2007年VOA标准英语-One of World's Smallest Premature Babies Goes H

By Melinda Smith
Washington
22 February 2007
 
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Baby Amillia Sonja Taylor finally left the hospital in Florida yesterday.  Doctors gave clearance¹ after deciding she was healthy enough to survive with just her parents' care.  VOA's Melinda Smith has more on the infant, believed to be one of the world's smallest surviving premature² babies.

 
The tiny feet of Amillia Sonja Taylor soon after birth
It may be hard to believe, but when Amillia Sonja Taylor was born, her feet were only this big.  Her body was no bigger than a ballpoint pen. 

After just 21 weeks and six days in the womb, she was born in October weighing 283 grams [10 ounces] and measuring 24 centimeters [9 1/2 inches].

The day before her parents, Eddie and Sonja Taylor, took her home she was quite different.

After four months in the neonatal unit of a Miami, Florida hospital, Baby Amillia weighed two kilograms [4 1/2 pounds] and was 39 centimeters [15 1/2 inches] long.

 
Amillia Sonja Taylor goes home
Her doctor, William Smalling, says the baby was born with a slight brain hemorrhage, and some digestive and respiratory problems. But most importantly, she possessed³ a strong will to survive: "She made efforts at breathing, an attempt to cry at birth, so when she was assessed at the delivery, she showed signs she may have been mature enough to survive, and she proved us right."

The average baby stays inside the mother's womb for 38 to 40 weeks before birth.  Neonatal experts say few infants survive if they are born before the 24th week of gestation⁴. Each additional week in the womb helps increase the odds⁵ of survival.

Lung development is the first critical stage of maturation. While Amillia has some breathing problems, her doctors do not believe she will have any long-term effects. 

Her mother, Sonja Taylor, says Amillia looks healthy already. "The big difference is her size now.  Now I can feel her when I hold her.  Before she was just there, like...oh, she's not...I don't feel anything.  But now I feel her.  She's moving."

Amillia's parents have kept a diary of her progress so that one day she will know what a grand entrance she made into the world.

1 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

2 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。

3 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

4 gestation   

n.怀孕；酝酿

参考例句：

• The gestation period can be anything between 95 and 150 days.妊娠期从95天至150天不等。
• This film was two years in gestation.这部电影酝酿了两年。

5 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？