DiamondsandAgirl’snewbestThediamondengagementringmaynothaveafutureasasymbolofcourtship.WhatcouldreceCourtshipn.Peacocksstrut;bowerbirdsbuildlovenests;spidersgift-wrapfliesinsilk.SuchcourtshipritualsyanimportantroleinwhatCharlesDarwincalledualselection:whenthefemaleofaspeciesbearsmostofthecostsofreproduction,malesuseextravagantdisysandgiftstodemonstratetheir“reproductivefitness”andfemaleschoosebetweenthem.Forhumanmales,shardsofacrystallineformofcarbonoftenfeature.Adiamondengagementringsignalsaman’staste,wealthandcommitment,alltopersuadeawomanthatheisagoodbet.Peacockn.Strutvi.e.g.Apeacockstruttedonthelawn.孔雀在草地上昂首闊步地走。Bowerbirdn.園丁鳥（見于澳大利亞，雄鳥構(gòu)筑涼亭狀物求偶）Gift-wrapv.將…包裝成禮品，將…當(dāng)作ualselectionSpeciesn.（單復(fù)同形Fitnessn.Reproductionn.生殖，繁殖，繁育Shardn.(玻璃、金屬等的)碎片Crystallineadj.結(jié)晶的，晶狀的Commitmentn.承諾，許諾Persuadev.Betn.，賭Agood/safebetyanimportantroleThisparticularcourtshipgiftwasdreamedupbyanadagencyforDeBeers,thecarthatsoldalmostalloftheworld’sdiamondsthroughoutthe20thcentury.Inthe1930sitstartedtopromotealinkbetweendiamondsandmarriage.Diamonds’unmatchedhardnesswouldsymboliselove’senduranceandtheir“fire”,orbrilliance,itspassion.Twomonths’salary,thefirmsuggested,waswhattheringshouldcost—agoodinvestmentsince,astheadmensaid,“Adiamondisforever.”Dreamup想出（不同尋常的計劃、主意Adagency公DeBeers德聯(lián)合礦業(yè)公司（DeBeersConsolidatedMines）,世界上最大的鉆石 n.，企業(yè)（通過統(tǒng)一價格、防止競爭來增加共同利潤Throughoutprep.Unmatchedadj.Hardnessn.Endurancen.持久（力，耐久（性（金屬等的）Brilliancen.Now,thatpromiseisdimming.Thoughagrowingmiddleclasswillprobablypropupdemandforawhile,millennialsinWesterncountriesseemkeeneronmemorableexperiencesthanonbling.Diamonds’imagehasbeenblemishedbysomebeingminedinwarzonesandsoldtopayforthefighting.Meanwhile,laboratory-grown“synthetic”diamonds,longfitonlyforindustrialuse,are inggoodenoughtocompetewithgemsfromoutoftheground.Dimv.（使）（使）（感覺）（品質(zhì)）Millennialn.千日；千活adj.Blemishvt.使有疤；有損…n.Minev.（在某地）開礦，采礦Warzonen.，交帶Meanwhileadv.同時，與此同時Laboratory-grown制造Syntheticadj.人造的，合成的；綜合（性）的；假想的，虛構(gòu)的；不誠實的，虛偽Gemn.（尤指經(jīng)加工用作裝飾品的）PropupButthelong-termthreattodiamonds’lustreismoresurprising:thattheirpriceplummet.Inrecentyearsregulators(andmarket s)haveunderminedDeBeers’scarbylimitingtheshareofotherproducers’stonesthatitcanbuy.Nowresponsibleforjustathirdofglobalsales,the cannolongermanagesupplybystockpilinggemswhendemandturnsdown.Itisspendinglessonadvertising,sinceitnolongergetsthelion’sshareofthebenefits.Buttheveryvalueofdiamondsliesinbeingscarceandcoveted—thatis,costly.Inthejargon,theyare“Veblengoods”,namedaftera19th-centuryprestige-enhancingtrinketsforwhichahigherpriceencouragesbuyers.Withmostproducts,lowerpricesincreasedemand;withdiamonds,theycouldkillit.Lustren.vt.使有光澤；給…vi.Plummetv.；速Underminev.逐漸削弱（信心、等使逐步減少效力；從根基處破壞；挖…的Supplyn.v.（尤指大量）Stockpilev.Scarceadj.adv.Covetv.渴望，貪求（尤指別人的東西Jargonn.Trinketn.（價值不高的）Thelion’sshare(ofsth.)最大（或最好）Veblengoods倫商品，又稱炫耀財。是經(jīng)濟學(xué)上用以描述一種商品，其特色是商品需求與商品價格成正向關(guān)系，而需求法則的反向關(guān)系。這種商品能滿足consumptioneblenGreaterequalityforwomenmightseemtorendermalecourtshipdisysredundant.Butmatingpreferencesevolvedovermillenniaandwillnotchangequickly.Ifdiamondsweretoceasebeingawaytosignalaman’smarriageability,whatmighttaketheirce?Redundantadj.Matingn.，結(jié)婚；相配，匹配鳥、獸等的）交配，交Evolvev.（使）動植物等的）進化，演化.Ceasev.停止，終止，結(jié)束Marriageabilityn.Adifferentgift,perhaps.In skewedratiosmeanthataprospectivebridegroommustownanapartmentandshowerhisfuturein-lawswithcash.Butaglitteringstonegoestothewoman,notherfamily.Anditismorethanagift:itisastatussymbol,demonstratingthatevenasamanapproachestheexpensesofmarriedlife,hecanstillsshoutonabauble.Oramancouldrelyonmoregenericformsofdisy,suchasafancydegree,goodjoborsharpsuit.Butthesecanimpressonewomanaseasilyasanother,orseveralsimultaneously.Hemustshowcommitment—aneednotuniquetocourtship.Salvadorangangstersgetextravaganttattoos;Japaneseyakuzacutoffafingertip.Thesevisiblesignsofallegiancemakeithardtodefect,andimposeheavycosts.Butasmarriageproposalstheywouldfallshort.Fewwomenwouldfeelproudtocarryaroundtheirfiancé’sseveredSkewedadj.偏的，斜的，歪的；歪曲的，有偏頗的，確ratioAprospectivebridegroomn.Showerv.In-lawsn.（尤指）Evenas恰好在…MarriedlifeSshout（onsth.）花大筆的錢（買某物等）Baublen.花哨的廉價首飾Genericadj.一般的，普通的，通用的;SharpsuitSimultaneouslyadv.Allegiancen.（對個人、團體、事業(yè)等的）忠貞，擁戴，熱愛對國家、、統(tǒng)Salvadorann.adj.的，人的，文化Gangstern.黑幫，歹徒Y(jié)akuzan.歹徒，無賴，匪幫Defectv.背叛，叛變，投敵n.缺點，缺陷，毛病Imposevt.加（負(fù)擔(dān)、懲罰等）于Marriageproposal求婚Severev.Pinkien.<口>（手的）LoveisamultifacetedManymillennialwomenseekamatewhoiscreative,charitableandearnsenoughnottolivewithhisparents.Themillionairefounderofastartupthatmakesanapptoteachyogatoorphanswouldbeideal.Asatokenofhiscommitment,asuitormightoffertheobjectofhisaffections51%ofhisshares—somuchnicerthanajointbankaccount.LesseligiblemencouldofferinsteadtolinkUberaccounts,thusentwiningthecouple’sreputations:theirjointfive-starratingwouldbeatriskifeithermisbehaved.Uber-linkingwouldalsoalloweachtokeeptrackoftheother’swhereabouts,discouraginginfidelity.Whateverultimayrecesdiamonds,itwillsurelyb