双语有声阅读:Can Your Belly Tell You If It Is a Boy or

Can Your Belly¹ Tell You If It Is a Boy or Girl? 生男生女 ── 肚皮露玄机？

\Many myths surround the mysteries of pregnancy². For example, people have developed a lot of folk wisdom about predicting a baby's sex. One old wives' tale that has endured is that if a woman carries her unborn baby low, then it will be a boy. Actually, the shape and height of a woman' belly during pregnancy is determined³ by her muscle tone and the position the baby is in.

Another myth surrounding the sex of a baby says that curvy women have girls and less curvy women have boys. The reasoning behind this is that less curvy women are thought to have higher levels of the male hormone⁴, testosterone. However, a recent study found no connection between a mother's waist-to-hip ratio and her infant's gender⁵.

While old beliefs may be interesting and fun to talk about, there is only one accurate way to predict a baby's sex: by getting an ultrasound done.

围绕着怀孕的种种现象有许多神话。比方说，人们发现了民间很多预测胎儿性别的妙法。根据一则流传至今的老妇人的故事，如果孕妇腹中胎儿的位置较低，那么就会是个男孩。不过实际上，孕妇肚子在怀孕期间的形状及高度是取决于孕妇腹肌的紧实度及腹中胎儿的胎位。

另一个与胎儿性别有关的神话是：腰、臀间曲线明显的妇女会生女孩；反之，曲线较不明显的则会生男孩。这种说法的论据是人们认为曲线较不明显的妇女具有较多的男性荷尔蒙──睾丸素酮。不过最近的一项研究表明，母亲的腰、臀比例和婴儿的性别没有关系。

老祖先的看法或许很有趣，说起来也挺有意思，不过能准确预测胎儿性别的方法却只有一个：用超声波扫描
 

1 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

2 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。

3 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

4 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

5 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。