Passage One
What do we call a woman who does NOT conceive and asks others to be pregnant for her?
该题重点考查考生对连续话语中人称变化的把握。录音从 “ 代孕母亲” surrogate mother的单数形式开始说她是为不能怀孕也不想领养孩子的couple怀孩子， 接着改变主题词为they ,说 They are known as “intended parents”。考题题干从相反方向以couple提问但把主题词acouple(who...)改为awoman(who...)，这就造成了 —定的难度，需要对代孕所涉及的双方的解释完全理解。
[重点难点]
把握话语主题词及其不同的描述。
[录音原文]
Passage One
Surrogacy is where a woman becomes pregnant with the intention of handing over the child to someone else after giving birth. Generally, she carries the baby for a couple or parents who cannot conceive a child themselves, and who do not try adoption. They are known as “intended parents”， while she is called a “surrogate mother”.
There are two forms of surrogacy. In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate mother's egg is used, making her the genetic mother. But now in gestational surrogacy, the egg is provided by the intended mother. The egg is fertilized through in vitro fertilization, or IVF, and then placed inside the surrogate mother.
Countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Bulgaria prohibit all forms of surrogacy. In countries including the UK, Ireland, Denmark and Belgium, surrogacy is allowed where the surrogate mother is not paid, or only paid for reasonable expenses. Commercial surrogacy is legal in some US states, and countries including India, Russia and Ukraine.
Families Through Surrogacy, an international non-profit surrogacy organization, has estimated the approximate average costs in different countries, around US$100,000 in the US, $47,350 in India, $52,000 in Thailand, $49,950 in Ukraine and less than $45,000 in Mexico.
The number of surrogacy cases has been picking up pace. The US saw 859 gestational surrogacy cases during 2010, a 30 percent rise from that in 2007. The world total number in 2011 stood at 3,500, and grew by 100 percent in 2014. Now a minimum of 9 children are bom through surrogacy, each year in every US state.
Who provides the egg in ''gestational surrogacy?''
该题相对不难，因为录音明确说出了 But now in gestational surrogacy, the egg is provided by the intended mother。答题时只需要把握主动句与被动句的转换。
[重点难点]
把握随句子主题词（主语）变化而引起的主动句与被动句之间的转变。
What countries allow commercial surrogacy?
正确答案为选项D。由于连续出现多个国名，该题表面难度较大，而且从口 译实践角度讲确实有明显难度。但是，就考试解题而言，只要运用适当技巧就可以 简单不少。可以在听录音时同时快速扫过题干，理解此处问题是哪些国家允许商业 化代孕，所以在听到...prohibit all forms of surrogacy时就可以排除列出了录音中刚 刚提到的国名的选项A 和 C , 再听下句可以排除B，这样就只剩下了正确答案D。
[重点难点]
在听录音前和听的同时扫读题干和选项，充分利用排除法。
Which of the following countries have surrogacy costs below US$50,000?
该题考查对数字的敏感及对相关项目的记忆或笔记能力。口译实战与考试有 不同的难度，实战中必须把听到的数字全部记下而不能有疏漏，但解答该考题时， 扫过题干后了解只需要记住代孕费用在US$50,000以下的国家，然后排除错误选项 就可以选出正确答案D。在录音中有三个国家的费用都在这个数字以下，但选项只 有两个，所以根据选项中有的作答即可。
[重点难点]
利用边看边听的解题技巧记住题干中的数字，并根据听到的内容选择正 确答案，而不受其他信息的干扰。
What was the total number of surrogacy cases in the world in 2014?
该题考查对数字的记忆及简单转换能力。答案所在的原话是将两个分句用 and 并列的句子： The world total number in 2011 stood at 3,500，and grew by 100 percent in 2014。正确数字在原话中没有直接出现, 所以需要根据原话信息进行计算。
[重点难点]
记住前面的数字的同时，理解grew by 100 percent的意思与“增长一倍” (doubled)的意思相同。