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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(huì)”在英國(guó)已經(jīng)流行了十幾年了，但新興起的“性別揭秘”新奇聚會(huì)在美國(guó)的準(zhǔn)爸媽中也會(huì)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(guó)的準(zhǔn)爸爸準(zhǔn)媽媽們通過切蛋糕來(lái)揭秘胎兒性別的一刻，周圍聚滿了激動(dòng)的親友。 那么“性別揭秘”聚會(huì)是如何進(jìn)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(shí)，準(zhǔn)爸媽會(huì)讓超聲醫(yī)師判斷胎兒性別，但要對(duì)他們保密。 醫(yī)師會(huì)把性別寫下，裝進(jìn)信封封好口，然后把信封交給制作聚會(huì)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(lán)色海綿蛋糕。 蛋糕被凍成中和色。參加聚會(huì)的親友要猜猜寶寶的性別。大家還鼓勵(lì)賓客認(rèn)為寶寶是哪種性別，就穿相應(yīng)顏色的衣服。 聚會(huì)的高潮是準(zhǔn)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(shí)賓客會(huì)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(shí)你會(huì)看到，準(zhǔn)爸爸在聽到是女孩時(shí)，竭盡全力裝出高興的表情，而準(zhǔn)媽媽在聽到要連生三個(gè)男孩時(shí)勉強(qiáng)笑笑。 有些時(shí)候這種聚會(huì)還是私下舉辦比較好。 相關(guān)閱讀 產(chǎn)前性別選擇 prenatal gender selection 現(xiàn)代人認(rèn)為七八十年代的母親更好當(dāng) 房貸壓力使英國(guó)高齡產(chǎn)婦人數(shù)激增 嬰兒哭聲藏玄機(jī) 聲調(diào)不同因在母語(yǔ) （中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)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(huì)，是專為臨產(chǎn)孕婦舉辦的派對(duì)） catch on: 受歡迎；流行起來(lái)；變得時(shí)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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