VOA慢速英语2013 中国未婚母亲数量上升

 

AS IT IS 2013-07-26 Big Increase in Young, Unwed Mothers in China 中国未婚母亲数量上升

Hello, and welcome to “As It Is,” our daily show for people learning American English!

I’m Christopher Cruise in Washington.

Today on the program we take you back 60 years to the day when fierce fighting on the Korean peninsula finally came to an end…

“My fellow citizens, tonight we greet with prayers of thanksgiving the official news that an armistice¹ was signed almost an hour ago in Korea.”

But first, we report on a sharp increase in the number of young, single mothers in China…

More -- and Younger -- Unwed Mothers in China

Every year in China, the number of unmarried women giving birth grows by 10 to 13 percent. And surveys by Chinese media show that unwed mothers are getting younger and younger. Many are struggling in a society ruled by tradition.

Mario Ritter reports…

Three years ago Yi Ran learned she was pregnant. She was scared. But the 30-year-old store assistant felt that at her age, this could be her last chance to have a child. So she decided² to continue her pregnancy³.

Like many other unmarried women, Yi Ran did not tell anybody she was pregnant. She chose instead to quit her job, open an online store and work from home. That way she could look after her son at the same time.

She says that her heart is heavy with anxiety as she tries to pay her bills. And she is concerned about a fine imposed on illegal births. “I fear I will not be able to pay” she says.

Yi Ran’s son does not exist on China’s population records. Household registrations⁵ -- known as "hukou" in Chinese -- are only available to children born within a legal marriage.

Rising incomes, liberal sexual behavior and growing mobility⁶ are all affecting women’s choices about family and relationships.

The Guangdong Province Research Center on Family Planning did a survey. It found that up to 80 percent of female migrant workers in the province have premarital sex. Fifty to 60 percent of them have had an accidental pregnancy.

When they decide to keep their baby, single women are aware they are breaking the law. Chinese family planning agencies punish any violation⁷ of the one-child policy, including birth out of wedlock⁸.

Little Support for Single Mothers and Children

Wei Wei is a social worker with Little Bird, an NGO that provides help for migrant workers. He says Chinese society does not support aid to unwed mothers.

“Their status is illegal, they do not have any legal protection. And this is a thorny⁹ social group, there’s no organization that looks after them.”

Wei Wei says the problem is widespread, especially in manufacturing areas like Guangzhou and Shenzhen where migrant workers flock together.

“The biggest problem they face once their partner abandons them is the issue of hukou, they are not able to get a household registration⁴ for the child. They also find themselves in very hard economic condition, because the original family excludes them, they do not have any income and it’s hard for them to find a job.”

Yi Ran’s son is now three years old. Without the household registration he will not be allowed into kindergarten. Each time he gets sick, medical fees are higher than average. Since his mother does not have a marriage certificate, she cannot apply for registration.

Little Bird’s Wei Wei says there are few solutions other than marriage.

But there is no way to avoid the social compensation fees for unwed mothers for breaking the one-child policy.

The fines are often paid only by single mothers because their partners abandon them. The amount differs and, in some areas, can be equal to one year’s income. People like Yi Ran do not have family support and fall outside social welfare programs for married couples. The women find it very difficult to pay social compensation fees.

Growing Importance of Social Networks

With little to no help available to them, unwed mothers rely heavily on each other. Many go on the Internet to find help and support.

More than 3,000 users are said to be active in an online chat forum¹⁰ for unwed mothers on the Internet portal Baidu.

Yi Ran explains that the Internet is the only place where she can express her feelings and frustrations¹¹ as a single mother. She says she has never sought help from strangers or social welfare.

“There are things I cannot say in real life, but the Internet is my little space of freedom.”

I’m Mario Ritter.

The War in Korea Finally Comes to an End

Finally, July 27th marks the 60th anniversary of the signing of the agreement that officially ended the fighting on the Korean peninsula.

(Voice of newsreel announcer)

?Representatives of North Korea and the United Nations signed the armistice on July 27, 1953. The agreement came after the two sides met 575 times during the previous two years. At that time, it was the longest truce¹² negotiation¹³ in the history of warfare¹⁴.

President Dwight Eisenhower told the American people about the agreement in a broadcast from the White House.

“My fellow citizens, tonight we greet with prayers of thanksgiving the official news that an armistice was signed almost an hour ago in Korea. It will quickly bring to an end the fighting between the United Nation(s) forces and the Communist armies.”

The 1953 armistice called for a withdrawal¹⁵ of military forces from what was to be a demilitarized -- or neutral -- zone. It also called for the return of prisoners of war and the planning of a political conference to organize the withdrawal of foreign troops from Korea.

I’m Christopher Cruise, and that’s “As It Is” on The Voice of America.

1 armistice   

n.休战，停战协定

参考例句：

• The two nations signed an armistice.两国签署了停火协议。
• The Italian armistice is nothing but a clumsy trap.意大利的停战不过是一个笨拙的陷阱。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 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。

4 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

5 registrations   

n.登记( registration的名词复数 )；登记项目；登记（或注册、挂号）人数；（管风琴）音栓配合（法）

参考例句：

• In addition to the check-in procedures, the room clerks are customarily responsible for recording advance registrations. 除了办理住宿手续外，客房登记员按惯例还负责预约登记。 来自辞典例句
• Be the Elekta expert for products registrations in China. 成为在中国注册产品的医科达公司专家。 来自互联网

6 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

7 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

8 wedlock   

n.婚姻，已婚状态

参考例句：

• My wife likes our wedlock.我妻子喜欢我们的婚姻生活。
• The Fawleys were not made for wedlock.范立家的人就跟结婚没有缘。

9 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

10 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

11 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

12 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

13 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

14 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

15 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。