VOA慢速英语2009年-Development Report - Report Calls Attentio

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.
　
A premature¹ baby in a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey

Each year millions of babies are born too soon and too small. Premature or preterm births are defined as births at less than thirty-seven weeks.

Prematurity² is the leading cause of death in newborn babies. More than one-fourth of the four million newborns who die each year around the world were born too early.

Preterm babies that survive can suffer a lifetime of serious health conditions. The examples include cerebral³ palsy, blindness, hearing problems and learning disabilities. Families and communities face emotional, physical and financial costs.

Christopher Howson is the vice⁴ president for global programs at the March of Dimes⁵, a nonprofit group. His group and the World Health Organization recently published a report called "The Global and Regional Toll⁶ of Preterm Birth."

CHRISTOPHER HOWSON: "Frankly⁷ the crisis of preterm birth is under-recognized, undercounted, undervalued and underfunded. I mean, this reports shows that thirteen million babies are born every year preterm, and that over a million of those babies die as a result of being born too early."

And these are just estimates; the true numbers could be even higher. More than eighty-five percent of preterm births happen in Africa and Asia. Africa has the highest rate, with about four million cases each year.

Chris Howson says many of the causes of preterm births are related to poverty and weak health-care systems.

CHRISTOPHER HOWSON: "For example, the poor overall health and nutritional⁸ status of women. A high burden of infectious diseases. Lack of provision of family planning -- allowing a women to decide when to start and end having children and how to space her children. And also the lack of good prenatal care programs that might identify problems early on in pregnancy⁹."

Preterm births are a problem not just in the developing world. The combined rate in the United States and Canada is the second highest in the world. Preterm birth rates in the United States have increased thirty-six percent in the last twenty-five years.

This has been largely the result of two reasons. One is an increase in pregnancies¹⁰ among women over age thirty-five. The other is an increase in the use of reproductive therapies. Fertility treatments can produce multiple births, which increases the risk that the babies will arrive early.

One of the United Nations Millennium¹¹ Development Goals for two thousand fifteen is to reduce death rates in young children by two-thirds. Chris Howson says premature births must be reduced if that goal is to be met. What is being done about this issue? That will be our subject next week.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. Transcripts¹² and MP3s are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

2 prematurity   

n.早熟，过早，早开花

参考例句：

• Associated anomalies and prematurity significantly influence the mortality rate. 并发畸形与早产儿显著地影响死亡率。 来自辞典例句
• Prematurity may also result in visual impairment or blindness. 早产也可导致视力障碍或失明。 来自互联网

3 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 dimes   

n.（美国、加拿大的）10分铸币( dime的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters are United States coins. 1分铜币、5分镍币、1角银币和2角5分银币是美国硬币。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In 1965 the mint stopped putting silver in dimes. 1965年，铸币厂停止向10分硬币中加入银的成分。 来自辞典例句

6 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

7 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

8 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

9 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。

10 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。

11 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

12 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句