Is Online Dating Killing Love
A fair maiden is guarded by a dragon. A handsome prince must slay the dragon to save her. Then, magically, they fall in love and live happily ever after.
Traditional stories tend to emphasize the fantastic, magical side of love. Fate plays matchmaker. Strangers see each other from across a room and instantly know that they are destined to be together.
maiden:：少女
slay：杀死
matchmaker：媒人
It isn't difficult to imagine two strangers coming together and falling in love despite their differences. It suggests that love is challenging, uncertain, and incomprehensible.
But with more people using online dating services, a very different kind of love has emerged: one that is scientific, convenient, and self-directed. It minimizes risk and provides a choice, like on a menu. There is anonymity and the avoidance of immediate rejection. Meeting terms are negotiated online.
incomprehensible：无法理解的
anonymity：匿名
terms：期限
Online dating also allows the setting of preconditions. Computer algorithms exclude undesirable traits such at the wrong hair color, race, or age. But they also exclude randomness. They reduce the chances of meeting someone different, or someone who could challenge one's romantic ideals. Instead, they find the partner we think we want and exclude everyone else. As a result, we could be missing the opportunity of a lifetime, to meet someone we would never have expected to fall in love with.
preconditions：先决条件
undesirable：不受欢迎的
Perhaps this new way represents a more efficient form of romance. Traditional ideas of love may be enchanting- but are they useful? Loneliness and boredom are less exciting that chance encounters, but they represent the more realistic side of love. All too often people have suffered through bad dates and humiliations. If they could just choose what they wanted, wouldn't it save time and reduce suffering?
enchanting：迷人的
All too often：时常，常常
humiliations：羞辱
However, by choosing partners based on our preconceived ideas, we may be indulging in our illusions. Instead of letting ourselves grow with someone, love becomes more about looking for ourselves in the other. What if we don't know ourselves as well as we think?
Perhaps love isn't about being open to unimagined possibilities.
preconceived：预先形成的
indulging：纵容
Sports Injuries
Sports injuries are injuries that happen to athletes participating in sporting events. In many cases, these types of injuries are due to overuse of a part of the body. For example, runner's knee is a painful condition associated with running, while tennis elbow is a form of repetitive stress injury at the elbow. Other types of injuries, such as a broken bone, can be caused by hard contact with something. Injuries are common occurrence in professional sports, and most teams have a staff of trainers and close connections to the medical community. Controversy has arisen at times when teams have made decisions that could threaten a player's long-term health for short-term gain.
Sports injuries can be classified as either traumatic or overuse injuries. Traumatic injuries account for most injuries in contact sports such as soccer, rugby, and American football. This is of course due to the dynamic and high collision nature of these games. These injuries range from bruises and muscle strains to fractures and head injuries.
traumatic <医>外伤的损伤的； 创伤的； 治外伤的
account for 对...负责
rugby 橄榄球运动
collision 碰撞； 冲突
bruises 瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤
muscle strains 肌张力
fractures （指状态）骨折( fracture的名词复数 )； 断裂； （指事实）骨折；
A bruise is damage to small blood vessels which causes bleeding within the tissues. A muscle strain is a small tear of muscle fibers and a ligament sprain is a small tear Of ligament tissue. The body's response to these injuries is the same in the initial five-day period immediately following the incident 一 inflammation. Inflammation is characterized by pain, localized swelling, heat, redness and a loss of function.
inflammation [医]炎症； 燃烧； 发火
ligament sprain 韧带扭伤
swelling 肿胀； 膨胀； 增大
Inflammation is the first phase of healing, and typically lasts for around five days. However, too much of a n inflammatory response can mean that the healing process will take longer, and a return to activity is delayed. Sports injury treatments are intended to minimize the inflammatory phase of an injury so that the overall healing process is accelerated.
the first phase of 首期
inflammatory phase 发炎期