Farmers in Mizhi hard to find wives

时间：2007-08-22 08:35:37

（单词翻译:单击）

Chinanews, Beijing, August 21 – More and more young men in the villages near Mizhi, Shaanxi Province find it very difficult to take a wife nowadays. Some of them have had to spend 30,000 – 50,000 yuan to “buy” wives from other places. However, the sex imbalance is becoming even more severe, with more and more male babies born every year.

 

Niujuanta is one of the “bachelor villages”. Its population is only 453, but there are 10 young men remain unmarried. It is tradition for local young men to get married in their early 20s. These young men are around 26, so it is not likely for them to marry local girls. However, their annual income is only 2,000 yuan to 3,000 yuan, not enough for them to afford even the betrothal1 gift for brides from other places.

 

In Haojiaping, the neighboring village of Niujuanta, there are even more men who have not been able to find a wife, some of them being in their 40s or even 50s.

 

Meanwhile, young women in these villages mostly have gone to work in cities, and will not marry local young men, most of whom are farmers.

 

“Some of my friends are still repaying2 the debt that they owed when they got married several years ago,” said Niu, a local teacher.

 
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1 betrothal betrothal     
n. 婚约, 订婚
参考例句：
  • Their betrothal took place with great pomp and rejoicings. 他们举行了盛大而又欢乐的订婚仪式。
  • "On the happy occasion of the announcement of your betrothal," he finished, bending over her hand. "在宣布你们订婚的喜庆日。" 他补充说，同时低下头来吻她的手。
2 repaying 078e85236986e0435ac7181b78646bcc     
偿还( repay的现在分词 )； 付还； 报答； 酬报
参考例句：
  • He tried to pacify his creditors by repaying part of the money. 他为安抚债权人偿还了部分借款。
  • It will deplete its cash balance by repaying last week's loan. 它会因偿付它上周的借款而耗尽它的现金余额。

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