When choosing a life partner, most people think of this(在選擇另一伴時，多數人想到的是這樣:):
Romance, love, affection, sex and adventure(浪漫，愛，喜歡，性以及冒險).
The reality is that the vast majority of your time together looks like this(實際上，你一生的大部分時間看起來像這樣):
Housework, cooking, paying the bills, watching TV, driving, shopping etc(家務，做飯，買單，看電視，駕車，購物等).
The dishes won’t clean themselves and the house won’t tidy itself up. Someone has to do that work day in and day out for their entire lives. It’s tedious and repetitive, but it’s life(盤子不會去清洗它自己，房子也不會自動變干凈。某人必須去做這些事情，日復一日，直至終老.它單調且重復，但生活就是這樣)。
This is what you’ll be sharing the most of: your boring lives. It’s a common mistake to forget about this part of it, yet this will account for 99% of how you live together. At some point, your partner won’t look quite so sexy; is the rest enough to keep you together?(你與另一半要共同經歷的是: 你無聊的生活。人們傾向于忘了這一部分，但你們99%的時間確實是這樣度過的。會有一天，另一半不再那么吸引人；剩下的部分(優(yōu)點)是否足夠讓你們守望在一起呢？)
What does it take to live a boring life with someone? You both need to be kind to one another. Saying cruel or hateful things, not being supportive and/or being unfair and unreasonable are not things anyone can put up with over the long haul(和另一個人度過無聊的一生又需要你付出什么？雙方都要彼此和善。說出過激的語言，不夠支持對方、不公平 或者不夠理智，長期來說，沒人能忍受下去).
Even a boring life has its ups and downs. The question is, do the two of you band together to solve the problems? or do you both fall out? (生活即使無聊，也會有它的開心及不開心。問題是，你二人是否有齊心協(xié)力來解決問題？或者索性鬧翻？)
Your life partner is the other half of a team that includes you. Your contribution is 50% of the total. That is a lot.(你的另一半加上你，是一個完整的團隊。你貢獻了其中的50%。分量足夠重。)
Over the long haul you will have misfortunes, probably at least one terrible one.(長遠來看，人遲早會遇到不幸的事，至少會有那么一件吧)
When, -not if-, this happens, you and your partner will find out just how emotionally strong both of you are. Does this make both of you closer and increase your trust and friendship? Or does it tear you apart?(當——不是如果——不幸發(fā)生時,你們會發(fā)現(xiàn)雙方在情緒上都出現(xiàn)了類似的強烈的反應。這難道不會使彼此更加親近、信任和友誼倍增嗎？或者災難讓你們彼此背離？)
If you are not a strong, kind person yourself, you have little hope of finding a partner that is those things. People who are emotionally strong will not commit themselves to someone who is shallow and selfish.(如果你本身就不是一個堅強、和善的人，你難有希望找到有此品質的另一半。一個堅強的人不會把期許放在一個淺薄、自私的人身上。)
Is this someone you can take care of if they become an invalid? Will they take care of you if you’re the one this happens to? This is the stuff long term relationships are made of: devotion, friendship, kindness and emotional strength. Not romance, sex and love.(這是一個即使殘疾了你也會去照顧的人嗎？反過來，你殘疾了他/她也會這樣對你嗎？這正是維持長期關系所需要的: 奉獻，友誼，善良以及堅強。不是浪費、性或者身體之愛)
