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.

英国人可能正勒紧裤腰带应对眼下的金融危机，但本周一的一项最新民调显示，他们最青睐的休闲活动则可能需要“宽衣解带”。

不过男性和女性对这个问题的看法存在显著差别，与“床第之欢”相比，女性受访者更乐意用闲聊打发时光。

这项由YouGov调查机构开展的在线调查显示，37%的英国人认为“做爱”是最佳的免费“休闲活动”。

这一比例甚至高于其它三个最受欢迎活动的比例之和。这三大活动分别是：与朋友闲聊（18%），逛街（9%）和参观博物馆（6%）。

委托开展该调查的性健康慈善组织“特伦斯•希金斯信托”的政策部主管莉莎•鲍尔说：“面临眼下的信贷紧缩，英国人可能不如从前沉着，但他们的'性'趣不减。”

调查显示，53%的男性认为“做爱”是最佳的休闲活动，而这一比例在受访女性中仅为21%，28%的女性称她们更喜欢与朋友闲聊来打发休闲时光。

此外，激情程度可能还与寒冷的天气有关，43%的苏格兰人认为“做爱”是最好的休闲活动，这一比例在伦敦人中为35%。

而艾塞克斯大学社会经济研究所此前开展的一项研究发现，英国房价的下跌增大了人们离婚的风险。

此项YouGov调查于上月21日至23日开展，共对2144名网民进行了访问。

Vocabulary:

between the sheets:床第之间；在床上

stiff upper lip: 坚定沉着