（雅思課外精讀）為什么越來越多的女性選擇不生孩子

留學(xué)，語言成績是必要材料之一，并且在申請院校的進程中，語言成績的高低直接影響著你最終能申請什么到水平的院校，下面外語頻道小編為大家具體分享下“【雅思課外精讀】為什么越來越多的女性選擇不生孩子？”內(nèi)容。

Why I dont have a child

我沒什么沒要孩子

1. I was 31 the last time I got pregnant. And after a lifetime of certainty that I did not want to be a mother, I felt an unexpected thing, cutting through the panic and the nausea: happiness.

我上次懷孕的時候31歲。在我確定自己一輩子不想做母親之后，我感到幸福，這是我意料之外的，而這種幸福穿透了之前的種種恐慌和不安。

2. Every morning since an intuitive nudge sent me to fetch a pregnancy test from the drugstore, my breasts oddly sore and my stomach in a low-level but constant state ofturbulence, I would wake up with the thought: I can do this. I want to do this.

自從我去藥店買驗孕棒以來，每天早上，我的胸部都會有一種奇怪的疼痛，而我的胃則一直處于地點但是卻持續(xù)顛簸，我醒來時會想：我可以做一個母親，我想做一個母親。

3. By the time I fell asleep at night, I was sure there was no possible way I could do this, this being raising a child on my own.

而晚上入睡的時候，我卻很確信，我不能，我沒辦法獨自撫養(yǎng)一個孩子。

4. And it would have to be on my own. The man involved, despite saying he was excited and down for this, he was also hiding a romantic partner behind his back. When youre free spirited and wealthy enough to have multiple homes, it turns out you can hide a wife in one of them or move her around like some gaslighting shell game and your other girlfriendsmultiplewill be none the wiser. So he wasnt going to be much help.

但我必須一個人撫養(yǎng)孩子。那個男人，盡管他說他很興奮，也很愿意和我一起有一個孩子，但是他背地里卻有一個情人。當一個人放蕩不羈且富有的時候，他可以把妻子藏在其中的 一個房子里，或者是像搬煤氣燈一樣把她搬來搬去，而她的女朋友們對這些卻一無所知。所以，他幫不上我什么忙。

5. I was, and remain to this day, in a state of emotional and physical estrangement from my family, because of dynamics too complicated to share here. And as I had recently gotten rid of all of my belongings to move to another continent, my social circle was mostly acquaintances. There was no guarantee I would even be allowed to stay where I had moved. I had not yet secured my long-term visa, and immigration departments are often suspicious, if not downright hostile to pregnant women, even if there is no birthright citizenship policy in place.

我和家人一直都很疏遠，原因太復(fù)雜了，無法在這里說明白。由于我最近把自己的所有東西都處理了，搬到了另一個大陸，所以我的社交圈都是一些熟人。我甚至不能抱枕我能在這里住很久。我還沒有拿到長期簽證，還沒有拿到我的長期簽證，即使沒有出生公民權(quán)政策，移民部門也經(jīng)常對孕婦抱有懷疑態(tài)度，有時候他們甚至抱有徹頭徹尾的敵意。

6. It was just going to be me and this boy. I was sure he was a boy: he had been appearing in my dreams. He had extraordinarily long legs, like a hare. He had my blue eyes. There was something romantic about the situation, just me and this kid against the world and against all of the odds. I had to travel a lot for work, but I thought I could just strap him onto my body and take him with me. I started fantasizing about our life together. It would be unpredictable, sure, but exciting. I couldnt provide him the idyllic white picket fence, but I could show him the world.

我此刻與肚子里的那個男孩相依為命。我確信他是個男孩，他一直出現(xiàn)在我的夢中。他的腿長得出奇，像只野兔。他有著我的藍眼睛。當時的情況很有浪漫色彩，只有我和這個孩子一起對抗整個世界，對抗所有的逆境。我經(jīng)常出差，但我想我可以把它綁在我身上，帶它和我一起。我開始幻想我們在一起的生活。這是不可預(yù)測的，但是很讓人興奮。我不能給他田園般的白色尖樁籬笆，但我可以帶他看世界。

7. But then I stopped thinking about what this life would be like for me and started to think about what this life would be like for him. I read about attachment theory and how having only one sometimes emotionally erratic caretaker in early life could lead to issues later on. I read about the importance of stability in early childhood. I remembered that while I didnt mind going hungry every once in a while when there are gaps between payments for my freelance work, it would be unacceptable for a child to lack food. I considered my inability to find stable work.

但后來，我不再想像之后的生活對我，對他會是怎樣。我讀過依戀理論，以及幼年時候僅有一個有時候情緒會不太穩(wěn)定的監(jiān)護人會導(dǎo)致什么樣的問題。我記得，雖然我并不介意由于我的自由職業(yè)性質(zhì)我偶爾會挨餓，但是，對于一個孩子來說，挨餓是不可接受的。我認為我找不到穩(wěn)定的工作。

8. Then there was my anxiety disorder and my bouts of suicidal ideation. If I had been able to be a pillar of strength in a swirl of chaos for the sake of my son, maybe I could have pulled it off. But as I assessed my sons future, there was more deprivation than abundance.

后來，我得了焦慮癥，我有時候甚至想自殺。如果，在這樣的混亂中我能成為我兒子的支柱，那么我或許能夠自己撫養(yǎng)孩子。但是，當我評估我兒子的未來時，我所看到的更多是壞處而不是好處。

9. I decided to terminate. It was the child, my child, I was trying to protect by ushering it out of this world. His was likely to be a life of hardship, and that was even in a best case scenarioif there had been complications during the pregnancy or birth, if my economic situation worsened, if there was an accident or illness, if, if, ifI cared too much about this child to bring him into a situation where not just only flourishing was unlikely, but the odds of survival were a bit off.

我決定終止妊娠。那個孩子，我的孩子，我決定用帶他離開世界的方式來保護他。他的生活可能會很艱難，即使是在最好的情況下要是在妊娠或者分娩期間有并發(fā)癥，要是我的經(jīng)濟情況惡化，要是有一個事故或者疾病，要是我太愛這個孩子了，我不想帶他到一個或許會很好或許會很壞的世界。

10. As I shared my story with friends, they came back with stories of their own. A friend with two sons had found herself pregnant almost immediately after she stopped breastfeeding her second child. Her husband had recently returned to school to finish a degree, and money wasscarce. They lived in a city with a catastrophic schooling system, so they had decided to home school. Another child would bind them to the home for a longer time.

當我和朋友們分享我的故事的時候，他們也講述了自己的故事。一個朋友在停止第二個孩子的母乳喂養(yǎng)之后發(fā)現(xiàn)自己又懷孕了。她丈夫剛剛決定回學(xué)校完成學(xué)位，家里并不是很寬裕。他們住在一個教育很差的城市，因此他們決定在家教孩子。而生第三胎則會把他們綁在家里更久。

11. She needed to explain why she could not mother another child. I understood she wasnt trying to fend off my judgment of them. She was dealing with the judgment she was dumping on herself. The same judgment I heaped on my own self for being unable to continue my pregnancy: Im a failure for not making more money. Im a whiny complainer for being unable to not have depression and anxiety. Im a terror, Im worthless, I cant even do this one thing that I am biologically programmedand seemingly eager, as I got pregnant while on the pillto do.

她需要說出自己為什么不再生一個孩子。我明白她并不是試圖干預(yù)我的她的判斷。她正在思考該如何看待自己。我因為中止妊娠而做出同樣的判斷：我是一個糟糕的人，我無法掙更多的錢。我是個愛抱怨的人，因為我總是感到抑郁和焦慮。我是個災(zāi)難，我一無是處，我甚至不能做一件我生來就該做的事，而且這件事還是我一直渴望做到的，我在服用避孕藥的時候懷孕了。

12. There has been a lot of hand-wringing about declining birth rates, the lowest in more than 30 years, across all race and class divides. Were told millennial women choosing not to have children will be bad for the economy, it will be bad for the aging baby boomer population, it will be bad for the real estate market. According to Forbes, its bad for older women desperate for grandchildren. But are people actually deciding to delay families, or are they finding themselves in unstable situations where the addition of a child seems unworkable? The reasons given whenop-ed writers bother to ask millennialstoo much debt, not enough financial security, a romantic market that is as rocky as the job marketpoint more to the latter.

所有種族和階層的出生率都在下降，這是30多年來的最低水平。別人告訴我們，千禧一代的女性選擇不生孩子對經(jīng)濟不利，對嬰兒潮一代的老齡化不利，對房地產(chǎn)市場不利。據(jù)福布斯報道，對于渴望孫輩的高齡女性來說，不生孩子是不好的。但是，人們是否決定推遲生育？他們是不是發(fā)現(xiàn)自己處于不穩(wěn)定狀態(tài)，這時候生一個孩子并不可行？當專欄作家不費事地詢問千禧一代時，他們給出的理由太多的債務(wù)、沒有足夠的經(jīng)濟保障、浪漫市場和就業(yè)市場一樣不穩(wěn)定，他們更多是以為呢欸經(jīng)濟不穩(wěn)定而選擇不生孩子。

精讀解析

篇章結(jié)構(gòu)

P1：決定終止妊娠之后，我感到幸福。

P2P9：我決定終止妊娠之前的種種矛盾糾結(jié)：我懷孕了，孩子的父親并不是個負責人的男人；我自己本身精神和經(jīng)濟都處于不穩(wěn)定狀態(tài)，沒辦法給孩子更好的生活，因此選擇終止妊娠。

P10P11：和我一樣決定終止妊娠的母親面臨的種種困境。

P12：人們更多是因為經(jīng)濟壓力大的原因選擇不生孩子。

重點單詞

unexpected/?n?kspekt?d/ adj. 沒有料想到的, 意外的, 突如其來的

【短語】

unexpected news 意外的消息；出乎意料的新聞

unexpected accident 不能預(yù)料的事故

【例句】

His unexpected death is unexpected news.

他的猝死是一個意外的消息。

cut through抄近路走過；刺穿

【例句】

The boat cut effortlessly through the water.

船輕快地破水前行。

nausea/n??s??/ n. 作嘔;惡心;反胃

【例句】

The patient complained of inappetence and nausea.

病人訴說他食欲不振和嘔吐。

intuitive/?ntju??t?v/ adj. 有直覺力的;憑直覺獲知的

【例句】

We have no intuitive grasp of the immensity of time.

我們對時間的無限沒有什么直觀的認識。

turbulence /t??bj?l(?)ns/ n. 氣體或水的渦流；動亂,騷亂；波動；(海洋、天氣等的)狂暴

【例句】

The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.

空氣的激流導(dǎo)致飛機翻轉(zhuǎn)。

wake up v. 醒來,叫醒

【短語】

wake up call 叫醒電話；提醒信號，警告

wake up to 認識到，意識到

【例句】

On holidays the little town wakes up.

每逢假日, 這個小城鎮(zhèn)就活躍起來了。

gaslighting通過心理手段操縱某人；心理控制；煤氣燈

【例句】

Gaslighting is a tactic in which a person or entity, in order to gain more power, makes a victim question their reality.(35KB)

心理控制是一個人為了獲得權(quán)力，而使得受害者懷疑自身的一種手段，它比大家想象的要更可怕。

estrangement /?s?tre?nd ?m?nt/ n. 疏遠;失和,不和

【同根】

estranged adj. 分居的；疏遠的，不和的；（與某事物）脫離的，決裂的;

estrange from v. 使疏遠；離間；使離開

【例句】

The quarrel led to a complete estrangement between her and her family.

這一爭吵使她同家人完全疏遠了。

acquaintance/?kwe?nt(?)ns/ n. 相識的人, 熟人；對有了解, 熟知, 認識

【短語】

acquaintance with 相識

acquaintance with someone 對某人的相識，熟

nodding acquaintance 相識不深的人；不完整或膚淺的知識

make the acquaintance of vt. 和相識，結(jié)識

【例句】

I have no acquaintance with this book.

我不熟悉這本書。

suspicious/s?sp???s/ adj. 猜疑的, 疑心的；可疑的；表示懷疑的

【短語】

suspicious of 對起疑

【例句】

These words showed that Amelia was suspicious.

從這些話可看出阿米莉亞起了疑心。

The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger.

狗疑惑地嗅著那個陌生人。

strap /strp/ vt. 用帶捆綁；用皮條抽打；約束n. 皮帶；帶；磨刀皮帶；鞭打

【例句】

The straps hold the baby in securely.

帶子把嬰兒安全地系在里面。

fantasize/fnt?sa?z/ vt.vi. 想像;幻想;做白日夢

【例句】

One might fantasize the death of someone seen as a threat.

人可能會幻想對自己有威脅的人死去。

unpredictable/?npr?d?kt?b(?)l/ adj. 無法預(yù)言的, 不可預(yù)測的；捉摸不透的, 不穩(wěn)定的, 反復(fù)無常的

【例句】

His actions since that morning have been eccentric and unpredictable.

自從那天早晨,他的行動一直是反常而不可捉摸。

idyllic /?d?l?k/ adj. 牧歌的，田園詩的

【例句】

Dont you think that sounds idyllic?

你不覺得那聽起來很富有詩情畫意嗎？

erratic/?rt?k/ adj. 不穩(wěn)定的；古怪的n. 漂泊無定的人；古怪的人

【例句】

He is a very erratic football player.

他是個技術(shù)非常不穩(wěn)定的足球隊員。

unacceptable/?n?ksept?b(?)l/ adj. 不能接受的;不受歡迎的；不合意的;不令人滿意的

【例句】

But some bitter substances in it such as elaterin are unacceptable.

由于苦瓜含有苦瓜素等物質(zhì),苦味較重,令一些消費者難以接受。

inability/?n?b?l?t?/ n. 無能,無力

【短語】

inability to 沒有...的能力

【例句】

Her despondency arises from her inability to find employment.

她之所以意志消沉是因為她無法找到工作。

anxiety disorder焦慮癥；焦慮性障礙；焦慮癥候群

bout/ba?t/ n. 較量；發(fā)作；回合；一陣

【例句】

She is disposed to sudden bouts of depression.

她動不動就會突然抑郁癥發(fā)作。

ideation/?a?d?e??(?)n/ n. 構(gòu)思能力，思維能力；構(gòu)思過程

【短語】

suicide ideation 自殺意念

suicidal ideation 自殺觀念

【例句】

There was a significant difference in paranoic ideation between the age group of 40-49 years and the normal group.

偏執(zhí)因子在40-49歲組與正常對照有非常顯著的差異。

deprivation/depr?ve??(?)n/ n. 剝奪;被奪去,喪失；缺乏,損失

【例句】

Sleep deprivation can cause stress,loss of appetite and lethargy.

睡眠不足會導(dǎo)致緊張、沒有胃口和懶散。

abundance /?b?nd(?)ns/ n. 大量, 充足

【短語】

in abundance 大量的；豐富的；充足的

an abundance of adj. 大量的

relative abundance 相對多度；元素豐度

species abundance 物種豐度

【例句】

The tree yields an abundance of fruit.

這樹結(jié)果甚多。

There was an abundance of corn last year.

去年玉米豐收。

terminate/t??m?ne?t/ vt.vi. 結(jié)束; 使終結(jié)

【例句】

She chose to have an early termination.

她選擇了早期終止妊娠。

Janes unhappy married life terminated in divorce.

珍妮的不幸婚姻以離婚而告終。

usher/???/ n. 引座員, 招待員, 迎賓員；門房, 傳達員；助理教員, 助教vt. 引, 領(lǐng), 陪同

【短語】

usher in 領(lǐng)進，引進

ushering in 領(lǐng)進; 傳報;

usher into 領(lǐng)進

【例句】

He ushered me into the drawing room.

他把我引進客廳。

scenario/s?nɑ?r???/ n. 情節(jié)；劇本；方案

【例句】

This is an adaptation of a novel for the scenario.

這是由小說改編的電影劇本。

complication/k?mpl?ke??(?)n/ n. (新出現(xiàn)的)困難, 難題；并發(fā)癥

【同根】

complication n. 并發(fā)癥；復(fù)雜；復(fù)雜化；混亂

obstetric complication 產(chǎn)科并發(fā)癥

pregnancy complication 妊娠并發(fā)癥

complier n. 依從者

comply with 照做，遵守

complying presentation 相符交單

non complying 不服從

【例句】

She remained innocent of the complications she had caused.

她對由她所引起的糾紛毫不知曉

scarce /ske?s/ adj. 缺乏的, 罕見的

【例句】

Eggs are scarce and expensive this month.

這個月雞蛋又少又貴。

catastrophic/?kt??str?f?k/ adj. 災(zāi)難性的；慘重的;悲慘的

【例句】

It has been predicted that the Earth will tilt on its axis,causing catastrophic famine and disease.

有人曾預(yù)言地球會導(dǎo)致大荒災(zāi)和疾病。

fend off v. 避開；擋開

【例句】

He neatly fended off a jab at his chest.

他利落地擋開了當胸的一擊。

heap on把...放在堆上

【例句】

Unsurprisingly, given the opprobrium often heaped on the profession, ambitious graduates tend to steer clear.

鑒于這份職業(yè)背負著許多罵名，充滿抱負的大學(xué)生對它敬而遠之的態(tài)度也是不足為奇的。

whiny/hwa?n?/ adj. 煩躁的；愛抱怨的；常發(fā)牢騷的

【例句】

People get rude and whiny when they are exhausted.

人們在精疲力竭的時候會變得粗野, 愛發(fā)牢騷。

hand-wringing/hnd,r????/ n. 絕望,歇斯底里狀態(tài)adj. 絕望的

【例句】

But to judge by their hand-wringing, when the justices issue their verdict in June it will not be a surprise if they reject the case on these grounds.

但是庭審把重點放在程序問題上，他們一定大失所望。但法官審判的時候摩拳擦掌，束手無策，當六月份發(fā)出判決時，如果他們因為這些理由而拒絕審判該案也不奇怪。

real estate n. 不動產(chǎn)，房地產(chǎn)

【例句】

Tom is a real estate developer.

湯姆是位房地產(chǎn)開發(fā)商。

desperate/desp(?)r?t/ adj. 不顧一切的, 拼命的；鋌而走險的, 孤注一擲的；極想望的, 極需要的；危急的, 極嚴重的

【同根】

desperately adv. 拼命地；絕望地；極度地

desperation n. 絕望的境地；不顧一切拼命

desperateness n. 拼命；奮不顧身

【例句】

In desperation, I decided to try acupuncture.

我別無出路，就決定試試針刺療法。

通過上文的內(nèi)容介紹，大家對“【雅思課外精讀】為什么越來越多的女性選擇不生孩子？”大家是不是有了一個大致的了解呢？如果大家還想了解更詳細、更多的相關(guān)內(nèi)容，則可以繼續(xù)關(guān)注本頻道，也可以向本頻道咨詢。

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