕，非常方便，甚至非常有吸引力。
assortative/ə'sɔ:tətiv/ adj. 相配的,相称的,协调的
【例句】
Dating apps could strengthen the trend toward " assortative mating" , whereby people choose to couple with those of similar income and skills.
婚配app可能强化了婚姻向“选择性婚配”发展的趋势，让人们借以选择与有着相同收入和技能的人结婚成家。
inauspicious/ɪnɔː'spɪʃəs/ adj. 不祥的,凶兆的；不幸的,倒霉的
【例句】
In spite of an inauspicious beginning, Laura and Bernard succeeded within a few years.
尽管有个不幸的开始，但几年内劳拉和伯纳德还是成功了。
roll out 铺开；开展；推出（新产品，服务等）；实行（新制度）
【例句】
Every June, on Commencement day, Harvard rolls out the crimson carpet for about 32,000 people.
每年六月，在毕业典礼这一天，哈佛大学都铺出深红地毯迎接3.2万多人的来。
antitrust investigation反垄断调查
【例句】
A company under threat of antitrust investigation—when any significant action might invite scrutiny—cannot operate this way.
一家在反垄断调查威胁下的公司不能这样经营——在任何重大行动都可能招致更仔细的审查的时候。
misguide/mɪs'gaɪd/ vt. 对…指导错误;把…引入歧途
【例句】
Their approach to the problem is fundamentally misguided.
他们解决这个问题的方法从根本上说是判断错误的。
amorous/'æm(ə)rəs/ adj. 色情的, 多情的, 爱情的；热情的
【例句】
In the famous balcony scene, the amorous Romeo expresses undying love for Juliet.
在著名的阳台示爱那一幕中，多情的罗密欧向朱丽叶表达他无尽的爱意。
trove /trəʊv/ n. 被发现的东西；收藏的东西
【例句】
A new data trove helps reshape how the economy is understood.
新的数据宝藏有助于重塑经济体被如何理解。
unfazed /ˌʌn'feizd/ adj. 不担忧的; 不苦恼的
【例句】
And they just went on about their business, totally unfazed.
他们忙着办公，完全不在意。
go by 经过；顺便走访；凭…判断；遵循；时间流逝
【例句】
Years may go by. Years may go by. So hold on to your special friend.
时光飞转，你的青春早已流逝。所以，请珍惜你心中的那些孩子气，它们是特别的朋友。
The latest data from a long-running survey by researchers at Stanford, released this summer, shows that 40% of new heterosexual couples met online in 2017, far more than at bars, through friends or at work.
这个句子，主干是：The latest data from a long-running survey by researchers at Stanford shows that 40% of new heterosexual couples met online in 2017. 中间的released this summer是一个插入语，说明这个survey是什么时候公布的，最后的far more than at bars, through friends or at work.这个部分是对前面的内容的一个补充说明，说明40%网上认识是一个什么样的概念。
发布于：广东