新视野大学英语视听说教程 3 Unit 3-13

VI.  Further Listening and Speaking
Task1: Early Marriage
Script
At the age of 12, Lisa has been married for three years to a young man she met just after finishing secondary school. He treated her well. She almost died during the birth of their first child, born a year after their marriage. The second child, born 18 months later, was also a girl. Lately she and her husband quarrel frequently. She wants to go to vocational¹ school to learn skills to add to the family income, but his mother insists she stay home and produce a son.
This example is by no means exceptional². Early marriage is common in many parts of the world. Early marriage leads to early motherhood. In some developing countries, 20 percent or over half of the women give birth to their first child before the age of 18.Expectations from parents, in-laws and society are to produce a child as soon as possible. Many young wives feel pressure to bear son. This typically results in early and frequent pregnancies³.
In developing countries, more than half a million women die every year from causes related to pregnancy⁴. There are four important reasons for these deaths. Birth are either “too soon, too close, too many, or to late”. According to statistics⁵, it is young women who most die during pregnancy.
1. At what age did Lisa give birth to her first child?
2. What does Lisa want?
3. Why do women in some developing countries have babies early?
4. What are the reasons women die from childbirth?
5. What is the main idea of the passage?

Keys: 1.B 2.D3.A 4.D 5.C
 

1 vocational   

adj.职业的，业务的

参考例句：

• They have set a regular time for vocational study.他们把业务学习时间固定下来。
• She was given some quick training at the vocational school.她在职业学校受过速成训练。

2 exceptional   

adj.优越的，杰出的，例外的，独特的，异常的

参考例句：

• He is a man of exceptional talent.他是位具有非凡才能的人。
• He showed exceptional musical ability.他显示出特殊的音乐才能。

3 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。

4 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。

5 statistics   

n.统计，统计数字，统计学

参考例句：

• We have statistics for the last year.我们有去年的统计资料。
• Statistics is taught in many colleges.许多大学都教授统计学。