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Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil. And I'm Beth.
大家好。这里是BBC六分钟英语。我是尼尔。我是贝丝。
Women today are having fewer babies. More women are delaying having children until their forties - the period of ten years in life between 40 and 49.
如今女性生育的婴儿越来越少。越来越多的女性将生育推迟到四十多岁——40至49岁之间的十年。
And some women are giving birth in their fifties, their sixties, even their seventies!
有些女性在五十多岁、六十多岁甚至七十多岁时生育！
There are many reasons behind the trend for older mums including better access to education and careers.
高龄妈妈生育趋势背后有很多原因，包括更好的教育和就业机会。
But there are also health risks to having children later in life, so in this programme we'll be asking: when are you too old to have a baby?
但高龄生育也有健康风险，因此在本期节目中，我们将讨论什么时候生孩子太老了？
And, as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.
和往常一样，我们也会学习一些有用的新词汇。
But first I have a question for you, Neil. In 2019, Mangayamma Yaramati gave birth to twins in the state of Andhra Pradesh, South India.
但首先我要问你一个问题，尼尔。2019 年，Mangayamma Yaramati在印度南部的安得拉邦生下了一对双胞胎。
But these were no ordinary twins because Mangayamma was the oldest recorded woman ever to give birth. So how old was the oldest ever mum when she gave birth.
但这不是普通的双胞胎，因为Mangayamma是有史以来生育年龄最大的女性。那么，这位年龄最大的母亲生育时是多少岁呢？
Was she: a) 53 years-old? b) 63 years old? or c) 73 years old? Hmm, I'm going to guess 63. OK, Neil, we'll find out the correct answer at the end of the programme.
她是：a)53岁？b)63岁？还是c)73岁？嗯，我猜是63岁。好的，尼尔，我们将在节目结束时揭晓正确答案。
Professor of reproductive science at University College London, Joyce Harper, has been studying the trend of women choosing to have babies later in life. Here she shares her discoveries with BBC World Service programme, Global Story:
伦敦大学学院生殖科学教授乔伊斯·哈珀一直在研究女性选择晚年生育的趋势。在这里，她与BBC世界服务节目《全球故事》分享了她的发现：
Ten, twenty, thirty years ago, women were having children at a much younger age.
十年、二十年、三十年前，女性生育孩子的年龄要小得多。
Now it's become quite normal for women in their thirties, as we see with the world data, there's many countries where women have their first birth over the age of 30.
现在，对于三十多岁的女性来说，这已经变得相当正常，正如我们从全球数据中看到的那样，许多国家的女性在30岁以上才生下第一胎。
But this is quite a new phenomena… that's why this term 'geriatric mother' unfortunately still lingers.
但这是一个相当新的现象，这就是“高龄母亲”这个术语仍然存在的原因。
Professor Harper uses the word phenomena to describe the trend for older mothers. Phenomena are unusual or significant facts and events that exist and are talked about.
哈珀教授使用“现象”一词来描述高龄母亲的趋势。现象是存在并被谈论的不寻常或重要的事实和事件。
People often get this wrong, but the plural form is phenomena and the singular is phenomenon.
复数形式是phenomena，单数是phenomenon，人们经常会弄错。
The concept of older mothers is still quite a new phenomenon, and attitudes towards them are changing. Mothers over the age of 35 used to be called 'geriatric', a word many found offensive.
高龄母亲的概念仍然是一个相当新的现象，对她们的态度正在发生变化。35岁以上的母亲过去被称为“geriatric”，许多人认为这个词令人反感。
Fortunately, this term is no longer used, but social disapproval of older mothers still lingers. If something lingers it continues to exist longer than usual or expected.
所幸这个词不再使用，但社会对高龄母亲的反对仍然存在。如果某件事仍然linger，它会比平常或预期的持续时间更长。
Yes, in some cultures older mothers are still disapproved of. But wait a minute, Neil - it takes two to make a baby! What's the man's role in all this?
是的，在某些文化中，高龄母亲仍然不被认可。但是等一下，尼尔，生孩子需要两个人！男人在这一切中扮演什么角色？
Well, unlike women, whose ability to naturally get pregnant declines sharply in their forties, men's fertility lasts longer.
与女性不同，女性在四十多岁时自然怀孕的能力急剧下降，而男性的生育能力持续时间更长。
Rolling Stone, Mick Jagger, famously had his eighth child with his 29-year-old partner at the age of 73. So, are older fathers more socially acceptable than older mothers?
众所周知，滚石乐队的米克·贾格尔在73岁时与29岁的伴侣生下了第八个孩子。年长的父亲比年长的母亲更容易被社会接受吗？
'Yes' thinks Professor Harper, as she explained to BBC World Service's, Global Story:
“是的”，哈珀教授认为，她向BBC国际服务节目《全球故事》解释道：
We do have a bit of a gender problem here because if this was a man in his sixties, seventies and even eighties, and he's fathered a child, most people would pat him on the back.
确实存在一些性别问题，因为如果一位60多岁、70多岁甚至80多岁的男性有了一个孩子，大多数人都会祝贺他。
But they'd probably pat him on the back because he's absolutely got a much younger partner.
但他们可能会祝贺他，因为他绝对有一个年轻得多的伴侣。
But if we've got a woman in her sixties, seventies or, God forbid, eighties having a child, then it does have a sort of shock reaction, and makes people feel uncomfortable.
但如果有一个60多岁、70多岁或80多岁的女人生孩子，那么这确实会令人大吃一惊，让人感到不舒服。
Professor Harper thinks that society is more accepting of older fathers than older mothers.
哈珀教授认为，社会对年长父亲的接受度高于年长母亲。
A 70-year-old man can still father a child – he can make a woman pregnant who then gives birth, and most people would pat him on the back, an idiom meaning give someone praise or congratulations.
一个70岁的男人仍然可以生孩子，他可以让一个女人怀孕，然后生下孩子，大多数人都会pat him on the back，这是一个习语，意思是称赞或祝贺某人。
On the other hand, says Professor Harper, God forbid a woman having a baby in her eighties! Here, the phrase God forbid! is used as a way of saying you hope something will not happen.
另一方面，哈珀教授说，上帝不允许一个80多岁的女人生孩子！God forbid!这个短语用来表示你希望某事不会发生。
There's another side to this story, though. In the west, young women from Gen Z, the generation born since the year 2000, are saying they won't have children at all.
不过，这个故事还有另一面。在西方，Z世代（2000年后出生的一代）的年轻女性表示她们根本不会生孩子。
In more traditional countries meanwhile, a woman's role is as a mother, and many pray to God to be blessed with a child.
与此同时，在更传统的国家，女性的角色是母亲，许多人向上帝祈祷能有孩子。
Which is exactly what happened to Mangayamma Yaramati, the South Indian woman I asked you about in my question. In 2019, she became the oldest recorded woman ever to give birth.
这正是我在问题中问到的南印度女性Mangayamma Yaramati所发生的事情。2019年，她成为有史以来最年长的生育女性。
Right, and I guessed she was 63 years old at the time. Which was… the wrong answer I'm afraid. In fact she was even older – 73.
是的，我猜她当时是63岁。这恐怕是错误答案。事实上，她甚至更老——73岁。
OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned in this programme, starting with the phrase in your forties, which describes the period of ten years in someone's life when they're aged between 40 and 49.
好的，让我们回顾一下本节目中学到的词汇，从短语“in your forties”开始，它描述了一个人在40至49岁之间的十年。
Phenomena describes any significant facts or events that we know exist, and can be observed and discussed. If something lingers, it continues to exist longer than usual or expected.
Phenomena描述了我们知道存在并且可以观察和讨论的任何重要事实或事件。如果某事linger，它会比平常或预期的持续更长时间。
The verb to father means to make a woman pregnant who then gives birth to a child.
动词“father”的意思是让女人怀孕，然后生下孩子。
The idiom pat someone on the back is used to describe giving someone praise, congratulations or encouragement.
习语“pat someone on the back”用于描述给予某人赞美、祝贺或鼓励。
And finally, the expression God forbid! is a way of saying that you hope something will not happen.
最后，God forbid!表示你希望某事不会发生。
Once again our six minutes are up, but don't forget to join us again soon for more trending topics and useful vocabulary, here at 6 Minute English. Goodbye for now! Bye!
六分钟又到了，但别忘了尽快再次加入我们，在六分钟英语中了解更多热门话题和有用的词汇。暂时再见！再见！
