2007年VOA标准英语-Adoption of Vietnamese Babies on the Rise

By Matt Steinglass
Hanoi
30 August 2007

In March, when Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt adopted a Vietnamese child, they created one of the biggest media circuses the country had ever seen. But while they were surely the most famous foreigners to adopt in Vietnam, they were hardly the only ones. With adoption¹ is growing more difficult in China and elsewhere, many American and European adoptive parents are turning to Vietnam. In Hanoi, Matt Steinglass has more.

Jeff and Cerise Roth-Vinson hold Oriana, the 6-month-old girl they recently adopted in Vietnam

Jeff and Cerise Roth-Vinson arrived in Vietnam in late July to fulfill² a longtime dream.

"We've been married for almost 13 years now, and we always knew that if we decided³ to have children, we would want to adopt," explained Cerise.

The Roth-Vinsons were volunteers together in the U.S. Peace Corps⁴. They live in the U.S. state of Oregon, where Jeff is a high school science teacher, and Cerise works for an international educational exchange organization.

The newest addition to their family is a little Vietnamese girl named Oriana.

"She's six months. And just over five months when we got her. So we've had almost a month together," said Cerise.

Jeff and Cerise are part of a growing wave of American parents adopting in Vietnam. Americans adopted 312 Vietnamese babies in the last six months of 2006.

In the first half of 2007, that rose to 418. U.S. Embassy officials predict it will grow to 1,000 by year's end.

Dr. Jane Aronson, an adoption counselor⁵ in New York City, says there are a number of reasons for the rising numbers.

"The appeal for Vietnam, at this point, and it's always been the same, is that the process is very pleasant," Dr. Aronson said. "The process is usually between nine and 12 months, and the babies are well cared for, in small baby homes, and it's a kind of lovely experience for people. The flexibility⁶ of the system to allow single-parent adoptions⁷ is very nice as well."

Single parents used to look to China to adopt. But China has instituted new regulations that bar foreign single parents from adopting, as well as obese⁸ people and couples with more than two divorces between them.

Chinese babies still make up the largest number of children adopted by foreigners, but the numbers have been falling. In 2005, Americans adopted nearly 8,000 Chinese children. In 2006, that fell to 6,500, and the waiting time to get a child stands at one and a half years.

Other Asian countries, such as South Korea, have made foreign adoption more difficult as well. In Cambodia, foreign adoptions have ceased entirely⁹ because too many adoption brokers¹⁰ were found to be trafficking - paying parents for their babies.

Vietnam, too, had problems with trafficking for adoption in the late 1990s. The director of Vietnam's Department of Inter-Country Adoptions, Vu Duc Long, says in 2003, the country blocked all adoptions to the U.S. and several other countries while it reformed its procedures.

Long says in the 1990s and early in this decade, there were scores of cases of adoption brokering¹¹ for profit, and dozens of officials were sent to prison.

In 2005, the country introduced a new adoption system and signed a new agreement on adoptions with the United States.

The U.S. has a complicated history regarding adoptions from Vietnam. In 1975, in the waning¹² days of the Vietnam War, American philanthropies organized Operation Babylift, which flew thousands of children to the U.S. for adoption, to escape what Americans perceived as the Communist threat.

Hundreds of those children died when one of the transport planes crashed on takeoff.

Such historical echoes were not an issue for the Roth-Vinsons. Jeff says they chose Vietnam because it is a country they could feel a connection to.

"It was very easy for us to pick Vietnam. A wonderful country, with a rich culture and history, and something that fits very well with us, since her culture, her home culture, will be a part of our life, too, for her entire lifetime, and our lifetimes, too," said Jeff.

For Oriana Roth-Vinson, the historical issues did not seem very important, either.

1 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

2 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

3 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。

4 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

6 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

7 adoptions   

n.采用，收养( adoption的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Adoption agencies are always so open to alternative family adoptions. 领养中介机构永远都对领养家庭敞开。 来自电影对白
• The number of adoptions has grown in the past year. 去年，收养子女的数字增加了。 来自互联网

8 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

11 brokering   

v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的现在分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• Intertwined with these were rivalry, power brokering, and patronage. 然而也不乏有抗争、强权操纵与任命特权交织其中。 来自互联网
• Kingston Quest Can Assist Your Company In Negotiations, Brokering, Agency Services, Sourcing Factories Or Property. 金士顿追求，可帮助您的公司在谈判中，经纪，代理服务，货源工厂或财产。 来自互联网

12 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》