2. 外语
  3. In some societies people want children for what might be called familial reasons: to extend the family line or the family name,

In some societies people want children for what might be called familial reasons: to extend the family line or the family name,

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问题     In some societies people want children for what might be called familial reasons: to extend the family line or the family name, to propitiate the ancestors; to enable the proper functioning of religious rituals involving the family.  Such reasons may seem thin in the modern, secularized society but they have been and are powerful indeed in other places.
    In addition, one class of family reasons shares a border with the following category, namely, having children in order to maintain or improve a marriage; to hold the husband or occupy the wife; to repair or rejuvenate the marriage; to increase the number of children on the assumption that family happiness lies that way. The point is underlined by its converse: in some societies the failure to bear children (or males) is a threat to the marriage and a ready cause for divorce.
    Beyond all that is the profound significance of children to the very institution of the family itself. To many people, husband and wife alone do not seem a proper family — they need children to enrich the circle,to validate its family character, to gather the redemptive influence of offspring. Children need the family, but the family seems also to need children, as the social institutions uniquely available, at least in principle, for security, comfort, assurance, and direction in a changing, often hostile world. To most people, such a home base, in the literal sense, needs more than one person for sustenance and in generational extension.
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答案 此外，还有如下一类原因与家庭有关，即：生儿育女是为了维持或改善婚姻，为了拴住丈夫或妻子，为了修复婚姻或使之焕发活力，为了增加孩子的数量(有一种想法以为孩子越多，家庭就会越幸福)。假如夫妇们不生儿育女，我们可以从他们那里更加清楚地看到生儿育女的重要性，因为在一些社会里，不能生孩子(或男孩)会威胁到婚姻，随时导致离婚。 除上面所述情形之外，孩子对家庭本身的建立也具有十分重要的意义。在许多人看来，夫妻二人似乎不足以成为一个完全意义上的家庭——他们需要孩子来充实这个圈子，表明它是一个家庭，积累后代救世的影响力(gather the redemptive influence of offspring)。在变化不息而且常常充满险恶的世界里，作为一种特有的社会习俗，孩子需要家庭，但家庭似乎也需要孩子，从而至少在基本上获得安全、安慰、鼓励以及目标。
解析 <1>share a border with本意为“与……接壤”，此处可译为“与……密切相关”。
<2>category与本句的class同义，表示“类别”。
<3>to hold the husband Or occupy a wife此处hold与occupy同义，可用汉语中常说的“拴住”来译。
<4>increase the number of children on the assumption that family happiness lies that way on the assumption that...表示“基于……假定”(往往是一种不正确的看法)，lie that way相当于lie in the increase of the number of children。 中国人有一种说法，即“多子多福”，说的差不多是一样的道理。
<5>The point：is underlined by its converse...the point这里指生儿育女的重要性。 underline表示“强调”、“突显”。its reverse这里指不生儿育女。连在一起的意思是说，若夫妇们不生儿育女，我们也许能从中更加清楚地看到生儿育女的重要性。
<6>Beyond all that is the profound significance of children to the very institution of the family itself．此句为倒装句。beyond all that的意思是“除了那一切之外”。 institution这里的意思是“建立”、“构成”。
<7>the circle这里指由夫妻二人所构成的社会圈子。
<8>validate its family character validate的意思是“使合法”、“使有效”，character这里的意思是“性质”、“特性”。合在一起的意思是“证明它是一个家庭”。
<9>gather the redemptive influence of offspring积累后代救世的影响力。其大体意思可能是，一个人或一个家庭可以指望后人或香火的延续来赎罪。
<10>as the institution uniquely available这里的institution表示“习俗”或“制度”。 uniquely available作后置定语，表示“独有的”。
<11>for security，comfort，assurance，and direction整个短语作need children的目的状语。direction这里表示“前进方向”，亦可译为“目标”。由于为父母和孩子共同需要，故不宜译为“指导”。
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