生活英语情景口语:你赞成堕胎吗?

E: did you know that abortion² is still illegal in many states in the USA?

D: why? I thought Americans were supposed to be more open than that.

E: well, for many religious people, they believe that people who abort¹ their babies are murderers.

D: do you think most people in America believe that abortion is wrong?

E: no, I think it's mostly the older generation who are against abortions³.

D: it's no wonder there are so many teenage pregnancies⁴ in America.

E: religious people blame it on pre-marital sex, not on abortion being illegal.

D: what do you think about abortion?

E: I personally would never want to have one, but I think that since a pregnancy⁵ can affect a woman's entire life, she should have the right to decide for herself.

D: do you think the fathers should have some kind of say in the matter?

E: I know this is going to sound sexist, but I don't think that men should have to give their approval to the mothers of their children.

D: why not? It's their children, too.

E: that may be true, but when a woman gets pregnant, it changes her life completely. Men can still carry on with their lives after the birth exactly as they did beforehand.

D: that might be true, but I think men should have some kind of say in the matter.
你知道吗,在美国很多州堕胎是违法的.
怎么会?我以为美国人在这方面是很开放的.
恩,对很多有宗教信仰的人来说,堕胎是一种谋杀.
那你觉得大多数美国人都认为堕胎是错误的吗?
不,我觉得主要是老一辈的人反对这个.
难怪现在美国有那么多的少女怀孕.
宗教人士认为这应该归咎于婚前性行为,而不应该把堕胎定为非法.
你怎么看堕胎?
我可不想这样做,不过我觉得怀孕对一个女人的一生都会产生重大的影响,所以她应该有权自己做决定.
你觉得父亲那一方在这种事情中应该承担什么责任吗?
我知道这听起来可能有点儿性别歧视,不过我觉得男人在孩子要不要生下来的这个问题上没有什么发言权.
为什么呢?那也是他们的孩子啊.
这也许是事实,但是女人一旦怀了孕,她的一生就会因此改变.可男人们在孩子出生前和出生后生活没什么变化,还能像以前一样.
这也许有些道理.不过我觉得男人对这件事还是应该有发言权的.
Abort: to end a pregnancy early in order to prevent a baby from developing and being born alive 使流产

to abort a child/pregnancy/foetus 使婴儿流产;终止妊娠;堕胎

say: the right to influence something by giving your opinion before a decision is made 决定权;发言权 singular uncountable ~ (in sth)

We had no say in the decision to sell the company. 在决定出售公司的问题上,我们没有发言权.
People want a greater say in local government. 人们要求在当地的政务中有更大的发言权.
The judge has the final say on the sentence. 法官对判决有最后的决定权.

Approval: the feeling that somebody/something is good or acceptable; a positive opinion of somebody/something 赞成;同意

She desperately⁶ wanted to win her father's approval. 她急不可待地想赢得她父亲的赞同.
Do the plans meet with your approval? 这些计划你赞成吗?
Several people nodded in approval. 好几个人点头表示同意.

carry on (with something);carry something↔on: to continue doing something 继续做;坚持干

Carry on with your work while I'm away. 我不在时你要接着干.
After he left I just tried to carry on as normal(= do the things I usually do). 他离开后,我只管尽力像往常一样继续干.
Carry on the good work! 干得不错,继续努力吧!
He carried on peeling the potatoes. 他不停地削土豆皮.

 

1 abort   

v.使流产，堕胎；中止；中止(工作、计划等)

参考例句：

• The captain instructed them to abort the mission.上尉指示他们中止执行任务。
• With this button the user can abort the audio sequence.用户可以用该按钮终止音频序列。

2 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

3 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 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。

6 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。