中國網(wǎng)站品牌欄目（頻道）
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File photo of a pregnant woman. Will the bizarre new U.S. trend of ‘gender reveal’ parties for expectant couples catch on in the same way? |
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Baby showers have been popular in the UK for a decade or more. But will the bizarre new US trend of ‘gender reveal’ parties for expectant couples catch on in the same way? YouTube is flooded with home videos of expectant American couples revealing the sex of their baby in front of throngs of over-excited friends and family - by cutting a cake. So how does a Gender Reveal party work? At the routine 20-week scan (when babies in the womb are checked from head to toe with ultrasound) the couple ask the sonographer to determine the baby’s sex, but to keep it a secret from them. Instead, the gender is written down and sealed in an envelope. The envelope is then passed to a baker or friend who makes a large celebration cake in either pink or blue sponge - depending on whether the couple are expecting a girl or a boy. The cake is iced in a neutral colour, and friends and family are invited over to try to guess the sex of the baby. Guests are encouraged to arrive wearing the colour relating to the sex they think the baby is going to be. The culmination of the party is the cutting of the Gender Reveal cake by the expectant couple. As the cake is cut - and the sex finally revealed by the colour of the sponge - cue congratulations from the throng. Unfortunately, if you look past the mayhem of well-wishers, balloons and popping champagne corks on these videos, you can sometimes see the father-to-be is having to try his hardest to looked thrilled when he hears he’s having a girl. Then there’s the mum-to-be with the tight-lipped smile who’s just found out she’s having her third boy in a row. Sometimes these things are probably best celebrated in private.?.?. (Read by Lee Hannon. Lee Hannon is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies)
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“迎嬰聚會”在英國已經(jīng)流行了十幾年了，但新興起的“性別揭秘”新奇聚會在美國的準爸媽中也會如此風(fēng)靡嗎？ YouTube視頻網(wǎng)站上最近涌現(xiàn)出大量的家庭視頻，錄下了美國的準爸爸準媽媽們通過切蛋糕來揭秘胎兒性別的一刻，周圍聚滿了激動的親友。 那么“性別揭秘”聚會是如何進行的呢？在例行的20周孕檢（胎兒在子宮里接受超聲全面檢查）時，準爸媽會讓超聲醫(yī)師判斷胎兒性別，但要對他們保密。 醫(yī)師會把性別寫下，裝進信封封好口，然后把信封交給制作聚會大蛋糕的蛋糕師或者一位好友。根據(jù)胎兒性別，做出粉色或者藍色海綿蛋糕。 蛋糕被凍成中和色。參加聚會的親友要猜猜寶寶的性別。大家還鼓勵賓客認為寶寶是哪種性別，就穿相應(yīng)顏色的衣服。 聚會的高潮是準爸媽切“性別揭秘”蛋糕的一刻。切開后，蛋糕的顏色就代表寶寶的性別，這時賓客會歡呼慶祝。 但不幸的是，如果你忽略掉這些視頻里忙亂的祝福者、氣球、彈出的香檳瓶塞，有時你會看到，準爸爸在聽到是女孩時，竭盡全力裝出高興的表情，而準媽媽在聽到要連生三個男孩時勉強笑笑。 有些時候這種聚會還是私下舉辦比較好。 相關(guān)閱讀 產(chǎn)前性別選擇 prenatal gender selection （中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 Julie 編輯：馮明惠） |
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Vocabulary: baby shower: a party given for a pregnant woman, to which guests bring presents for the baby（迎嬰聚會，是專為臨產(chǎn)孕婦舉辦的派對） catch on: 受歡迎；流行起來；變得時髦 throng: 聚集的人群；一大群人 sonographer: 超聲醫(yī)師 sponge cake: a light, sweet cake made with a comparatively large proportion of eggs but no shortening（海綿蛋糕，松蛋糕） mayhem: a state of rowdy disorder（慌亂，忙亂） |
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