導(dǎo)讀：當(dāng)今社會，婚前同居情況越來越普遍，如何看待這一現(xiàn)象也成為許多人關(guān)心的話題。而有關(guān)專家表示，同居有利有弊，孰輕孰重，要仔細掂量。

The number of unmarried cohabiting couples in the US increased more than 17 fold between 1960 and 2010, according to a recent US Census Bureau report。

根據(jù)美國人口普查局最近的一份報告，從1960年到2010年美國未婚同居的情侶增加超過17倍。

The benefits of cohabitation are obvious: It provides economies of scale as two can live more cheaply than one. It also encourages economic specialization by allowing individuals to focus on their unique skills while leaving other duties to their spouse。

同居的好處是顯而易見的：兩個人生活成本更加便宜，它提供了規(guī)模經(jīng)濟效應(yīng);同時兩個人生活有利于經(jīng)濟分工，允許個人關(guān)注自身獨特的技能，其余的事情留給另一半。

A recent study conducted by the online rental site Rent.com of 1,000 cohabiting individuals in the US, found that 32 percent said living together helped them determine if their partner was “the one”。

根據(jù)在線租賃網(wǎng)站Rent.com最近的一項對美國1000名同居的者調(diào)查，,發(fā)現(xiàn)32%的人表示生活在一起幫助他們確定對方是否是自己“命中注定的一個人”。

The cohabitation rate is also on the rise among young Chinese. Author and relationship expert Marshall Miller believes cohabiting allows people to get to the “nitty-gritty” of the relationship before committing to marriage. “Cohabitation is a lot like turning the TV to your favorite channel — and then leaving it on 24/7”， he says. “You’re bound to see some stuff you don’t like much。”

與美國情況類似，同居率在中國年輕人中也在上升。作者和人際關(guān)系專家馬歇爾·米勒認為同居可以讓人們在走進婚姻之前解讀戀愛的“本質(zhì)”。“同居很像打開電視調(diào)到你最喜歡的頻道，然后一周二十四小時的輪流播放”，他說。“你一定會看到一些你不喜歡的東西。”

According to a 2013 sociological study cited in The Atlantic, 74 percent of cohabiting women are “completely committed” to their partner, while only 59 percent of men said the same. This represents a large divide in expectations among cohabitants, which can often lead to relationship problems later on。

根據(jù)美國《大西洋月刊》引自2013年的一項社會學(xué)研究，稱74%的同居女性對伴侶“全心投入”，而只有59%的男性表示會這樣去做。這代表著同居的男女之間對彼此的期待存在著巨大的分歧，這往往導(dǎo)致之后的感情會出現(xiàn)問題。

In order to bridge this gap, experts encourage couples to discuss their expectations with each other and ensure they have similar ideas about their relationship before taking any big steps。

為了縮小這一落差，專家鼓勵情侶們在感情取得實質(zhì)性跨越之前，應(yīng)互相討論他們對彼此的期望，并確保他們對雙方的感情有類似的想法。

This shows cohabitation doesn’t necessarily work for everyone and there are many ways different people like to progress and evolve in their relationship。

綜上所述，婚前同居并非適用于所有人，人們也會選擇不同方式來為感情加溫。