If you ask a woman, 'Are you eating for two?', the phrase has a very specific meaning. You're asking, 'Are you pregnant?' And like many of the idioms we commonly use in English, this phrase contains a little bit of truth. A pregnant woman really is eating for two – herself and the baby growing inside her.
The female human body is amazing. During pregnancy, it protects the growing baby by allowing it to take whatever nutrients it needs from the mother. This means it's the mum-to-be, not the baby, who experiences any nutritional problems. It's also the reason why it's so important that pregnant women eat well.
In this programme, we'll be finding out how a woman's relationship to food changes during pregnancy. And, as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary too.
But first, I have a question for you, Phil. For some pregnant women, finding reliable information on what food to eat can be hard. Finding out about harmful foods to avoid, on the other hand, is much easier. So, according to NHS recommendations, which of these foods should pregnant women NOT eat: a) chips? b) oily fish? or, c) smoked salmon?
OK, Phil. We'll find out the correct answer at the end of the programme. Although eating healthy and nutritious food is important for mums and babies, the story gets complicated because of the changes a woman's body goes through during pregnancy. Here's Jaega Wise, presenter of BBC Radio 4's, The Food Programme, reporting on her experience of pregnancy:
好的，菲尔。我们将在节目结束时找到正确答案。虽然吃健康和营养的食物对妈妈和婴儿很重要，但由于女性在怀孕期间身体会发生变化，故事变得复杂。以下是 BBC Radio 4 的主持人 Jaega Wise 的美食节目，她报道了她的怀孕经历：
Jaega Wise(杰加·怀斯)
I feel like throughout this pregnancy my body has just gone a bit haywire, and there are things that my body is doing [laughs] that are frankly weird… Nosebleeds is a really good example. I can count the amount of nosebleeds pre- pregnancy I've had on one hand and now I seem to get them all the time.
Jaega says that during pregnancy, her body went haywire – it stopped working properly. For example, she had lots of nosebleeds whereas before being pregnant, she could count the number of nosebleeds she had on one hand. The idiom to count the number of something on one hand emphasises that this does not happen very often, or that there's a small number of something – after all, you can only count to five on one hand!
Many pregnant women experience cravings, the strong desire for some particular food, anything from ice cream to sardines. When these cravings are for food that's not so healthy, some women feel guilty, thinking “I know I should be eating healthily, but all I want is chips!” Here's Jaega Wise again speaking with nutritional therapist, Henrietta Wilson, on the best way to deal with guilty feelings:
许多孕妇都会经历渴望，对某些特定食物的强烈渴望，从冰淇淋到沙丁鱼。当这些渴望对不那么健康的食物时，一些女性会感到内疚，认为“我知道我应该吃得健康，但我想要的只是薯条！以下是 Jaega Wise 再次与营养治疗师 Henrietta Wilson 就处理内疚感的最佳方法进行了交谈：
Jaega Wise(杰加·怀斯)
How guilty should you feel…is more the question for that late night chocolate binge when your body is telling you, 'I need cake!'.
你应该感到多么内疚......更多的是深夜巧克力狂欢的问题，当你的身体告诉你，“我需要蛋糕！
Henrietta Norton(亨丽埃塔·诺顿)
Listen, I think the most important thing is to not get out the cat-o'-nine-tails, is to absolutely be kind to yourself, particularly that first trimester. It is a very critical window, but at the same time it can be the time when all you want to do is to eat chips because your body is going through what it perceives to be physiological stress. So it's doing the best that you can, and it's absolutely not about giving yourself a hard time.
Henrietta's advice is to not use the cat-o'-nine-tails. In the past, the cat-o'-nine- tails was a whip made of nine strings which was used to punish prisoners. Nowadays when someone talks about the cat-o'-nine-tails, they are probably talking about the ways people sometimes use to punish themselves if they feel guilty.
But, says Henrietta, pregnancy isn't about giving yourself a hard time, treating yourself badly or criticising yourself. Pregnancy is a special time of life, and all a baby can ask is that mum does her best. And, of course, avoids some foods, which reminds me of your question, Georgie – which food does the NHS recommend pregnant woman do not eat? I guessed it was smoked salmon…
Which was… the correct answer! Smoked salmon is best avoided because of the risk of bacteria, but oily fish is good, and even a bowl of chips now and then are fine. Right, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned in the programme, starting with the idiom eating for two which means to be pregnant.
If something goes haywire it stops working properly or becomes difficult to control.
如果某些东西失控，它就会停止正常工作或变得难以控制。
Georgie(乔治)
If you say you could count something on one hand, you're emphasising that something does not happen very often, or that there are only a few of those things.
如果你说你可以用一只手数出一些东西，那么你就是在强调某件事并不经常发生，或者只有少数这样的事情。
Phil(菲尔)
A binge is an occasion when you do something to excess, for example eat, drink, or spend money.
暴饮暴食是指你做一些过分的事情，例如吃、喝或花钱。
Georgie(乔治)
In the past, the cat-o'-nine-tails was a whip used to punish prisoners, but nowadays it usually refers to the ways in which someone criticises themselves as a form of self-punishment.
在过去，九尾猫是用来惩罚囚犯的鞭子，但现在它通常是指某人批评自己的方式，作为一种自我惩罚的形式。
Phil(菲尔)
And finally, to give yourself a hard time means to treat yourself badly by criticising or blaming yourself. Once again our six minutes are up! Remember to join us again next time for more topical discussion and useful vocabulary, here at 6 Minute English. Goodbye for now!
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