原文標題：
Sex
The wounds of silence
Sexual problems can wreck people’s lives. Yet remedies are often simple
性
沉默之痛
性問題會破壞人們的生活。然而，補救措施其實很簡單

Doctors and schools should be franker about pleasure
醫(yī)生和學校應該更坦誠地對待性快感

[Paragraph 1]
A GENERATION AGO being depressed or anxious—let alone having serious mental-health problems—meant suffering mostly in silence.
二三十年前，沮喪或焦慮（更不用說有嚴重的心理健康問題了）意味著大部分人都在默默忍受痛苦。

Stigma meant few people wanted to talk. Doctors turned a blind eye.
由于羞恥感，因此鮮有人提及這些心理問題。醫(yī)生們也熟視無睹。

Most saw mental illness as regrettable but not something that made much difference to a patient’s physical health.
大多數人認為患有精神疾病是不幸的，但這對患者的身體健康沒有太大影響。

These days the stigma has faded, if not entirely disappeared. Early treatment often nips things in the bud.
近些年來，心理疾病的羞恥感就算沒有完全消失，也至少淡了些。早期治療往往有利于防患于未然。

[Paragraph 2]
A similar transformation is due for sexual problems, which lie beneath the same blanket of taboo and embarrassment as mental health once did.
性問題也應該發(fā)生類似的轉變，它就像曾經的精神健康問題一樣，都隱藏在同樣的禁忌和尷尬之下。

One in five men in America and Europe has erectile dysfunction at some point in his life; half of British women say they had a sexual problem in the past year, including pain during sex or difficulty reaching an orgasm.
在美國和歐洲，五分之一的男性在一生中的某個時刻有勃起功能障礙；一半的英國女性表示，她們在過去一年中有過性問題，如疼痛或難以達到高潮。

Plain old lack of desire is common, especially among women.
女性們的性冷淡問題也尤為常見。

[Paragraph 3]
Trivialities? A topic best left unmentioned? Sexual problems can be harbingers of other illnesses, such as diabetes.
小事？最好不提的話題？性問題可能是其他疾病的前兆，如糖尿病。

Erectile dysfunction is up there with smoking and a family history of heart disease as a predictor of heart trouble.
勃起功能障礙與吸煙和心臟病家族史有關，這是心臟病的一個前兆。

Doctors who ask about it can make an early diagnosis, and offer preventive coronary treatment.
醫(yī)生詢問這些情況可以做出早期診斷，并提供預防性的冠狀動脈治療。

[Paragraph 4]
Sexual problems more generally are thought to contribute to between a fifth and half of all divorces; reducing that number would spare many adults and children from misery and impoverishment.
人們普遍認為有1/5～1/2的離婚案例是由性問題導致的；減少這部分離婚率將使許多成年人和兒童脫離痛苦和貧困的苦海。

Erectile problems are both a cause and a consequence of anxiety, which can make life harder to cope with.
勃起問題既是焦慮的原因，也是焦慮的結果，焦慮會讓生活難上加難。

Poor productivity at work is twice as high among men with such problems as among those without them.
有這類問題的男性的生產力低下的比例是正常男性的2倍。

[Paragraph 5]
Tackling sexual dysfunction can be simple and cheap. One easy win would be to change the way children learn about sex.
解決性功能障礙既簡單又便宜。制勝之道就是改變對孩子們的性教育方式。

Instead of focusing only on avoiding the downsides, such as diseases or unwanted pregnancies, teachers could encourage discussions of pleasure, and of how to talk to a partner about it, as well as how to communicate and understand enthusiastic consent.
不應該只把注意力放在避免負面影響上，即如何避免疾病或如何避免意外懷孕等，教師還可以鼓勵學生討論性之樂、如何與伴侶談性，以及如何溝通和理解明確的性同意。

Sexual problems often crop up in adolescence, made worse by general teenage awkwardness around the opposite sex (or indeed the same one). So teach them about those too, and never mind the giggles at the back.
性問題經常在青春期突然出現，而青少年在異性（或同性）周圍的窘態(tài)使問題更糟糕。所以也要教他們這些知識，而且不要在意教室后面的笑聲。

[Paragraph 6]
Critics may object that sex is everywhere in modern culture, and the last thing anyone needs is more of it.
評論者可能會反對說，性在現代文化中無處不在，一個人最不缺的就是性。

But this misses the point.
但這沒有抓住重點。

The sex in film and television dramas, let alone pornography, bears scant relation to real life.
電影和電視劇中的性，更不用說色情視頻了，這些都與現實生活的關系甚遠。

Trying to learn about sex from Hollywood is like watching James Bond for tips on a career as a British civil servant.
試圖從好萊塢大片里學習性知識，就像通過看詹姆斯·邦德來學習英國公職人員的職業(yè)秘訣一樣（沒有實際幫助）。

Better to point teenagers to more realistic sources, such as BISH, a British website that answers all sorts of niche questions that trouble young people as they begin stumbling their way through sexual relationships.
最好是給青少年指出更現實的信息來源，如英國網站BISH，它可以解答年輕人在性關系中遇到的各種各樣的令他們困擾的小眾問題。

[Paragraph 7]
More ambitiously, sexual problems should be a core part of medical education.
更大膽地說，性問題應該是醫(yī)學教育的核心部分。

Only then will doctors begin to discuss them routinely—as they do with boils, exercise, heart disease and other health-related matters.
只有到那時，醫(yī)生才會像對待皮下膿腫、運動、心臟病和其他健康相關問題一樣，開始定期討論這些性問題。

A lot of suffering can be alleviated by simply giving people frank information about what is happening to them and why.
僅僅告訴人們他們身上發(fā)生了什么以及原因，就能減輕患者許多痛苦。

That, plus a few sessions of therapy, some pelvic-muscle exercises, or suggestions for simple changes in lifestyle, is often all patients need.
再加上幾次治療，一些骨盆肌肉鍛煉，或者一些改變生活方式的簡單建議，這通常就是患者所需要的全部內容。

Such things are now packaged in apps, some of which have been approved by medical regulators.
現在這些內容被打包在APP中，其中有一些APP已經獲得了醫(yī)療監(jiān)管機構的批準。

[Paragraph 8]
Scientists should shed their inhibitions, too. It is hard to fix problems without first understanding them.
科學家們也應該擺脫他們的拘謹感。如果不先了解問題，就很難解決問題。

Research projects are often blocked because committee members find the subject uncomfortable.
研究項目經常被叫停，因為研究組成員覺得這個課題引起不適感。

And for the puritans out there, who doubt that mere pleasure is sufficient grounds for changing things, it is worth noting that better research into sex is likely to improve public health.
而且研究組清教徒對“只憑性快感就足以改變事物”持懷疑態(tài)度。但值得注意的是，更好的性研究可能會改善大眾健康狀況。

Studies find that when discussion of pleasure is part of HIV-prevention schemes, people use condoms more.
研究發(fā)現，當討論快感成為艾滋病預防計劃的一部分時，人們會更多地使用安全套。

[Paragraph 9]
From tragedy to romance
從悲劇到浪漫

Sex is one of the greatest joys in a human life. At its best, it is a source of ecstasy and a shared expression of lasting affection.
性是人類生活中最大的樂趣之一。最佳狀態(tài)時的性是狂喜之源，也是一種持久情感的共同表達。

That so many people nonetheless find it painful or disappointing is a tragedy. Yet for a large proportion of them, it can be turned into something far more agreeable.
盡管如此，還是有那么多人感到痛苦或失望，這是一個悲劇。然而，對其中很大一部分人來說，悲劇可以變成更令人愉快的事情。

Being more open about sex is one of the easiest ways to enhance happiness and health. So why not try it?
更開放地對待性是增進幸福和健康的最簡單方法之一。那為什么不試試呢？

（恭喜讀完，本篇英語詞匯量732左右）
原文出自：2022年12月3日《The Economist》Leaders版塊。

精讀筆記來源于：自由英語之路

本文翻譯整理: Irene本文編輯校對: Irene
僅供個人英語學習交流使用。

【補充資料】（來自于網絡）
給予和獲得熱情的性同意 （enthusiastic sexual consent）有助于建立相互尊重、平等和令人滿意的關系。未經同意的任何性行為都是違法的。任何人都不應遭受任何形式的性暴力或性騷擾; 這不是幸存者的錯。施暴者應負全部責任和懲罰。熱情的肯定 = 熱情的同意An enthusiastic yes = enthusiastic consent.在性關系中，“不”意味著“不”。這是每個人，無論男性女性都應該銘記在心的事。不管你們是什么關系，不管之前發(fā)生過多少次性行為。

應該抵制鼓勵強暴的性文化，充滿了強暴橋段而女主角隨后愛上男主角的言情小說并非浪漫，而是一種純粹的文化污染?！盁o法控制自己地去暴力占有另一個人的身體”絕不代表深愛，而是一種純粹的傷害。我們的孩子不應該被這些故事洗腦，尊重永遠是愛存在的前提。

【重點句子】（3 個）
Plain old lack of desire is common, especially among women.
女性們的性冷淡問題也尤為常見。

Erectile problems are both a cause and a consequence of anxiety, which can make life harder to cope with.
勃起問題既是焦慮的原因，也是焦慮的結果，焦慮會讓生活難上加難。

Tackling sexual dysfunction can be simple and cheap. One easy win would be to change the way children learn about sex.
解決性功能障礙既簡單又便宜。制勝之道就是改變對孩子們的性教育方式。