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VOA慢速英语2015 选择成为单身妈妈

时间:2015-03-03 14:07来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Choosing to Be a Single Mother 选择成为单身妈妈

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle Report.

American actress Marisa Tomei won an Academy Award for her work in the 1992 movie My Cousin Vinny. People laughed when they saw her film character telling a boyfriend that they need to get married. Why marriage? Because her biological clock is ticking and she wants a baby.

"Well I hate to bring it up because I know you got enough pressure on you already. But ... we agreed to get married as soon as you won your first case (law case). Meanwhile, ten years later ... my niece ... the daughter of my sister is getting married. My biological clock is ticking like this (stomp1, stomp, stomp) And the way this case is going ... I ain't never getting married."

"Lisa, I don't need this. I swear to God I don't need this right now."

Using it this way, a biological clock means the time in a woman’s life when she is able to bear children. In the not-so-distant past, most people thought that when a woman reached her 40s it was too late for her to have children. The time on her biological clock had run out. 

Well, that has changed. These days some women are resetting2 their biological clocks. They are giving themselves more time to have children.

Make no mistake. Being a “Single Mother by Choice” is very different from younger women who find themselves pregnant, perhaps not by choice.

Generally speaking, single mothers by choice are older and well educated. They are usually financially secure and successful in their careers. So, they have the money. What they may not have is a partner.

These women find themselves in their late 30s or early 40s, single and wanting children.

This is the place in life where writer Kerry Reichs found herself several years ago. She says she did not plan to become a single mother. She says she just did not find the right partner.  

“Well, you certainly don’t wake up when you’re a ten year old girl and think, ‘Someday I want to be a single mother all by myself.’ So, what it was, I think I had a set of standards for the partner I was looking for and I didn’t meet anyone that fit those standards. And, at 39 I found myself single, without children and I wanted them very much. So, I made the difficult decision that I could do this on my own.”

All families are different

Kerry Reichs says part of the reason she wrote her latest book, What You Wish For, is to tell a story about people creating their own nontraditional families. These families look very different from the traditional mother-father-child structure. One character in the book is a successful woman in her 40s who is single and who wants a baby. Just like Ms. Reichs.

She says it was a difficult decision. It meant giving up on the idea, the fantasy, of having the “perfect” family. In the end, she decided3 that she had the resources and the temperament4, or mental ability to do it. 

“It's difficult because you’re letting go of the fantasy of the life you thought you would have – the husband, the house in the suburbs, the dog, and the partner in raising this child. You don’t want to damage your kid. You really have to think carefully if you have the resources and the temperament to do it. And I did. I always wanted a kid more than the house, more than the husband, more than anything.” 

Birth numbers of older women in the U.S.

The National Center for Health Statistics is a division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In January, the Center published a report on births in the United States. The report states that the birth rate for women aged5 40–44 generally has risen over the past 30 years.

The number of births to women aged 45–49 rose 14% in 2013, compared to the number in 2012. The birth rate for women aged 49 and over also rose in 2013 from one year earlier.

The report states that the increase in birth rates for women aged 35 and over during the last 20 years has been linked, in part, to medical developments. Modern medicine now makes it easier to get pregnant.

Helping6 women become mothers has become big business. There are adoption7 organizations for a woman who wants to care for someone else’s child legally as her own.

Author Kerry Reichs with her son Declan at a book signing event for 

For the women who want to get pregnant, there are fertility centers with doctors who can help. Kerry Reichs chose to get pregnant from an anonymous8 sperm9 donor10. She says the experience was surreal, too strange to be real.  

“It's very surreal ... selecting a sperm donor. It’s a little bit like going on an online dating site to pick someone … except you’re never going to meet (him) but (he) will be the father of your children ... which is totally crazy."

Changing public opinion

There have also been changes in U.S. public opinion toward unmarried women having children. There is no longer a social stigma11 on a woman having a baby without a partner. But single mothers by choice do have their critics. Conservative groups and social commentators13 say that choosing to become a single mom is not good for the child, families or society.

“No, and one of the things you’re seeing in the contemporary political debate in America is some accusations14 that single mothers are destroying the fabric15 of our society. I’m personally going to destroy the government as we know it by being a single mother.”

Kerry Reichs says this is not a decision women come to easily. She says for many if not most women this is a decision of last resort, meaning there are no other choices for them.

“In telling this story in What You Wish For I really want to share the amount of gravitas that goes into the decision making. This is not a decision that any woman makes lightly. This is really a decision of last resort -- nothing cavalier about it. And I wanted to capture the stark16 fear but also optimism and confidence that goes into it. And to encourage every woman who find themselves in that difficult place of facing a biological clock but no partner that this is something that they can consider. That every person can consider.”  

Kerry Reichs is now pregnant with her second child.

Words in This Story

biological clock – n. the period of fertility in human beings;  a system in the body that controls natural processes (such as waking, sleeping, and aging)

standard – n. something used as a rule or as a basis of comparison; a level of quality that is considered acceptable or desirable

fantasy – n. an idea about doing something far removed from reality

temperament – n. the usual ability or behavior of a person or animal

stigma – n. a set of harmful and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something

commentator12 – n. a person who discusses issues on television, in newspapers, etc.

sperm donor – n. a man who gives his sperm, usually to a fertility center, so that it can be used to help women get pregnant

surreal – adj. very strange or unusual

cavalier – adj. having or showing no concern for something that is important or serious


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 stomp stomp     
v.跺(脚),重踩,重踏
参考例句:
  • 3.And you go to france, and you go to stomp! 你去法国,你去看跺脚舞!
  • 4.How hard did she stomp? 她跺得有多狠?
2 resetting 8b631b0acab967515a7b12e88c643e11     
v.重新安放或安置( reset的现在分词 );重拨(测量仪器指针);为(考试、测试等)出一套新题;重新安置,将…恢复原位
参考例句:
  • Range represents the maximum strain which can be recorded without resetting or replacing the strain gage. 量程表示无需重调或重装应变计就能记录到的最大应变。 来自辞典例句
  • Adding weight to the puddle jumper by resetting its inertial dampeners. 通过调节飞船的惯性装置来增加重量。 来自电影对白
3 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
4 temperament 7INzf     
n.气质,性格,性情
参考例句:
  • The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
  • Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。
5 aged 6zWzdI     
adj.年老的,陈年的
参考例句:
  • He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了,也老点了。
  • He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老,然而记忆力还好。
6 helping 2rGzDc     
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。
7 adoption UK7yu     
n.采用,采纳,通过;收养
参考例句:
  • An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
  • The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。
8 anonymous lM2yp     
adj.无名的;匿名的;无特色的
参考例句:
  • Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
  • The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。
9 sperm jFOzO     
n.精子,精液
参考例句:
  • Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
  • In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中,一个精子使一个卵子受精。
10 donor dstxI     
n.捐献者;赠送人;(组织、器官等的)供体
参考例句:
  • In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下,接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
  • The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。
11 stigma WG2z4     
n.耻辱,污名;(花的)柱头
参考例句:
  • Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
  • The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。
12 commentator JXOyu     
n.注释者,解说者;实况广播评论员
参考例句:
  • He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛,是个好的解说者。
  • The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。
13 commentators 14bfe5fe312768eb5df7698676f7837c     
n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 );时事评论员;注释者;实况广播员
参考例句:
  • Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语,真叫人腻烦。
  • Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话,令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 accusations 3e7158a2ffc2cb3d02e77822c38c959b     
n.指责( accusation的名词复数 );指控;控告;(被告发、控告的)罪名
参考例句:
  • There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
  • He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。
15 fabric 3hezG     
n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织
参考例句:
  • The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
  • I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。
16 stark lGszd     
adj.荒凉的;严酷的;完全的;adv.完全地
参考例句:
  • The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
  • He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。
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