Women who are stressed while trying for a baby are more likely to have girls, research suggests.

据英国《每日邮报》10月17日报道，研究表明，女性在计划怀孕产子时如果承受较大的压力，更有可能怀上女孩。

A study found that those who were under pressure at home, work or in their love life in the weeks or months before becoming pregnant had higher than usual odds¹ of giving birth to a daughter rather than a son.

一项研究发现，那些在怀孕前处于家庭、工作或者感情生活压力下的女性，怀上女孩的几率比男孩大得多。

The finding, by Oxford² University and US researchers, means the economic downturn could see more women give birth to daughters. The study follows others that have shown the number of baby boys goes down following major upheavals³.

牛津大学和美国研究人员的这一发现意味着，在经济衰退时期，会有更多的女性产下女婴。在此之前，已有其他研究表明，在经历大的社会动乱之后新生男婴的总数会有所下降。

For instance, in the months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the number of boys born in New York plunged⁴, while the economic chaos⁵ that followed the collapse⁶ of the Berlin Wall saw far fewer boys born than expected in the former East Germany in 1991.

比如，在9·11恐怖袭击后的数月内，纽约出生的男婴数量下降。而在柏林墙倒塌后引起的经济萧条时期，1991年东德出生的男婴比预期的少得多。

But the latest study is the first to link the phenomenon to the stresses and strains of everyday life and to rising levels of stress hormones⁷.

但这项最新研究还是第一次将这种现象与日常生活的紧张压力以及增长的应激激素水平相联系。

Some 338 women from around the UK who were trying to get pregnant kept diaries about their lives and sex lives and filled in questionnaires about how stressed they felt. Levels of stress hormones including cortisol were measured in the months before pregnancy⁸.

重点词汇：

1 odds [ɒdz] 

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。

Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

2 Oxford   [ˈɒksfəd]   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。

This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

3 upheavals  [ʌpˈhi:vəlz]  

突然的巨变( upheaval的名词复数 )； 大动荡； 大变动； 胀起

参考例句：

the latest upheavals in the education system 最近教育制度上的种种变更

These political upheavals might well destroy the whole framework of society. 这些政治动乱很可能会破坏整个社会结构。

4 plunged  [plʌndʒd]   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。

She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

5 chaos   [ˈkeɪɒs]   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。

The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

6 collapse   [kəˈlæps]   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

The country’s economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。

The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge’s collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 hormones  ['hɔ:məʊn]  

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man’s sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

8 pregnancy [ˈpregnənsi]     

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

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