单身，是指一个人成年以后仍然是一个人生活而没有配偶，可以是从没结婚的，也可是已经离异的，还可以指丧偶的。现在可以引申为没有男（女）朋友，也是可以称为单身的。

　　相关词汇 　　adult n.成人 　　appealing adj.吸引人的 　　bachelor n.未婚男子，单身汉 　　boring adj.无聊的 　　break up 分手 　　compromise v. & n. 妥协 　　conflict v. & n.冲突 　　desperate adj.绝望的 　　dilemma n.左右为难 　　divorced adj.离婚的 　　freedom n.自由 　　gamophobia n.恐婚症 　　leftover ladies 乘4女 　　single n. & adj.单身 　　single father 单身爸爸 　　single mother 单身妈妈 　　unmarried　 adj.未婚的 　　Valentine's Day　　情人节 　　widow n.寡妇 　　widower n.鳏夫
[图片0] 　　情景对话 　　A: Hey, jenny, do you know lately there's a best-seller called Bridger Jones's Diary? 　　B: No. What is it about? 　　A: It's about a single woman, Bridget Jones, how she struggles between remaining single and getting married. 　　B: Oh, this kind of issue seems popular nowadays. 　　A: You bet. 　　B: Then why is that woman in a dilemma? 　　A: Well, on the one hand, she enjoys being single. Being single means freedom. She can do whatever she likes. 　　Plus, she has a satisfying job so she doesn't have to find someone to support her. 　　B: Sounds great. 　　A: But she also has to face a lot of pressures, pressures from the society, her family and her friends. And she feels scared to die alone. 　　B: Then get married! 　　A: Well, the marriage around her is not appealing. You know, you need to make compromise in marriage, you may have conflicts all the time, or your life will be in a mess if you have a baby, and so on. 　　B: Maybe that's because she hasn't found the right person!
　　参考译文: 　　A:嘿，珍妮，近出了本名叫《BJ单身日记》的畅销书，你知道吗? 　　B:没有。关于什么的啊? 　　A:是关于一个叫布里奇·琼斯的单身女人如何在单身和结婚之间挣扎的故事。 　　B:哦，这种问题现在好像很普遍。 　　A:就是啊。 　　B:那她为什么会左右为难呢? 　　A:一方面，她喜欢单身.单身意味着自由.她有一份令人满意的工作，所以她不需要男人养她。 　　B:听起来不错啊。 　　A:不过她得面临很多来自社会、家庭和朋友的压力。而且她害怕孤独地死去。 　　B:那就结婚啊. 　　A:但是她所看到的婚姻并不吸引人。比如，你知道的，婚姻需要你妥协啦，伴侣之间总是有很多矛盾啦，你的生活有了小孩后会很乱啦，诸如此类. 　　B:也许那是因为她还没找到合适的人吧。