[双语]首选“私奔”目的地，你想知道吗？

“To all my friends and relatives, to all colleagues: I am giving up on everything and eloping with Wang Qin.” So wrote Chinese billionaire venture capitalist Wang Gongquan on his micro blog on May 16.
“各位亲友，各位同事，我放弃一切，和王琴私奔了。”5月16日，中国的亿万富翁、风险投资家王功权在他的微博中写道。

To fill you in a bit, Wang is a successful, married businessman.
要说明的是，王功权是一位已婚的成功商人。

As his blog post says, he plans to “elope” or run off with his mistress, leaving behind his wife, family and friends.
就像他在博客中写的一样，他打算和情人“私奔”或离开，撇下他的妻子、家庭和朋友。

Many romantic young couples have sympathized with his choice.
许多崇尚浪漫的年轻情侣们纷纷表示支持他的选择。

“The greatest measure of success in life isn’t how much money you make. It’s whether or not you’re able to lead the life you want to live. Wang is a person who lives honestly,” one micro blogger wrote on Sina Weibo.
有人在新浪微博上写道：“生活中，衡量成功与否的最好标准并不是你挣了多少钱，而是你是否能过上你想过的生活。王功权就是一个诚实生活的人。”

Such sentiments have long motivated eloping young couples as they seek to be together, despite parental objections.
长久以来，年轻情侣们常被这种观点所驱使，为了能在一起，不顾家人反对，选择私奔。

Shakespeare’s classic play Romeo and Juliet is a timeless example of this.
莎士比亚的经典之作《罗密欧与朱丽叶》就是这样一个永恒的例子。

In the play, the young couple Romeo and Juliet falls in love. However, their families are basically at war, so the couple plans to elope and marry secretly with the help of a few trusted confidants.
在这部剧中，年轻的罗密欧和朱丽叶相爱了，但他们的家人却彼此仇视。所以这对情侣在几位心腹密友的帮助下，计划私奔并秘密结婚。

The story doesn’t end well for Shakespeare’s young lovers. But that hasn’t stopped young lovers from running away together.
莎士比亚的故事中，这对年轻情侣并未“幸福的生活在一起”。但这并不能阻碍现今的年轻恋人们一同远走高飞。

But, where do lovelorn young couples elope?
但是，害了相思病的年轻情侣们都私奔何方呢？

In the UK, one small Scottish village has become synonymous with the act of eloping.
在英国，一个小小的苏格兰村庄成了“私奔”的代名词。格雷特纳格林坐落于伦敦和爱丁堡之间的一条古老的公共马车线路旁。它距苏格兰和英格兰的边界不远，是从英格兰乘坐公共马车进入苏格兰后到达的第一个村庄。

Lord Hardwicke’s marriage act of 1753 meant that, in England, people under the age of 21 couldn’t get married without parental permission.
1753年哈德威克伯爵颁布的婚姻法案规定，在英格兰，21岁以下的年轻人，未经父母同意，不能结婚。

As a result, youngsters began eloping over the border to Gretna Green, where they could get married as long as they were at least 16.
因此，年轻人们开始越过边界，私奔到格雷特纳格林。在那里，他们只需年满16岁就可以结婚。

Many infamous chases have taken place along the old coach route to Gretna Green.
许多不光彩的追捕事件纷纷在通往格雷特纳格林的这条古老的马车线路上上演。气急败坏的父亲们连夜追赶孩子的传奇故事不胜枚举。

But in these tales they always reach Gretna Green just a little too late to stop their daughters from getting married.
但在这些故事中，他们总是迟到了那么一点点，无法及时阻止女儿的婚礼。

Residents near Gretna were well known for helping runaway couples. Many inns located along the route to the village could be counted on to “accidentally” delay any pursuers, allowing couples to reach Gretna safely.
格雷特纳附近的居民以喜好帮助私奔情侣而闻名。通往村庄的道路沿线上，许多小酒馆都能够“偶然地”拖延追赶者的脚步，好让情侣们安全到达格雷特纳。

Of course, there’s no guarantee that things will end “happily ever after” for eloping couples. But they may just have a great story to tell their grandkids.
当然，对于私奔的情侣们来说，没有谁能保证故事结局一定是“从此一直幸福下去”。但至少，他们有个很酷的故事可以讲给孙辈们听。