英语听力精选进阶版 13810

Pregnancy¹ the 'biggest killer²' for teenage girls

Summary

28 June 2012

Pregnancy is the biggest killer of teenage girls worldwide. A new report by Save the Children says that one million teenage girls die or suffer serious injury, infection or disease due to having a baby. The charity says the lack of access to contraception is at the root of the problem.

Reporter:

Emily Buchanan

Report

In many countries it's normal for girls to be married off young. They often quickly become pregnant but their bodies are not developed enough to give birth. In one clinic in a poor region of northern Liberia, a third of all babies are born to girls between 15 and 19. Some are as young as 13. 

A Save the Children project manager there, George Kijana, says these young mothers are prone³ to a lot of medical complications. [For example] a fistula causes a lot of pain and incontinence, and girls are frequently then ostracised from their families. Babies too are more at risk, far more likely to die if their mother's under 18. 

For years contraceptive programmes have struggled for funding and support as the religious right in the US has pressed Washington to oppose them. But world leaders will be congregating⁴ in London next month for a family planning summit hosted by the British government and the Gates Foundation. They will be urging action to make contraception not just more available to girls, but to empower them to use it by helping⁵ their families understand the health benefits of later pregnancies⁶. 

Charities point out that there could be huge cost benefits - with $1 spent on family planning saving at least $4 on treating the complications from unintended pregnancies.

1 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。

2 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

3 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

4 congregating   

（使）集合，聚集( congregate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The spatial distribution patterns of larvae and pupae are congregating distribution. 幼虫和蛹的空间分布均为聚集分布。
• He says victims of violence are congregating there because they feel safer. 他说暴力的受害者聚集在这里因为他们觉得更安全。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。