《你死了嗎》：中國獨居青年的爆款應用
Are You Dead?: The Viral Chinese App for Solo Living
難度：中階
來源：BBC News
A Chinese app with the provocative name 'Are You Dead?' has become the country's most downloaded paid application. The concept is simple: users check in every two days by clicking a button to confirm they're alive. If they fail to respond, the app alerts their emergency contact that they may be in trouble.
一款名為《你死了嗎？》的中國應用以其挑釁性的名字成為該國下載量最高的付費應用。概念很簡單：使用者每兩天透過點選按鈕確認自己還活著。如果他們沒有響應，應用會通知他們的緊急聯絡人他們可能有麻煩。
The app targets China's growing population of people living alone. Research institutions project up to 200 million one-person households by 2030. Young professionals living far from family, introverts, those struggling with depression, and others in vulnerable situations have downloaded the app in droves since attention around it exploded in recent weeks.
該應用針對中國日益增長的獨居人口。研究機構預測到2030年將有多達2億個單人家庭。遠離家人的年輕專業人士、內曏者、與抑鬱症抗爭的人以及其他處於弱勢群體的人在最近幾周關注度爆發後大量下載了這款應用。
Users have shared their motivations on social media. One wrote: 'I sometimes wonder, if I died alone, who would collect my body?' Another user named Wilson Hou, who works in Beijing but lives 100 kilometers from his wife and child, said he worried about dying unnoticed in his rented apartment. He set his mother as his emergency contact.
使用者在社交媒體上分享了他們的動機。一位使用者寫道：'我有時會想，如果我獨自死去，誰會來收我的遺體？'另一位名叫侯威爾森的使用者在北京工作，但住在離妻子和孩子100公里的地方，他說他擔心在租住的公寓裡無人知曉地死去。他把母親設為緊急聯絡人。
The app's dark name has drawn criticism, with some suggesting it might bring ill fortune. The company behind it, Moonscape Technologies, says it's considering a name change. The current name is actually wordplay on a popular food delivery app called 'Are You Hungry?' Built for just 1,000 yuan, the founders now hope to sell 10% of the company for one million yuan.
該應用陰暗的名字引來了批評，有人認為它可能帶來厄運。開發公司Moonscape Technologies表示正在考慮更名。當前名字實際上是對一款名為《餓了麼》的流行外賣應用的文字遊戲。這款應用僅花費1000元開發，創始人現在希望以100萬元出售公司10%的股份。
The company is also exploring a version specifically for elderly users—a significant market in a country where over one-fifth of the population is over 60. They posted a message calling for more attention to elderly people living alone, stating they 'have dreams, strive to live, and deserve to be seen, respected and protected.'
該公司還在探索專門針對老年使用者的版本——在一個超過五分之一人口超過60歲的國家，這是一個重要市場。他們釋出了一條資訊，呼籲更多關注獨居老人，表示他們'有夢想，努力生活，值得被看見、被尊重和被保護'。
重點詞彙
- provocative (adj.)：挑釁的，引發爭議的
- check in (phr.v.)：簽到，報告狀態
- emergency contact (n.phr.)：緊急聯絡人
- project (v.)：預測，預計
- in droves (phr.)：成群結隊地，大量地
- vulnerable (adj.)：脆弱的，易受傷害的
- motivation (n.)：動機，動力
- unnoticed (adj.)：未被注意到的
- draw criticism (phr.)：招致批評
- ill fortune (n.phr.)：厄運，不幸
- wordplay (n.)：文字遊戲，雙關語
- significant (adj.)：重要的，顯著的
- strive (v.)：努力，奮鬥