跟读练习: Choosing Not to Have Children | practice English with Spotlight - 通过视频学习英语口语
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Welcome to Spotlight.
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I'm Bruce Gulland.
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And I'm Liz Waid.
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Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting.
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It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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According to UNICEF, there are over two billion children in the world.
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In many parts of the world, women have many babies.
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But some people choose not to have children.
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This choice is becoming more common in some countries.
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Today's Spotlight is on why people make the choice to not have children.
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Bree Seeley is 31 years old.
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She lives in Los Angeles, California in the United States.
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When she was a child, her friends talked about being mothers.
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They talked about what they would name their babies.
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Celie talked about businesses she would start.
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She talked about becoming a writer, fashion designer, or an activist.
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She never thought about having children.
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As an adult, she decided to be sterilized.
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This operation would make it impossible for Celie to have children.
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Celie found a doctor who would give her the operation.
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After it was done, she wrote,
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I will never forget the feeling of freedom and comfort that I felt after the operation.
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There is nothing wrong with our decision to live a child -free life.
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And there is nothing wrong with women like me as human beings.
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The decision to not have children does not make us less than women who choose to be mothers.
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Yes, we are all born with the biology to give birth.
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But we are not all meant to be mothers.
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Many other people, men and women, around the world feel like Bree Seeley.
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They do not want to be parents.
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This is especially the case in Western countries.
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But people anywhere in the world may feel like this.
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People want children for many reasons.
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They may expect the children to help in the family business.
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They may want to just see what their children will be like.
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They may want to give their own parents a grandchild.
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Or they may just have a strong feeling that they should have children.
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And some people have babies even though they did not plan to or want to.
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They may not have access to birth control or education about becoming parents.
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The fertility rate measures how many children an average woman in a country will have.
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In some countries, the fertility rate is high.
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Average mothers have more than six children.
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But in some countries, the fertility rate is falling.
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For example, The Wall Street Journal newspaper reports that one quarter of Italian women never have children.
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In Japan, people are also choosing to have fewer children.
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They have had fewer and fewer children since the 1970s.
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Experts around the world have studied why people in some areas are having fewer children.
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One of these experts is Kay Walters.
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Walters lives in California in the United States.
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Walters and her husband have decided not to have children she wrote a book called Kid Free and Loving It,
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whether by choice, chance, or circumstance.
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She also manages the website kidfreeandlovingit .com.
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On her website, she offers resources for people who do not want children children.
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She also gathers information from them.
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And she used this information in her book.
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Child -free people can fill out a survey on Walters' website.
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Walters gathered information from over 5 ,000 adults in more than 60 countries around the world.
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Walters organized this information.
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She found five main reasons people choose to have no children.
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First, she says the most common reason is that they just do not ever have the feeling that they need children.
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Raising a child takes a lot of time, sacrifice, and responsibility.
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Walters believes it is difficult to provide these things if a person does not want children.
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Second, many people decide not to have children because they will have to change their lifestyle,
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the way they are living.
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Walters explains.
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Lifestyle changes that happen after having a child usually include less time and money for sports,
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hobbies, and travel.
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They include less time to sleep the hours you choose.
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A once peaceful home may now be too busy with noise and toys.
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And you may lose the ability to do the things you want, when you want to.
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A third common reason Walters sees for not having children has to do with child care.
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In many countries, people believe that raising children is a woman's responsibility.
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People expect women to take care of the home and the children.
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However, many women do not want to do this.
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They want to have a good job.
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Walters says, Women find that doing everything,
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being a mother and working, means that you cannot do anything really well.
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Both their job and their children suffer.
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This is one of the reasons some women choose not to have children.
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Fourth, raising children is very expensive, says Walters.
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Many parents believe they do not have enough money.
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They fear they cannot give a child a good life.
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Or they may want to spend money on other things instead of on children.
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Walters suggests one final reason that people choose not to have children.
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They believe that having a child will change their relationship with their husband or wife.
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They believe that having a baby will mean less love in their relationship.
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They are happy with their current relationship, and do not want to change it in any way.
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There are many people around the world who are happy without children.
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Some of them Some organize special events where they can spend time together and not talk about children.
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But some just enjoy their lives without children.
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For some people, not having children lets them enjoy other people's children more.
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That is the case for Heather Gentry.
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She lives in Georgia in the United States.
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She is 28 years old and married.
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Even from a young age, she knew she never wanted children.
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Her husband agreed.
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So Gentry had a sterilization operation.
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Now, she cannot have children.
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After her operation, she explained to the Huffington Post,
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"'Something about making that decision was helpful.
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I can be clear and true to myself.
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If I am at the grocery store and I see a cute young child,
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I can say, Look at him!
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He is so cute!
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I have had no regret about my operation.
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It is one of the best things I have ever done.
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Having children is a personal choice.
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But many things influence a person's decision, culture, beliefs, family and more.
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Do you want to have children?
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Or would you like to remain child -free?
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Tell us what you think.
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You can leave a comment on our website.
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Or email us at radio at radioenglish .net.
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You can also comment on Facebook at facebook .com slash spotlightradio.
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The writer of this program was Liz Waid.
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The producer was Michio Ozaki.
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The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States.
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All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight.
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You can listen to this program again and read it on the internet at www .radioenglish .net.
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This program is called Choosing Not to Have Children.
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We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program.
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Goodbye.
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