And I'm Beth. Women today are having fewer babies. More women are delaying having children until their forties – the period of ten years in life between forty and forty-nine.

我是貝絲。現在的女性生育率越來越低。越來越多的女性延後到四十多歲才生育，也就是人生中四十歲到四十九歲之間的十年。

And some women are giving birth in their fifties, their sixties, even their seventies.

有些婦女在五十多歲、六十多歲，甚至七十多歲時才分娩。

There are many reasons behind the trend for older mums, including better access to education and careers, 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? And as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

高齡產婦趨勢的背後有很多原因，包括更好的教育和職業機會，但晚育也存在健康風險。和往常一樣，我們還將學習一些有用的新詞彙。

But first, I have a question for you, Neil. In 2019, Mangayama Yaramati gave birth to twins in the state of Andhra Pradesh, South India. But these were no ordinary twins because

但首先，我有一個問題要問你，尼爾。2019 年，曼加亞瑪-亞拉瑪蒂在印度南部的安得拉邦生下了一對雙胞胎。但這不是一對普通的雙胞胎，因為

Mangayama was the oldest recorded woman ever to give birth. So, how old was the oldest ever mum when she gave birth? Was she… a. 53 years old b. 63 years old or c. 73 years old?

曼加亞瑪是有史以來最年長的產婦。那麼，史上最年長的產婦分娩時是幾歲？她是...... a. 53 歲 b. 63 歲還是 c. 73 歲？

Hmm, I'm going to guess 63.

嗯，我猜是 63。

OK, Neil. We'll find out the correct answer at the end of the programme.

好的，尼爾。我們將在節目最後找出正確答案。

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.

倫敦大學學院生殖科學教授喬伊斯-哈珀（Joyce Harper）一直在研究婦女選擇晚育的趨勢。在這裡，她將與 BBC 世界服務節目《全球故事》分享她的發現。

20, 30 years ago, women were having children at a much younger age. Now it's become quite normal for women in their 30s, as we see with the world data. There's many countries where women have their first birth over the age of 30. But this is quite a new phenomena.

20 年或 30 年前，女性生育的年齡要小得多。現在，30 多歲的女性生孩子已經很正常了，我們可以從世界數據中看到這一點。在很多國家，女性的第一胎生育年齡都超過了 30 歲。但這是一種新現象。

That's why this term, geriatric mother, unfortunately still lingers.

是以，"老年母親 "這個詞至今仍令人遺憾地揮之不去。

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. People often get this wrong, but the plural form is phenomena and the singular is phenomenon.

哈珀教授用 "現象 "一詞來形容高齡母親的趨勢。現象是指存在並被談論的不尋常或重要的事實和事件。人們經常搞錯，複數形式是 phenomena，單數形式是 phenomenon。

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. 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.

高齡母親的概念還是一個相當新的現象，人們對她們的態度正在發生變化。35 歲以上的母親曾被稱為 "老人"，許多人認為這個詞令人反感。幸運的是，這個詞已經不再使用，但社會上對高齡母親的不認同仍然存在。如果有什麼東西揮之不去，那麼它存在的時間就會比平常或預期的要長。

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 of this?

是的，在某些文化中，年長的母親仍然不被認可。但是等一下，尼爾，兩個人才能生一個孩子。男人在其中扮演什麼角色？

Well, unlike women, whose ability to naturally get pregnant declines sharply in their 40s, men's fertility lasts longer. Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger famously had his eighth child with his 29-year-old partner at the age of 73.

女性在 40 多歲時自然懷孕的能力會急劇下降，而男性則不同，他們的生育能力持續時間更長。滾石樂隊主唱米克-賈格爾（Mick Jagger）就曾在 73 歲時與 29 歲的伴侶生下了第八個孩子。

So are older fathers more socially acceptable than older mothers?

那麼，年長的父親比年長的母親更容易被社會接受嗎？

Yes, thinks Professor Harper as she explained to BBC World Service's Global Story.

是的，哈珀教授認為，她向 BBC 世界廣播公司的《全球故事》節目解釋道。

We do have a bit of a gender problem here because if this is a man in his 60s, 70s and even 80s and he's fathered a child, most people would pat him on the back. But they probably pat him on the back because he's absolutely got a much younger partner. But if you've got a woman in her 60s, 70s or got a bit 80s having a child, then it does have a sort of shock reaction and makes people feel uncomfortable.

我們在這裡確實遇到了一些性別問題，因為如果這是一個 60 多歲、70 多歲甚至 80 多歲的男人，而且他是孩子的父親，大多數人都會拍拍他的背。但他們可能會拍他的後背，因為他絕對有一個年輕得多的伴侶。但如果是 60 多歲、70 多歲或 80 多歲的婦女生了孩子，就會引起人們的震驚，讓人感覺不舒服。

Professor Harper thinks that society is more accepting of older fathers than older mothers.

哈珀教授認為，與年長的母親相比，社會更容易接受年長的父親。

A 70-year-old man can still father a child. He could 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.

一個 70 歲的老人仍然可以生兒育女。他可以讓一個女人懷孕，然後生下孩子。大多數人都會拍拍他的背--這個成語的意思是給予某人讚揚或祝賀。

On the other hand, says Professor Harper, god forbid a woman having a baby in her 80s.

另一方面，哈珀教授說，上帝禁止婦女在 80 多歲時生孩子。

Here the phrase god forbid is used as a way of saying you hope something will not happen.

在這裡，"上帝保佑 "被用來表示希望不要發生什麼事情。

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.

不過，這個故事也有另一面。在西方，Z 世代（2000 年後出生的一代）的年輕女性表示她們根本不會生育。

In more traditional countries, meanwhile, a woman's role is as a mother and many pray to God to be blessed with a child.

與此同時，在較為傳統的國家，婦女的角色是母親，許多人祈求上帝賜予他們一個孩子。

Which is exactly what happened to Mangayama Yaramati, the South Indian woman I asked you about in my question, Neil. In 2019, she became the oldest recorded woman ever to give birth.

這正是我在尼爾的問題中問到的南印度婦女曼加亞瑪-亞拉瑪蒂（Mangayama Yaramati）的遭遇。2019 年，她成為有記錄以來最年長的產婦。

Right, and I guessed she was 63 years old at the time.

沒錯，我猜她當時已經 63 歲了。

Which was the wrong answer, I'm afraid. In fact, she was even older – 73.

恐怕這是個錯誤的答案。事實上，她的年齡更大--73 歲。

OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learnt in this programme, starting with the phrase in your 40s, which describes the period of 10 years in someone's life when they're aged between 40 and 49.

好了，讓我們來回顧一下我們在這個節目中學到的詞彙，首先是 "40 多歲 "這個短語，它描述的是一個人 40 歲到 49 歲這 10 年的生活。

Phenomena describes any significant facts or events that we know exist and can be observed and discussed.

現象描述的是我們已知存在的、可以觀察和討論的任何重要事實或事件。

If something lingers, it continues to exist longer than usual or expected.

如果有些東西揮之不去，那麼它的存在時間就會比平常或預期的要長。

The verb to father means to make a woman pregnant, who then gives birth to a child.

動詞 "父親 "的意思是讓婦女懷孕，然後生下孩子。

The idiom pat someone on the back is used to describe giving someone praise, congratulations or encouragement.

成語 "拍案叫絕 "用來形容稱讚、祝賀或鼓勵某人。

And finally, the expression God forbid is a way of saying that you hope something will not happen. Once again, our 6 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.

最後，"上帝保佑 "是一種表達方式，表示你希望某件事情不要發生。我們的 6 分鐘又到了，但不要忘了很快再加入我們，在 6 Minute English 瞭解更多熱門話題和實用詞彙。再見

Bye.

再見。

6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com

6 分鐘英語 來自 bbclearningenglish.com