环球英语 — 109：The Mermaid Child

　　Voice 1
Hello. I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby¹ Jones. Welcome to Spotlight². This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Hospital workers crowd around. Two worried parents hold each other. The mother puts her hand to her mouth, frightened. They watch the doctors closely³. Doctors make the first cut into a small body. It belongs to their daughter - Milagros Cerron. She is just thirteen months old. Tears fill the parents’ eyes. But they know that this operation is necessary. It is their daughter’s only chance of ever walking. She was born with a very rare and deadly condition - serenomelia, or Mermaid⁴ Syndrome⁵.
Voice 2
A mermaid is an invented creature. Sailors sometimes used to report seeing mermaids⁶ at sea. They would tell stories of the beautiful mermaids living in the sea. You see a mermaid is half human and half fish! A mermaid has a female⁷ body from the waist up. But from her waist down, she has a long silver fish’s tail. So she can swim well in the sea. A mermaid is always very beautiful. She has long shiny hair. She sits by rocks near the cool blue sea. Her huge silver tail moves gently in the sea waves.
Voice 1
So what is mermaid syndrome? Well, it is a very rare medical condition. It results from a lack of blood and oxygen to the baby when it is inside the mother. This means that the baby is not able to develop in the normal way. The baby’s legs are stuck together, usually from the ankles to the stomach. Skin and fat cover both legs together. And the feet turn outwards⁸. This makes the shape like a fish’s tail. So, the shape of the baby is like a mermaid.
Voice 2
Milagros Cerron was born with Mermaid Syndrome in April 2004. Her parents are from a small, poor village. It is in the beautiful Andes mountains of Peru. The parents were expecting to have a healthy baby. When Milagros was born they were shocked. They were sad. And they were a little afraid. Local religion and tradition told them that the child’s condition could be a punishment from God. Some people in the village blamed the mother. They said that she must have gone too near the lake when she was pregnant⁹. Village stories say that evil¹⁰ beings live in this lake. Fears and stories like these have deep roots. In the past, such fears have caused parents to leave their children to die. So, it was into this world of false beliefs and fears that Milagros Cerron was born. What chance did she have?
Voice 1
Well, two people were willing to fight for Milagros Cerron. They did not know what was wrong with her. And they did not know why she had been born that way. But they knew she needed help. And their love was stronger than beliefs and fears in their village. The two people were her parents - Ricardo Cerron and Sara Arauco. Milagros was less than a week old. Ricardo lifted their small daughter in his arms. He got on the bus. And he travelled two hundred [200] kilometres to a hospital in Lima.
Voice 2
Ricardo pleaded¹¹ with the doctors to help his little girl. And in June 2005, doctors began the first of many operations. No-one in Peru had ever performed such an operation before. A team of eight specialists worked together. Doctors inserted salt and water to stretch Milagros’s skin. Then, they separated her legs. They used the stretched skin to cover the wounds.
Voice 1
Doctor Luis Rubio led the operation. Afterwards, he said it was a success. Milagros will need many more operations over the next ten years. Doctors will need to turn her feet inwards. And they will need to repair other parts of her body and organs. However, doctors are very hopeful for the little girl’s future.
Voice 2
This is wonderful news for Milagros and her family. But it is not only good news for them. It is also an important event in the medical world. Mermaid Syndrome is rare. There is only around one case in every seventy thousand [70,000] births. But almost all of these cases have resulted in death, only a few days after birth. In richer countries, pregnant mothers go for scans¹³. A scan¹² machine takes a picture of the baby inside the mother. Doctors can see if the baby is healthy or not. They can also see if the baby has Mermaid Syndrome. If it does, doctors usually advise mothers to end their pregnancy¹⁴. This is because the death rate of the child is so high. Suppose Milagros was born in a rich area with modern technology. Her chance of life may have ended before she was born .
Voice 1
In Spanish ‘Milagros’ means miracle¹⁵. It is a perfect name for the little girl. Her father, Ricardo, said he chose it because she is ‘God’s blessing¹⁶.’ Her story could now save other children. So, she really is a blessing.
Voice 2
Ricardo and his wife never gave up hope for their little girl. The mother said,
Voice 3
‘I prayed to God that everything would turn out all right. I prayed that his blessing would pass to the hands of the doctors.’
Voice 2
Now, they are trusting God for the future. They just want their little girl to have a normal life. Ricardo said,
Voice 3
‘I hope we can go for a walk. I hope that she can go to school by herself. This is what I would like.’
Voice 1
A little girl in bright red clothes laughs happily. She is beautiful. She looks up at her mother with her huge brown eyes. She takes her hand. With her mother’s help, she walks a few slow steps. She reaches the hand of her doctor. People watch in wonder. They cannot believe that this two year old child is Milagros Cerron - the mermaid child! She was the baby that people feared. She was the baby that people thought God had punished! It is clear that this was never the case. As her name suggests, she truly is a blessing. Milagros looks around her and smiles. Maybe she knew it all along. The mermaid baby is gone. Milagros Cerron stands in her place as the miracle girl.
 

1 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

2 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

4 mermaid   

n.美人鱼

参考例句：

• How popular would that girl be with the only mermaid mom!和人鱼妈妈在一起，那个女孩会有多受欢迎！
• The little mermaid wasn't happy because she didn't want to wait.小美人鱼不太高兴，因为她等不及了。

5 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

6 mermaids   

n.（传说中的）美人鱼( mermaid的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The high stern castle was a riot or carved gods, demons, knights, kings, warriors, mermaids, cherubs. 其尾部高耸的船楼上雕满了神仙、妖魔鬼怪、骑士、国王、勇士、美人鱼、天使。 来自辞典例句
• This is why mermaids should never come on land. 这就是为什么人鱼不应该上岸的原因。 来自电影对白

7 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

8 outwards   

adj.外面的，公开的，向外的；adv.向外；n.外形

参考例句：

• Does this door open inwards or outwards?这门朝里开还是朝外开？
• In lapping up a fur,they always put the inner side outwards.卷毛皮时，他们总是让内层朝外。

9 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

10 evil   

n.邪恶，不幸，罪恶；adj.邪恶的，不幸的，有害的，诽谤的

参考例句：

• We pray to God to deliver us from evil.我们祈求上帝把我们从罪恶中拯救出来。
• Love of money is the root of all evil.爱钱是邪恶的根源。

11 pleaded   

恳求，请求( plead的过去式和过去分词 )； 提出…为借口[理由]； （向法庭）陈述案情； （在法庭）申辩，认罪，辩护

参考例句：

• She pleaded with him not to go. 她恳求他不要离开。
• She wept and pleaded until he agreed to do as she wished. 她哭着恳求他，一直到他答应按她的愿望去做。

12 scan   

n.审视，浏览，扫描，押韵，细查；vt.细看，浏览，扫描，详细调查，信件扫描（指BBS处理直递邮件或会议邮件时，对所有或特定信区做检查的动作）

参考例句：

• The first scan was bad, so I had to do it again.第一次扫描不好，所以我得重做。
• A scan determines the position of the baby in the womb.扫描可以确定胎儿在子宮中的位置。

13 scans   

n.浏览( scan的名词复数 )；审视；（雷达）（屏面上的）光点v.扫描( scan的第三人称单数 )；细看；细查；（雷达）对…进行扫描

参考例句：

• This apparatus scans patients' brains for tumours. 这台仪器扫描检查病人的脑瘤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Brain scans have confirmed that the disease is in remission. 脑部扫描已经证实疾病得到了控制。 来自辞典例句

14 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

15 miracle   

n.奇迹，令人惊奇的人或事

参考例句：

• The doctors said that his recovery was a miracle. 医生们说他的复原是件奇事。
• It is simply a miracle that rice should grow in such a place.稻子竟能在这样的地方生长，这实在是个奇迹。

16 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。