特别广播英语第 331 课：Can Your Belly Tell You If It Is a Boy or Girl?
生男生女─肚皮露玄机？

Many myths surround the mysteries of pregnancy. 围绕着怀孕的种种现象有许多神话。

For example, people have developed a lot of folk wisdom about predicting a baby's sex. 比方说，人们发现了民间很多预测胎儿性别的妙法。

One old wives' tale that has endured is that if a woman carries her unborn baby low, then it will be a boy. 根据一则流传至今的老妇人的故事，如果孕妇腹中胎儿的位置较低，那么就会是个男孩。

Actually, the shape and height of a woman' belly during pregnancy is determined by her muscle tone and the position the baby is in. 不过实际上，孕妇肚子在怀孕期间的形状及高度是取决于孕妇腹肌的紧实度及腹中胎儿的胎位。

Another myth surrounding the sex of a baby says that curvy women have girls and less curvy women have boys. 另一个与胎儿性别有关的神话是：腰、臀间曲线明显的妇女会生女孩；反之，曲线较不明显的则会生男孩。

The reasoning behind this is that less curvy women are thought to have higher levels of the male hormone, testosterone. 这种说法的论据是人们认为曲线较不明显的妇女具有较多的男性荷尔蒙──睾丸素酮。

However, a recent study found no connection between a mother's waist-to-hip ratio and her infant's gender. 不过最近的一项研究表明，母亲的腰、臀比例和婴儿的性别没有关系。

While old beliefs may be interesting and fun to talk about, there is only one accurate way to predict a baby's sex: by getting an ultrasound done. 老祖先的看法或许很有趣，说起来也挺有意思，不过能准确预测胎儿性别的方法却只有一个：用超声波扫描。