英语听力精选进阶版 13944

Malaysian babies thrown away

Summary

25 September 2012

There are calls for better sex education in Malaysia after an unwanted baby was thrown out of a window last week. Since then there have been two more cases of discarded babies. It is believed that the babies are being left by unmarried Muslim mothers.

Reporter:

Jennifer Pak

Report

Single mothers are resorting to more desperate ways to hide their pregnancies¹. Last week, a newborn was dropped from the third floor of an apartment complex in the Malaysian capital and died. Two days later, a foetus was left under a stairwell at the Kuala Lumpur airport. Then, further east in the conservative state of Terengganu, a baby girl was found in front of a mosque² with her umbilical cord still attached, suggesting that she was abandoned shortly after birth. 

Hundreds of Muslim babies have been left this way in recent years. Social workers believe it is driven by the shame of having a child out of wedlock³ and abortion⁴ is limited to women facing health risks. 

To help these women, OrphanCare opened the country's first baby hatch two years ago, which allows mothers to drop off their child anonymously⁵. But some say the only way to stop unwanted pregnancies is to teach prevention, rather than just abstinence in schools. It's unlikely to change anytime soon. Sex is still considered a taboo⁶ topic in this Muslim-majority country, leaving young girls who find themselves pregnant feeling they have no choice but to leave their child any way they can.

1 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。

2 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

3 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。

4 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

5 anonymously   

ad.用匿名的方式

参考例句：

• The manuscripts were submitted anonymously. 原稿是匿名送交的。
• Methods A self-administered questionnaire was used to survey 536 teachers anonymously. 方法采用自编“中小学教师职业压力问卷”对536名中小学教师进行无记名调查。

6 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？