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2006年VOA标准英语-Egg Donor Business Booming on College Campuses

时间:2007-04-05 06:39:11

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(单词翻译)

By Mil Arcega
Washington, D.C.
13 June 2006
 
Watch Fertility Report


Egg fertilization in a laboratory  
  
Last year, infertile1 couples in the U.S. spent nearly $3 billion to improve their chances of having babies. They also paid out more than $38 million for egg donations, a procedure that's become both popular and controversial as fertility clinics and brokers2 bid for the best and brightest egg donors3.

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Colleges offer some of the best gene4 pools for infertile couples looking for smart young women willing to donate their eggs. And ads, found in many college newspapers, can speed the search by offering cash-strapped students thousands of dollars, "for a few good eggs."

 
Carrie Sprecht
  
Carrie Specht answered one of the ads eight years ago when she was a struggling student at New York University. "I'm not going to kid anybody; the dollar signs were there first and foremost." Because it's illegal to sell body parts in the U.S., the money is considered a fee for a woman's time and inconvenience.

Professor Deborah Spar, author of the "Baby Business", a book that looks at the economics of conception, says any way you look at it, it's still a cash transaction. "They are not donating eggs -- in most cases, they are selling them. Yes, it's a miraculous5 science, but there's also commerce."

 
Deborah Spar 
  
It's a profitable bit of commerce for donors with high demand characteristics such as top academic scores, athletic6 ability and good looks.

Carrie wound up donating four times, using some of the money to start a film company, which she aptly named Zygot Films. "I do know there are at least three children out there that are carrying my DNA7," she says. "I like it a lot, I like the idea that I have longevity8."


Shannon Clark  
  
Not everyone feels the same way. Shannon Clark was a college sophomore9 when she donated an egg to a relative. Now ten years later and pregnant with her first child, she has regret.

"As I grow older and more mature and started to have maternal10 instincts and feelings of my own," she says, "I realized, wow, this wasn't just DNA, this was my child, I gave to my aunt."

Industry watchdogs say there's currently very little government oversight11 on the fertility industry and even fewer rules on egg donations, such as how many times a woman can donate or how much she should be paid. Deborah Spar wants a debate on the medical and ethical questions surrounding egg donations - a procedure that doctors say involves weeks of hormone injections and a small risk of long-term health problems


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 infertile u71xE     
adj.不孕的;不肥沃的,贫瘠的
参考例句:
  • Plants can't grow well in the infertile land.在贫瘠的土地上庄稼长不好。
  • Nobody is willing to till this infertile land.这块薄田没有人愿意耕种。
2 brokers 75d889d756f7fbea24ad402e01a65b20     
n.(股票、外币等)经纪人( broker的名词复数 );中间人;代理商;(订合同的)中人v.做掮客(或中人等)( broker的第三人称单数 );作为权力经纪人进行谈判;以中间人等身份安排…
参考例句:
  • The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司,经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分
3 donors 89b49c2bd44d6d6906d17dca7315044b     
n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 );献血者;捐血者;器官捐献者
参考例句:
  • Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去,请给我们发电子邮件。
  • About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 gene WgKxx     
n.遗传因子,基因
参考例句:
  • A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
  • The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。
5 miraculous DDdxA     
adj.像奇迹一样的,不可思议的
参考例句:
  • The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
  • They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人,赢得了非凡的胜利。
6 athletic sOPy8     
adj.擅长运动的,强健的;活跃的,体格健壮的
参考例句:
  • This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
  • He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。
7 DNA 4u3z1l     
(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸
参考例句:
  • DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
  • Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。
8 longevity C06xQ     
n.长命;长寿
参考例句:
  • Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
  • Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。
9 sophomore PFCz6     
n.大学二年级生;adj.第二年的
参考例句:
  • He is in his sophomore year.他在读二年级。
  • I'm a college sophomore majoring in English.我是一名英语专业的大二学生。
10 maternal 57Azi     
adj.母亲的,母亲般的,母系的,母方的
参考例句:
  • He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
  • The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。
11 oversight WvgyJ     
n.勘漏,失察,疏忽
参考例句:
  • I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
  • Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

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