小小徽章 幫你尋找真愛

Single? Shy? An Australian dating website is offering wallflowers looking for love a subtle way to declare their intentions: identification badges.

The badges are the invention of IT professional and Yes I Am Single website () founder Evan Diacopolous, who says it's a way to revive old-fashioned dating.

"It's a conversation starter, a prompt. It helps people who lack the confidence," he told reporters of the small silver discs that bear the website's address.

"Many people now are into online dating, but once upon a time people looking for a partner actually talked to each other in person, rather than going online. This is going back to meeting people the old-fashioned way."

To get the badge, as well as gain access to the website's forums, members pay A$23 Australian ($16.5).

Diacopolous, who is single himself, started the website nearly a month ago after he and many of his friends became disillusioned by online dating.

"People spend a lot of money and send a lot of emails, there's a lot of expectations that aren't met and I thought there's got to be an easier way to meet people," he said.

So far, the site has 50 members and Diacopolous advised those looking of love to do so in "everyday settings."

"You can wear your badge at the supermarket, on the train to work or anywhere you go. You never know who you might meet," the 35-year-old said.

單身？又很害羞？澳大利亞一家婚戀網站正在給“壁花”提供一種含蓄表達心意的方式：身份徽章。

這種徽章由IT專家、Yes I Am Single婚戀網()創建者埃文•迪亞可普洛斯發明，他稱這是讓舊式約會重煥生機的一種方式。

他告訴記者說：“它是開啓兩人談話的一個引子，是一個激勵因素。它能幫助那些缺乏信心的人。” 這種徽章由小銀片製成，上面標有Yes I Am Single網站的網址。

“現在很多人對網上約會很感興趣，但在過去，人們找對象時往往都是面對面地交談，而不是在網上交流。佩戴徽章是舊式約會方式的迴歸。”

網站會員只須支付23澳元（合16.5美元），即可獲得徽章並登陸網上論壇。

身爲單身漢的迪亞可普洛斯於近一個月前創建該網站，因爲他和他的很多朋友對網上約會的方式都比較失望。

他說：“人們花了很多錢，發了很多郵件，但很多期望並沒有實現。所以我想會有一種更簡單的方式來遇見合適的人。”

目前該網站共有50名會員，迪亞可普洛斯建議正在尋找愛情的人們在“日常環境”中也可以試試。

現年35歲的迪亞可普洛斯說：“在超市、在上班的地鐵上或者你去任何地方都可以佩戴徽章。你永遠不知道你會遇見誰。”

Vocabulary:

wallflower:one who does not participate in the activity at a social event because of shyness or unpopularity. （壁花：在社交場合因羞澀或受人冷落而不參加某一活動之人）