Britons are having less sex, and Game of Thrones could be to blame, warns Cambridge professor

Game of Thrones and other addictive box sets are preventing British couples having as much sex as they did in the past, a Cambridge University statistician has warned. |
剑桥大学的统计学家警告称，《权力的游戏》等让人上瘾的剧集系列使英国夫妻之间的性生活减少。

David Spiegelhalter, a professor of the Public Understanding of Risk, said the trend in declining sex rates over the last 30 years was ‘very worrying.’ 
大卫•斯皮格豪特是公众风险认识部门的教授，他表示，在过去30年，英国人性生活比率下降的趋势“非常令人担忧”。

In 1990 couples had sex around five times a month, but now it is just three times, a 40 percent decrease in just 20 years. If currents trends continue couples would not be having sex at all by 2030. 
在1990年，一对夫妻每月大约有五次性生活，但现在只是三次，短短20年间跌幅达40％。如果现在的趋势继续发展，到2030年英国的夫妻将不会再有性生活。

Previously researchers have warned that couples are killing the mood by bringing their iPads to bed. But Prof Speigelhalter said it was the rise of ‘massive connectivity’ embodied by Netflix, smartphones and box-sets which meant people never needed to be bored. 
此前研究人员警告说，夫妻把iPad带到床上的这种行为非常“扫兴”。不过斯皮格豪特教授说，原因在于网飞公司、智能手机以及系列剧集所呈现的“大量连接”的兴起，这意味着人们永远不会觉得无聊。

Speaking at the Hay Festival, Prof Speigelhalter said: “How many times have you had sex in the last four weeks? You can start seeing the changes in society. 
斯皮格豪特教授在海伊文学节上说：“在过去四周你有多少次性生活？你可以开始看到社会发生的变化”。

“People are having less sex. Sexually active couples between 16 and 64 were asked and the median was five times in the last month in 1990, then four times in 2000 and three times in 2010. 
“人们现在的性生活次数比以前少。 我们对16岁至64岁之间性生活活跃的夫妇进行访问，1990年上个月性生活次数的中位数是五次，2000年是四次，2010年是三次。”

“At this rate by 2030 couples are not going to be having any sex at all. Which is a very worrying trend. 
“按照这个速度，到2030年夫妻之间将不会有任何性生活。 这个趋势非常令人担忧。”

“You say why? Statisticians say I don’t know. One of the researchers mentioned the word iPad. I think it’s the box set, Netflix. OMG I’ve got to watch the entire second series of Game of Thrones. 
“你问为什么？ 统计学家说，我不知道。其中一名研究人员提到iPad。 我认为是因为系列剧集、网飞公司。 哦，天呐，我已经看完了《权力的游戏》第二季的全部剧集。”

“The point is that this massive connectivity, the constant checking of our phones compared to just a few years ago when TV closed down at 10.30pm or whatever and there was nothing else to do. Even power cuts which helps. Now people are having less sex and it’s true.”
“关键在于，现在有了这种‘大量连接’，我们一直不断查看自己的手机。而就在几年前，电视台晚上10点半就基本停播了等等，没有什么其他事情可做。甚至停电也有帮助。现在人们的性生活减少，这是真的。“

Prof Speigelhalter also said that couples who had sex more often were more likely to have boys, because statistics showed that getting pregnant earlier in a woman’s ovulation cycle favoured male children. 
斯皮格豪特教授还说，有更多性生活的夫妻更有可能生男孩，因为统计数据显示，在女性的排卵周期早期怀孕有利于生男孩。

It is why there is often a big surge in the birth of boys at the end of wars when soldiers return home and are having increasing amounts of sex. 
这就是为什么在战争结束时男婴的出生率激增，因为士兵回家后性生活次数增加。

“When are more boys born? End of wars. More boys are born when people are having more sex,” said Prof Spiegelhalter. 
“什么时候出生的男孩多？ 战争结束后。当人们有更多的性生活时，会生育更多的男孩。”斯皮格豪特教授说。

“If you’re having a lot of sex then it’s more likely you’ll get pregnant before the time of peak fecundity. 
“如果你的性生活次数很多，那么你更可能在生育力高峰前怀孕。”

“There is some evidence from animals that there is a very small increased chance of having a boy if you conceive earlier. Don’t use this choice as a sex choice method, it only works at population level. 
“有一些来自动物的证据表明，如果你怀孕越早，生出男孩的几率会稍高。不要以此作为选择婴儿性别的方法，它只有在种群水平上才有效。”

Fertility rates rose in Britain at the end of the Second World War until the invention of the contraceptive pill, at which time they began to fall dramatically. 
英国的生育率在第二次世界大战结束时上涨，直到避孕药发明后，生育率开始大幅下降。

There was an unexpected peak in 1973, which Professor Spiegelhalter said might be to do with the 1973 oil crisis when the Ted Heath government instigated a three-day week to save fuel and power cuts were common. 
在1973年有一个意想不到的生育高峰期，对此斯皮格豪特教授说，这可能与1973年的石油危机有关，泰德•希思政府发起每周工作三天的运动以节省燃料，那时拉闸限电是很常见的。

Vocabulary

fecundity：生育力，繁殖力
conceive：怀孕