The Miracle Of Life

Continuing with our class, today we are going to study briefly the miracle of life. Many of you may think you already know how babies come to be, but I am sure that some of the things that we will be talking about today may surprise you. Billy can you turn on the projector please? Thanks. Ok, does anyone know what this is?

同学们，我们继续上课，今天来简单了解一下生命的奇迹。很多人可能觉得已经知道婴儿是怎么来的，但我敢肯定，今天要讲的一些内容可能会让你们吃惊。比利，能打开投影仪吗？谢谢。好，有人知道这是什么吗？

Looks like a goat head to me!

我看像羊头！

Nice try, but this is a woman’s womb which contains her uterus and ovaries. The ovaries are packed with eggs and each month during the middle of the menstrual cycle, the ripest one will be sucked up by one of the fallopian tubes. This is called ovulation and the exact time of ovulation depends on the length of your cycle. In an average 28 day cycle, ovulation will most likely happen between the 12th and 15th days, counting day 1 as the first day of your last period.

猜得不错，但这是女性的子宫，里面有子宫和卵巢。卵巢里有很多卵子，每个月在月经周期中期，最成熟的那颗会被其中一根输卵管吸走。这叫排卵，具体时间取决于你的周期长度。以平均28天周期为例，从上次月经第一天算起，排卵最可能发生在第12到15天。

That’s amazing! So each month, the woman produces these eggs and then waits for them to be fertilized?

太神奇了！所以每个月女性会产生这些卵子，然后等待受精？

Actually, every woman is already born with over four hundred thousand eggs! Some will start dying off immediately and others released during her fertile period.

其实，每个女性天生就有超过40万个卵子！有些会立刻开始死亡，另一些则在生育期释放。

What about the guys? I know they produce sperm and stuff.

那男人呢？我知道他们会产生精子之类的。

That’s right! The man’s body has a tiny factory that produces sperm twenty four hours a day! Each ejaculation will release about a hundred million sperm so the factory is always pretty busy. The sole purpose of a sperm’s life is to fertilize the woman’s egg.

没错！男性的身体里有个小工厂，一天24小时生产精子！每次射精会释放大约一亿个精子，所以工厂总是很忙。精子生命的唯一目标就是让女性的卵子受精。

So, then we basically need to put one-and-one together so we can have babies right?

所以，基本上我们得把两者结合才能生孩子，对吧？

Yes, the man will have an orgasm during intercourse and ejaculate sperm and semen. Now this is where the race begins and all those millions of sperm will race and swim from the cervix, through the uterus to the fallopian tubes. This could take anywhere from forty five minutes to twelve hours! Not all of them make it, since some go the wrong way and get lost or simply die. Many will actually reach the egg but only one will penetrate it and fertilize it. Once this happens, the egg instantly changes and creates a protective shield once the sperm is safely inside.

是的，男性在性交过程中达到高潮，射出精子和精液。然后比赛就开始了，这上亿个精子从子宫颈出发，游过子宫进入输卵管。这个过程可能持续45分钟到12小时！不是所有精子都能到达，有些走错路迷路了，或者干脆死了。很多精子确实能到达卵子，但只有一个能穿透并使其受精。一旦发生，卵子会立刻变化，形成一层保护膜，确保精子安全进入。

And then? That’s it?

然后呢？就完了？

Well, the egg will be fertilized within about 24 hours of its release. The genetic material from the sperm combines with the genetic material in the egg to create a new cell that will rapidly start dividing. The woman is not actually pregnant until that bundle of new cells, known as the embryo, travels the rest of the way down the fallopian tube and attaches itself to the wall of her uterus. Any other questions? Then let’s move on.

嗯，卵子在释放后大约24小时内受精。精子的遗传物质和卵子的遗传物质结合，形成一个新细胞，然后迅速开始分裂。只有当这团新细胞——也就是胚胎——沿着输卵管继续下行，并附着在子宫壁上时，女人才算真正怀孕。还有其他问题吗？那我们继续。