CCTV9英语新闻：60岁老太生双胞胎

In 2010, a sixty-year-old woman in south China’s Anhui Province gave birth to twin daughters, after losing her adult only daughter a year earlier. Sheng Hailin was just one of the million heartbroken parents who have lost their only, adult child. She was able to become a mother again with the help of in-vitro fertilization. Her family is now a focus of the media, after the country announced it will relax the one-child family planning policy.

 

In 2010, a sixty-year-old woman in south China’s Anhui Province gave birth to twin daughters, after losing her adult only daughter a year earlier.

 

63-year-old Sheng Hailin, with her twin daughters and husband, has been busy travelling around the country giving interviews. Back in the 1980s, Sheng and her husband firmly obeyed the country’s one-child policy after her first daughter was born. But in 2009, her daughter, then 28 years old, along with her son-in-law died of a gas poisoning accident. It devastated¹ Sheng and her husband.

Sheng couldn’t bear the pain of the loss. So she went against all odds² to get pregnant³ again using test-tube technology at the age of 60. The country’s new family planning policy was close to her heart.
 

Raising the twins is not an easy job. It costs a great deal of money and effort. Sheng says the country still has no policy to support families like hers. Despite their pensions⁴, Sheng has to earn extra by giving commercial talks across the country. Although she feels tired, she says the girls are her hopes and dreams, and she will give everything to provide them with a better life.
 

It’s been thirty years since China implemented⁵ the family planning policy, during which time about a million families have lost their only child. When we applaud⁶ the latest family planning laws, it’s also high time that we give our attention to these bereft⁷ families who suffered loss under the one-child policy.

 

1 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

2 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？

3 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

4 pensions   

n.退休金，养老金( pension的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pensions are linked to inflation, whereas they should be linked to the cost of living. 养老金与通货膨胀挂钩，然而它们其实应该和生活费用挂钩。 来自辞典例句
• At the moment they are existing on pensions that are subsidised by the government. 此刻他们正依靠政府发放的养老金维持生计。 来自辞典例句

5 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

6 applaud   

vt.鼓掌欢迎，赞同；vi.鼓掌欢迎，欢呼

参考例句：

• The pupils that had been watching started to applaud.一直在一旁观看的小学生们开始鼓起掌来。
• Please don't applaud until everyone has performed.请在每个人表演完毕后再鼓掌。

7 bereft   

adj.被剥夺的

参考例句：

• The place seemed to be utterly bereft of human life.这个地方似乎根本没有人烟。
• She was bereft of happiness.她失去了幸福。