Britons on a budget prefer sex to gossip

Britons may be tightening their belts to cope with the credit crunch, but their favourite free leisure activity involves whipping off their clothes, a new poll showed Monday.

However the overall figure disguised a stark difference between men and women, with female respondents preferring a good gossip to a good time between the sheets.

According to the YouGov survey conducted over the Internet, 37 percent of Britons rank having sex at the top of their list of activities that don't cost a penny.

That was more than the next three highest options combined -- gossiping with friends (18 percent), window shopping (nine percent) and going to a museum (six percent).

"During the credit crunch our famed British upper lip might not be as stiff as before but other parts still are," said Lisa Power, head of policy at the Terrence Higgins Trust, the sexual health charity that commissioned the poll.

However, while 53 percent of men ranked sex as number one, only 21 percent of women put sex atop their list, with 28 percent saying they preferred gossiping with friends.

It also showed that passion levels may be tied to the cold weather, with 43 percent of Scots rating sex as their favourite freetime activity, compared to 35 percent of Londoners.

By contrast, a study by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex concluded that declining house prices in Britain increase the risk of divorce.

The YouGov survey interviewed 2,144 people over the Internet between November 21 and 23.

英國人可能正勒緊褲腰帶應對眼下的金融危機，但本周一的一項最新民調顯示，他們最青睞的休閑活動則可能需要“寬衣解帶”。

不過男性和女性對這個問題的看法存在顯著差別，與“床第之歡”相比，女性受訪者更樂意用閑聊打發時光。

這項由YouGov調查機構開展的在線調查顯示，37%的英國人認為“做愛”是最佳的免費“休閑活動”。

這一比例甚至高于其它三個最受歡迎活動的比例之和。這三大活動分別是：與朋友閑聊（18%），逛街（9%）和參觀博物館（6%）。

委托開展該調查的性健康慈善組織“特倫斯•希金斯信托”的政策部主管莉莎•鮑爾說：“面臨眼下的信貸緊縮，英國人可能不如從前沉著，但他們的'性'趣不減。”

調查顯示，53%的男性認為“做愛”是最佳的休閑活動，而這一比例在受訪女性中僅為21%，28%的女性稱她們更喜歡與朋友閑聊來打發休閑時光。

此外，激情程度可能還與寒冷的天氣有關，43%的蘇格蘭人認為“做愛”是最好的休閑活動，這一比例在倫敦人中為35%。

而艾塞克斯大學社會經濟研究所此前開展的一項研究發現，英國房價的下跌增大了人們離婚的風險。

此項YouGov調查于上月21日至23日開展，共對2144名網民進行了訪問。

Vocabulary:

between the sheets:床第之間；在床上

stiff upper lip: 堅定沉著