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「妳沒泡泡啊，卡莉？超～～～無聊的！」「我猜她根本沒打入二氧化碳！哈哈！」身為沒泡泡的可樂的痛苦（譯註：在本漫畫中，flat 是形容「汽水沒氣」以及「胸部小」一語雙關。）

二○○九年一名加州婦女使用體外受精技術誕下八胞胎的案例使人聚焦大數目多胞胎的問題，多胞胎的數字下降了，但雙胞胎則不然。美國疾病防治中心最新的統計數字顯示，百分之四十六的體外受精嬰兒是多胞胎──主要是雙胞胎，而且百分之卅七是早產兒。相較之下，未經受孕技術處理而誕下的嬰兒中，只有百分之三是雙胞胎，同時也只有百分之十二是早產兒。這主要是一個美國人的問題，有些負擔受精治療費用的歐洲國家規定，每次只能用一個胚胎。

美國生育醫學學會目前也在設法使這一點成為美國固定的做法，該學會今年稍早才作了最新修訂的指引宣稱，對有合理成功機會的婦女，應主動提供單一的胚胎供移植之用，一次最多不能超過兩個。但胚胎數目隨著年齡而增加，最高四十歲的婦女每次可以有兩三個胚胎，因為年齡較大的婦女比較不容易成孕。為了使這種建議更有份量。指引主張應該針對一胎多嬰和胚胎移植的風險給予婦女輔導，同時在這些婦女的病歷紀錄中提及有關討論。

The 2009 case of a California woman who had octuplets using IVF focused attention on the issue of big multiple births, and the numbers have dropped, except for twins. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's most recent numbers show that 46 percent of IVF babies are multiples— mostly twins —and 37 percent are born premature. By comparison, only 3 percent of babies born without fertility help are twins and about 12 percent are preterm. It's mostly an American problem — some European countries that pay for fertility treatments require using one embryo at a time.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine is trying to make it the norm in the U.S., too. Its guidelines, updated earlier this year, say that for women with reasonable medical odds of success should be offered single embryo transfer and no more than two at a time. The number rises with age, to two or three embryos for women up to 40, since older women have more trouble conceiving. To add heft to the advice, the guidelines say women should be counseled on the risks of multiple births and embryo transfers and that this discussion should be noted in their medical records.

美國受孕科醫師立志降低雙胞胎出生率

自從所謂「八胞胎媽媽」案例發生後的五年間，美國一胎多嬰的情形已經減少了很多，但雙胞胎的出生率卻幾乎在原地踏步。現在受精問題專家在尋求一個新目標，那就是一胎只生一個。

American fertility doctors aim to lower rate of twin births

在歐洲、澳洲與紐西蘭，兒童體適能衰弱的情形似乎有回穩，而在北美洲過去的幾年間或許也回穩了。不過，這個情形在中國卻繼續每況愈下。在兩千五百萬名的研究對象中，有兩千萬名是亞洲兒童。

在中國，每年的體適能測驗數據顯示，學生在過去幾十年間愈趨遲鈍與肥胖。專家與教育界人士將這樣的衰退現象，歸因於國內對競爭激烈的大學入學考試成績的執迷，以及像是電玩與上網等室內活動的流行。中國教育部的數據顯示，在二○一○年，男大生跑一千公尺的速度平均比十年前的成績慢了十四至十五秒，女大生跑八百公尺則慢了十二秒左右。

The decline in fitness seems to be leveling off in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and perhaps in the last few years in North America. However, it continues to fall in China. About 20 million of the 25 million children in the studies were from Asia.

In China, annual fitness test data show the country's students have been getting slower and fatter over the past couple of decades. Experts and educators blame an obsession with academic testing scores for China's competitive college admissions, as well as the popularity of indoor activities like gaming and Web surfing, for the decline. Data from China's Education Ministry show that in 2010 male college students ran 1,000 meters 14 to 15 seconds slower on average than male students did a decade earlier. Female students slowed by about 12 seconds in an 800-meter run.

一項全球性研究顯示，這一代兒童的體能比父母輩年輕時來得差

這一代的兒童趕不上他們父母的腳步。以全球各地數百萬名兒童為對象的研究分析顯示，這些兒童與他們的父母輩年輕時相比，跑得沒有那麼快，也沒有那麼遠。平均而言，現在的兒童跑一哩（一點六公里）要比父母輩卅年前時多花九十秒鐘。從一九七五年開始，九至十七歲兒童心臟功能相關的體適能，每十年就下降百分之五。

Children today are less fit than their parents were: global study

對於各種選舉語言感到困惑嗎？每一個美國選舉都會拋出新的 專門用語，及2004年的總統的種族問題沒有什麼不同的。隨著11月選舉逼近，口水戰絕對會被左右的輿論所影響。為了能更了解所有有關於這些惱人的名字稱呼，看一看我們對於John Kerry 及 George W. Bush競選語言指南。

Indian Angami Nag tribesmen look on during the Angami Naga Sekrenyi festival at Kisama, some 12 kilometers from Kohima, in the northeastern state of Nagaland, India on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Sekrenyi, a purification festival, is celebrated by Angami Nagas with a series of rituals and ceremonies, and takes place after the harvest, falling on the 25th day of the Angami month of Kezei. (AFP)

A leopard leaps across an under-construction structure near a furniture market in the Degumpur residential area as a bystander moves out of the way in Meerut, India on Sunday, Feb. 23. A leopard sparked panic in a north Indian city when it strayed inside a hospital, a cinema and an apartment block before evading captors, an official said. (AFP)

Kadrie Avdikova, a Bulgarian Muslim bride, has her face decorated with special wedding makeup at the end of a two-day wedding ceremony in the Rhodope Mountains village of Ribnovo, 200 kilometers south of the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Sunday, Feb. 23. The wedding ritual has been resurrected with vigor among the Pomaks — Slavs who converted to Islam under Ottoman rule. The highlight of the ceremony is the painting of the bride's face; in a private rite, her face is covered in thick, chalky white paint and decorated with colorful sequins. (AP)

A woman shares a tender moment with her pet during international dog sled race "Zavirukha" (Snow Storm) in the Belarus capital Minsk on Saturday, Feb. 22. About 140 athletes from Belarus, Russia, Latvia and Lithuania take part in competitions. (AFP)

The 65-inch ultra high-definition (UHD) 4K Wide Color Gamut TV by AU Optronics Corp. (友達光電) is displayed during a news conference in Taipei, yesterday. AUO first showcased what it called the world's first UHD 4K Wide Color Gamut TV during Touch Taiwan 2013 (International Touch Panel and Optical Film Exhibition 2013). AUO's spokesman and General Manager Paul S. L. Peng (彭雙浪) said yesterday that the cutting-edge concave design reverses the technological stereotype that a liquid crystal display doesn't bend. (CNA)

An artificial cow stands on the balcony of a residential building in Hanover, central Germany on Tuesday, Feb. 18. (AFP)

In this Friday, Feb. 14 photo, from left to right, Judy Deckert, Luisa Solak and Jan Bartee, all members of NorthRidge Church, pack whole grain rice, as volunteers pack food for the malnourished during the 2 Million Meals event in Novi, Michigan. More than 8,000 people helped pack 2 million-plus meals, which will be shipped to El Salvador, Haiti and the Philippines. The mixtures of rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and 21 vitamins and minerals will provide one meal a day for a year to 5,560 children. (AP)

A dog sniffs at "Fuleco," the official mascot of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, during the "Blocao" dog carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday, Feb. 16. About 100 dogs have had their day at a pre-Carnival bash in Rio de Janeiro. A 10-man brass band and a singer belting out Rio's anthem song "Cidade Maravilhosa" (Marvelous City) kicked off the four-footed fest as dog owners gathered to party down with pooches on Copacabana beach, Sunday. (AP)

A Sri Lankan elephant walks along a street in Colombo on Sunday, Feb. 16. The Sri Lankan elephant is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as the population has declined by at least 50 percent over the last three generations, with the species threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation. (AFP)

A flock of migrating starlings is seen as they perform their traditional flying dance before landing to sleep at sunset near the southern Israeli village of Tidhar, in the northern Israeli Negev desert on Wednesday, Feb. 12. (AFP)