华盛顿邮报 地球上生孩子最要命的地方(3)

That is how she met a man in his 60s who offered to provide shelter or pay for her school if she would be his girlfriend, essentially¹.

就这样，她遇到了一个60多岁的男人，他提出，如果她愿意做他的女朋友，他会为她提供住处或支付学费。

Susan found it to be a horrible deal, but she believed she couldn't be pregnant², she could not get pregnant.

苏珊觉得这是一笔可怕的交易，但她觉得她不可能怀孕，她不会怀孕。

She'd had a health scare when she was 16 or so.

她16岁左右的时候经历过一次健康危机。

A cyst burst on one of her ovaries, and a nurse, she said, just sort of offhandedly³ said to her, "I'm so sorry. I don't think you'll ever be able to get pregnant."

她的一个卵巢囊肿破裂了，她说，一个护士漫不经心地对她说，“我很抱歉。 我觉得你永远都不会怀孕了。”

She moved in with him, seeing no other option.

她觉得没有其他选择，就搬去和他住了。

She becomes pregnant, and he, shortly after, dies of hypertension.

她怀孕了，不久之后，这个男人死于高血压。

It was just this series of awful events that landed Susan in the maternity⁴ ward⁵.

就是这一系列可怕的事情把苏珊弄进了产房。

Susan was afraid to go to the hospital, naturally.

苏珊自然不敢去医院。

I don't have anything. And my people also don't have anything. I have struggled.

我什么都没有。我身边的人也一无所有。 我一直挣扎着。

I don't want my child to struggle, and I want them to learn.

我不想让我的孩子挣扎，我想让他们学习。

And a lot of people in her community had had experiences where they go in, they're supposed to receive this free health care, but whoever is working that day decides to charge them anyway an informal fee.

她所在社区的很多人都有过这样的经历，他们本应该得到免费的医疗保健服务，但那天工作的人员却决定向他们收取一笔非正式的费用。

So, Susan's 17. She doesn't have any money. She's pregnant. She's not sure what to do.

苏珊才17岁。她没有任何钱。 她怀孕了。 她不知道该做什么。

But she met a midwife in her community quite naturally, named Aminata, who would just show up and say, "We're going. We are going to the hospital. Come on. Come with me. In fact, here's some cab money."

但她很自然地遇到了社区里一个叫阿米纳塔的助产士，她会出现并说，“我们要去。 我们要去医院。来吧。 跟我来。 事实上，这是一些出租汽车的钱。”

With our relationship, she's sort of a mother to me now because all the things she does for me, it's like a mother.

在我们的关系中，她现在就像是我的母亲，因为她为我做的一切，就像母亲一样。

I go through hard times, and she helps me.

我遇到困难的时候，她会帮助我。

And in that way, Susan got so lucky because in situations like this, when you're a broke teen and you're pregnant, attention is the currency of survival⁶.

在这种情况下，苏珊很幸运，因为当你是一个身无家计的少女，而且怀孕了，被关注是活下去的货币。

Doctors told Susan that she needed a C-section, that her hips⁷ were too narrow to give birth naturally.

医生告诉苏珊，她需要剖腹产，因为她的臀部太窄，无法自然分娩。

It was something that she only knew because she was going to her doctor's appointments, and she was going at the insistence⁸ and support of Aminata.

这是她唯一知道的事情，因为她要去看医生，而且她是在阿米纳塔的坚持和支持下去的。

Aminata had advised Susan to check in to the hospital early.

阿米纳塔建议苏珊早点去医院登记入住。

She said this because they weren't sure of her exact due date.

她这么说是因为他们不确定她的确切预产期。

The hospital's ultrasound machine had been broken.

医院的超声波机坏了。

She was scared up until the last second because in Sierra Leone doctors often ask women to find a couple pints⁹ of blood.

她直到最后一刻都很害怕，因为在塞拉利昂，医生经常让妇女找几品脱的血液。

1 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

2 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。

3 offhandedly   

adv.立即地；即席地；未经准备地；不客气地

参考例句：

• She had made these remarks offhandedly. 她即席做了这些评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She threw him over offhandedly without even a dear-john letter. 她随即就把他甩了，甚至连封分手信都没有写。 来自互联网

4 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

5 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

6 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

7 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

9 pints   

n.品脱( pint的名词复数 )；一品脱啤酒

参考例句：

• I drew off three pints of beer from the barrel. 我从酒桶里抽出三品脱啤酒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two pints today, please. 今天请来两品脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》