【读新闻学英语】天啊！离婚时，她才发现老公偷偷买了15套房！

When 63-year-old Joanne* decided to leave her marriage, she visited a lawyer so she could understand what percentage of the couple's assets would belong to her, post-divorce.

当63岁的Joanne（化名）决定离婚时，她拜访了一位律师，以便了解夫妻双方资产在离婚后占多大比例。

Asset：资产，财产

The marriage had been good in the early years, as both Joanne and her husband worked hard and raised their family. But, the later years were fraught with difficulty as they drifted apart and had constant arguments which led to domestic violence.

 Joanne和她的丈夫努力工作，养家糊口，他们的婚姻在早年是很美好的。但是慢慢地，婚姻充满了困难，他们渐行渐远，不断争吵导致了家庭暴力。

Fraught：充满（不愉快事物）的；焦虑的；忧虑的；担心的

Drift：漂移；漂流；飘；缓缓移动

Domestic violence：家庭暴力

Joanne, who lives on the Gold Coast, told news.com.au her husband led her to believe they were hard up for money and she struggled with the household budget to feed the family.

Joanne居住在黄金海岸（Gold Coast）在接受采访时表示，她的丈夫让她以为他们家庭财务很紧张，为了养家糊口必须很努力地赚钱。

Hard up：拮据，缺钱，手头紧

struggle with：与……作斗争

"My ex-husband always told me that we were low on money and had me come up with a budget for the weekly grocery bill," Joanne said.

Joanne说， “我的前夫总是告诉我，我们的钱很紧，让我为每周的食品杂货账单做好预算。”

Come up with：想出(一个主意或计划)；提出；提供

"When I needed more money for something for the children or myself he would tell me that there was no more money and that me or the children would have to go without. He even said that we were struggling to afford basic living costs and extras were a 'no-no'. I was told that I had to give up any luxuries and do everything I could to save money."

“当我需要更多的钱给孩子们或我自己买东西时，我前夫会告诉我，没有更多的钱了。他还说，我们正在努力支付基本的生活费用，而额外的开销是不允许的。我必须放弃任何奢侈品，尽我所能去省钱。”

Luxury：奢侈品；奢华；奢侈的享受

Joanne's husband had always been in control of the bank accounts and gave her a weekly allowance for groceries and bills. Trusting her husband, Joanne had no reason to suspect that he had been lying to her.

Joanne的丈夫一直控制着银行账户，每周给她发放食品和账单的需要支付的钱。因为相信她的丈夫，Joanne没有怀疑过丈夫一直在欺骗她。

Suspect：怀疑

In fact, she only realised she'd been left in the dark about their strong financial position when she was seeking legal advice on the road to divorce.

事实上，当她在寻求离婚法律建议时，才意识到原来他们的财务状况这么好，一点都不缺钱啊。

Legal advice：法律意见；法律咨询

Financial position：财务状况

"After we separated, I found out that we owned 15 properties and had bank accounts containing thousands of dollars — we weren't struggling for money at all," Joanne said.

"I felt very deceived and couldn't believe that I'd been living so frugally for so long."

Joanne说， “在我们离婚后，我发现我们拥有15处房产，银行账户里有数千元，我们根本就不缺钱。我觉得自己被骗了，简直不敢相信，我这么长时间以来一直过着这么节俭的生活。”

Separate：分开；隔开；分居

Deceive：欺骗，欺瞒

Frugally：节约地；节省地

Family lawyer Marie Fedorov told news.com.au Joanne's story is not uncommon and many women, especially seniors, struggle to manage their finances after divorce.

家庭律师Marie Fedorov表示，Joanne的案例并不少见，许多女性，尤其是老年人，在离婚后很难管理自己的财务状况。

Divorce：离婚

"Often, one person in a couple manages finances, leaving the other completely in the dark," Fedorov said. "I've noticed that it's common among people aged over 55 to see the man control the finances and, in many cases, the woman is totally oblivious and trusting of her partner."

Fedorov说： “通常情况下，夫妻中有一个人管理财务，而另一方则完全不知情。我注意到，在55岁以上的人群中，男性控制财务状况是很常见的，而且在很多情况下，这个女人完全在意，完全信任她的伴侣。”

In the dark：在黑暗中；蒙在鼓里；一无所知

Oblivious：不知道；未注意；未察觉

While most cases involve older women, Fedorov said she's noticing a rise in the number of young men affected.

虽然大多数案例都涉及年龄较大的女性，但Fedorov说，她注意到受影响的年轻男性数量有所增加。

Involve：包含；牵涉；涉及

"In younger couples, it has become more common to see women managing the financial matters and then, when the couple separate, the husband is often unaware of the financial status of their situation," she said.

她说：“在年轻夫妇中，女性管理财务事务变得越来越普遍，当夫妻分居时，丈夫往往不知道自己的财务状况。”

Status：地位；身份；情形；状况

"If you're planning to leave a relationship, then factoring in the financial costs of living comfortably in the future is so critical. Make sure you have access to funds to support you and your children so that if your ex stops having their salary deposited into your joint account, you'll still be able to afford basic needs."

“如果你打算结束一段关系，那么考虑未来舒适生活的财务成本是非常关键的。要确保你有足够的资金来支持你和你的孩子，如果你的前任不再把他们的薪水存入你的联名账户，你仍然能够负担得起基本的需求。”

Deposit：存储；放置

Prior to the discovery of the 15 properties, Joanne had been deeply concerned about how she'd pay for her own expenses. She was relying on her adult son to help her financially.

在发现这15处房产之前，Joanne一直非常担心自己如何支付生活开销。她依靠其成年儿子在经济上帮助她。

Expense：费用；开支；花费；开销

"But as soon as I realised had an entitlement to a number of assets I was more relaxed and less worried about my future. I ended up receiving half of the asset pool and was able to be financially independent for the first time," Joanne said.

“但当我意识到自己有权拥有一些资产时，我就轻松一些了，不再为自己的未来担忧。我最终获得了一半的资产，并且第一次能够在财务上独立。”Joanne说。

Entitlement：（拥有某物或做某事的）权利；有权得到的东西；应得的数额

"The first thing that I did after my settlement was go to the hairdresser to have my grey hair coloured for the first time, as I never thought that I had the money to do that during my marriage."

“在把事情处理完后，我做的第一件事就是去理发店，第一次染发，因为在我此前的婚姻中，我从来不敢花钱来做这件事。”

Settlement：解决；结算；处理

Joanne has some advice for other women: keep informed about your financial position.

"Don't leave that up to your husband. You should know exactly what you own and what you owe so that you can be more independent in your marriage," Joanne said.

Joanne对其他女性的建议是：要随时了解你的财务状况。 “不要把这个问题留给你的丈夫。你应该知道你拥有什么和你欠什么，这样你才能在婚姻中更加独立。”。                            

Keep informed：一直了解…的动态；使知情

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