美国科研人员的研究向我们揭示了一个人际关系的重要的方面，即男性和她母亲的关系。男性和他母亲的关系若是非常亲密，那么，此君就可能和自己的配偶和谐相处。这个发现能够让女性朋友在择偶时，有了一个鲜活而又容易观察的参照。未婚的女性朋友，在读了此文之后，你们又可以多长一个“心眼”。本文的译者在译文之后添加了“小析”，值得一读。

Great Husband? Thank Your Mother-In-Law
By E. J. Mundell 

【直译文章的标题：伟大的丈夫？要感谢你的婆婆】

Stereotypes of the nagging, critical mother-in-law may need some revising: A new study suggests that good husbands or boyfriends are often the product of great moms. 
唠叨又爱挑剔的丈母娘的固定形象也应该有所修正了。一项新的研究显示，一个好的丈夫或是男友经常是一个伟大妈妈的“产品”。
小析：翻译难点在于原句的名词product，假如将它译成“培养出来的”，总不对味，且有遗憾。故现译“直译”如斯。
Researchers interviewing 33 young couples found "significant" correlations between men's ties to their mothers and their partners' satisfaction with the relationship.
研究人员面试了33对年轻的夫妇，发现在男性与其母亲的联系，男性之配偶对夫妇关系的满意程度，这两者之间所存在的“重要的”关联。
小析：原句的介词between A and B，结构比较复杂，为了行文的清晰，汉译使用了“外位结构” – 这两者……。
"If he's very close to his mother he may feel very close to his partner, probably very affectionate," explained researcher Sarah Roberts, of Ferrum College in Virginia.
“假如他跟他的母亲非常亲近，那么，他就可能对他的配偶感到非常亲近，还可能充满挚爱。” 弗吉尼亚州的Ferrum 学院的研究员Sarah Roberts解释道。
小析：一脉相承，本句的his partner应译“配偶”。
Roberts co-authored the study with psychologist Sharon Stein while an undergraduate at Ferrum. She presented the findings at the recent annual meeting of the American Psychological Society, in Atlanta.
Roberts还是Ferrum 学院的一个本科生的时候，就和心理学家Sharon Stein共同开始了这项研究。她在最近的美国心理协会在亚特兰大举行的年会上报告了这个发现。
小析：原句里连词while引导的短语while an undergraduate at Ferrum并不是修饰紧靠它的Sharon Stein，而是修饰主语Roberts。假如原句不作省略，其表达将是：Roberts co-authored the study with psychologist Sharon Stein while Roberts was an undergraduate at Ferrum.
Although much research has been conducted into the parent-child relationship, Roberts and Stein say the impact of the mother-son relationship on a son's significant other has been "overlooked."
虽然目前不乏“双亲和子女”的关系研究，Roberts和Stein说，母子关系对儿子的配偶的影响却被“忽视”了。
小析：上句的结构非常简单，但是，其中的a son's significant other含义模糊。到底什么是a son's significant other？此乃英语之幽默也。倘若直译，可得：儿子的重要的另外一个。再作推演，即可得出其真正含义。英语的这种幽默，并不限于此。另一更加常见的说法是better half，意即：[谑]妻子(偶而指丈夫)。
In their study -- titled "Mama's Boy or Lady's Man?" -- the two researchers had each male and female partner in 33 couples fill out separate questionnaires.
在她们的题为“妈妈的男孩，还是女士的丈夫？”的研究中，这两位研究者让33对夫妇各自填写了单独的调查问卷。
小析：原句里的had的含义相当于asked。此外，一个each，一个separate十分强调地表达了夫妇各填各的调查问卷。翻译需要特别小心。
"The questionnaire that was given to the women was about relationship satisfaction," Roberts said, "and that given to the men was about their perceived closeness to their mothers."
“给女性填写的问卷是关于对夫妇关系的满意程度。” Roberts说，“而给男性填写的是他们所感受到的和母亲的亲密程度。”
小析：about relationship satisfaction不宜照样译成“关于关系的满意程度”。其中的名词relationship必须根据上下文的意思具体化。
The researchers found that, in general, men who said they had moms who "understood their needs" had mates who described them as "affectionate." Men who had a strong love for their mothers also tended to date women who described them as not only their lover, but also "their best friend," the authors report.
研究人员发现，一般情况下，男性称他们有“理解他们需求的”妈妈，他们的配偶就往往认为他们是“温柔多情的”。非常挚爱的其母亲的男性也往往和这样的女性约会，这些女性称他们不仅是他们的情人，而且是“他们最好的朋友”。研究人员报告说。
小析：原句里一个特别的动词是date，而且是用作不及物动词。意思是“和……约会”。原句出现了三处添加引号处，翻译时，也应该“照搬”这些引号。
Finally, men who said they sought to "make their mother proud" ranked high in terms of their ability to communicate with their female partner.
那些声称他们将想方设法“让他们的母亲有自豪感”的男性，和他们的异性伴侣的交往能力方面也相当杰出。
小析：这里的partner不能译成“夫妇”，或是“配偶”。
How might mothers mold the attitudes and conduct of their male offspring when it comes to adult romantic relationships?
母亲如何能够影响他们儿子在成年后的恋爱关系中所表现出的态度和行为呢？
小析：their male offspring不必“绕译”成“他们的男性的后代”，译成“儿子”即可。
"In traditional homes, the mother is the very first person that the children have (as their) introduction to femininity," Roberts said in an interview with Reuters Health. "Their mother is, for the male child, their first study of what a woman is. So of course they watch her behaviors, they watch certain things coming from her, and of course are influenced by everything she may teach them."
“在传统的家庭，母亲是男孩们接触女性的第一人，” Roberts在接受Reuters健康专栏的记者采访时说。“母亲，对男孩来说，是一次什么是女人的初识。因此，他们也就当然会观察她们的行为，他们会观察发生在母亲身上的某些事情，当然，也就潜移默化地受到母亲教诲的影响。”
小析：are influenced by everything she may teach them不必烦琐地直译。如译：受到母亲可能教诲他们的一切的影响。
Besides influencing him to be more open and gentle with others, an attentive mother may even influence her son's choice of mate in later life.
母亲除了会影响男孩对别人更坦率更温柔之外，一个留心的母亲还会影响自己的儿子在今后的生活中对伴侣的选择。
小析：choice of mate不必译得过于“明白”，比如译成“配偶的选择”。这里的choice of mate不妨译得“模糊”些。
"If the mother is very loving, very caring, and displays this to her son, he may be in a position where he's thinking, 'Well, I want a woman like my mother,' or 'I don't want a woman like my mother,"' Roberts said.
“假如母亲非常仁爱，非常有同情心，而且向她的儿子表现出这些，那么，他就可能设身处地地设想，‘喔，我要找一个像我妈妈的女人，’或者‘我不想找一个像我妈妈的女人。’” Roberts说。
小析：……he may be in a position where he's thinking看似难以翻译，其实，一旦能联想到汉语的成语“设身处地”，那简直有一种“丝丝入扣”之美感。
But of course this influence can go overboard, too. For example, in a surprise finding, men who claimed mom as "their best friend" or said they "enjoyed spending time with mom" also tended to be labeled as less-than-considerate by many of their mates.
当然这种影响也可能走向极端。比如，人们惊讶地发现，宣称妈妈为“他们最好的朋友”，或者称他们“喜欢和妈妈一起共度时光”者也往往被其配偶认为“并不体贴”。
小析：go overboard，系美国英语之成语，意思是：过分爱好；狂热追求；爱走极端，等。跟英语的另一个表达go to extremes / run to an extreme，异曲同工。
So a mom's love can backfire, too.
因此，母爱也可能造成相反的结果。
小析：backfire的本义是：（发动机）发生逆火。如：The car backfired. / 那辆车发生逆火现象。现在，是用其转义：to produce an unexpected, undesired result / 发生意外产生意外的，令人失望的结果。另如：
His scheme backfired (on him) and he lost money.
他的计划招来相反的结果，他赔钱了。
"I think it's clear it can go either way," Roberts said. "There's the question of 'how much is too much?' If he's too close to his mother, might not that be an obstacle for his spouse?"  
“我认为显然母爱可能有两种不同的结果。” Roberts说，“存在的问题是‘何为过？’假如他跟母亲过于接近，这不是成了他配偶的一个障碍了吗？”
小析：难点在于might not that be an obstacle for his spouse? 如何理解？这其实是句子的主句，而且是一个一般疑问句。换言之，其非疑问句的形式应该是：That might not be an obstacle for his spouse.