Commercial surrogacy has been available for at least a decade in Thailand, one of only a handful of countries where it is allowed, and one of only two in Asia, making it a prime destination for couples in the region from countries where the practice is banned.
Others described surrogacy as the exploitation of the weak and poor by wealthy couples from more developed nations.
「This is a symbol of moral erosion,」 said Kaysorn Vongmanee, the head of the public health department in Pak Ok. 「It's a symbol that people are concerned above all with money.」
The surrogates, some of whom are still pregnant, fled to the anonymity of Bangkok last week when officials and a phalanx of the Thai news media descended on the area to publicize what they portrayed as a national scandal. The village is quiet now, with children and chickens scampering along the dirt road that winds along the edge of a steep, bamboo-covered mountainside.
Among the villagers, there is sympathy for the surrogates and anger at what is seen as a witch hunt by the authorities for women who took part in a practice that is not yet illegal.「There's nothing wrong with surrogacy — you are helping people who can't have a baby,」 said Pakson Thongda, 42, whose daughter twice sold eggs to a fertility clinic for about $1,000 each time. 「I understand the feeling of a mother who really, really wants a child.」
The police investigations and the pending law have left a number of foreign couples wondering whether they will be able to bring their surrogate babies home.
(Source:The New York Times)
商業代孕在泰國至少已有10年歷史。目前，只有少數國家允許商業代孕，泰國正是兩個允許這種做法的亞洲國家之一，因此成了那些禁止代孕的亞洲國家夫婦的主要選擇。
部分人稱，代孕是較發達國家的富有夫婦利用貧窮、弱勢女性的行為。
「這是道德墮落的象徵，」 巴谷格公共衛生部門負責人革頌·翁姆尼（Kaysorn Vongmanee）說。「是人們推崇金錢至上的象徵。」
上周，當官員及一批泰國媒體抵達該區報導他們所謂的全國性醜聞時，代孕母親們紛紛逃到曼谷藏身，她們其中一些人正有孕在身。這個村莊現在非常安靜，孩子和小雞沿著泥土路奔跑，這條蜿蜒的小路通往陡峭且布滿竹林的山坡腳下。
在村民當中，有的人支持代孕母親，有的人則感到非常憤怒，他們稱，這是當局對從事尚不屬於非法活動 的女性的迫害。
警方的調查和即將出臺的法律致使一些外國夫婦懷疑他們能否將通過代孕獲得的嬰兒帶回家。
·prime [praɪm]
中文解釋:主要的;首要的;優質的;典型的
英文釋義:being at the best stage of development
同義詞:meridian
例句:
This is a matter of prime importance.
這是一個首要的問題。
·wealthy [ˈwelθi]
中文解釋:富有的;富裕的;富人;有錢人
英文釋義:having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value
同義詞:affluent,flush
例句:
A wealthy benefactor came to their rescue with a generous donation.
一位富有的贊助人慷慨解囊挽救了他們。
·erosion [ɪˈrəʊʒn]
中文解釋:侵蝕，腐蝕;侵蝕，腐蝕;降低;削弱;
英文釋義:erosion by chemical action;a gradual decline of something
同義詞:corrosion
例句:
Soil erosion was mitigated by the planting of trees.
植樹造林減輕了土壤侵蝕。
·phalanx [ˈfælæŋks]
中文解釋:密集的人(或東西);方陣
英文釋義:a body of troops in close array
例句:
Modeling and Simulation of the Weapon System of Phalanx.
密集陣武器系統模型及仿真。
·descended on
中文解釋:降臨;突然來訪
例句:
A mood of melancholy descended on us.
一種悲傷的情緒襲上我們的心頭。
·publicize[ˈpʌblɪsaɪz]
中文解釋:宣傳;推廣;宣揚;傳播
英文釋義:call attention to
例句:
The author appeared on television to publicize her latest book
那位作家上電視宣傳她的新書。
·scampering[ˈskæmpərɪŋ]
中文解釋:歡快地奔走;蹦蹦跳跳
例句:
Four little mice went scampering back.
四個小老鼠歡蹦著跑回去了。
·practice[ˈpræktɪs]
中文解釋:實踐;實際行動;慣例;常規;練習;實習;
英文釋義:a customary way of operation or behavior
同義詞:pattern，praxis
例句:
The next step is to put the theory into practice
下一步是要將理論付諸實踐。
·pending[ˈpendɪŋ]
中文解釋:在等待…時期;待定;待決;
英文釋義:awaiting conclusion or confirmation
例句:
Nine cases are still pending.
尚有九宗案件待決。
·拓展學習：參見學習通《公正-該如何是好》05
THE SPACE age was built on clever materials. The business ends of rocket engines are composed of Inconel, a family of heat-and-corrosion-resistant nickel-chromium alloys developed in the 1940s. The 「gold foil」 adorning many satellites is, in fact, a form of insulation made from layers of Kapton and metallised Mylar, a pair of artificial polymers from the 1950s and 1960s. SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft use a heat shield made of phenolic-impregnated carbon to protect astronauts during atmospheric re-entry.
But it is not just humans in lab coats who can come up with whizzy substances. Sumitomo Forestry, a Japanese firm, and Kyoto University are pondering the idea of building satellites out of an advanced, high-performance composite made from cellulose and lignin, a pair of complex polymers which are strong in tension and compression respectively. This material is both cheap and abundant. It is self-assembling and requires only simple chemical inputs. Manufacture can be entirely automated, requiring no human oversight. Translated from chemist-speak, they want to make satellites out of wood.
The research team argue that wood offers two advantages. Unlike metal, seasoned timber is easily penetrated by radio waves. That means communication antennas, sensors and the like could be kept inside the body of the satellite. This, they hope, will simplify construction. The second advantage is that, on atmospheric re-entry, the wooden parts of the satellite should burn up entirely, making disposal cleaner.
The researchers hope to launch a prototype version of what they have dubbed a LignoSat by 2023. Space is both extremely cold and very hot, and can switch quickly between the two as a spacecraft moves from shade into direct sunlight. Processing wood to cope with such extremes will be crucial to success. Sumitomo has said merely that its way of doing this is an 「R&D secret」.
Sending wood into space is not Sumitomo’s only ambition for the material. It hopes that lessons from the satellite project might assist its plan to build the world’s tallest wooden skyscraper, in Tokyo. This building, dubbed W350, would celebrate the firm’s 350th birthday in 2041, and would, therefore, be 350 metres tall—roughly as high as the Empire State Building without its spire.
(Source:Science and technology)
太空時代建立在巧妙的材料上。火箭發動機的商業終端由鉻鎳鐵合金組成，鉻鎳鐵合金是20世紀40年代開發的一種耐熱耐腐蝕的鎳鉻合金。事實上，許多衛星上的「金箔」是一種由多層卡普頓和金屬化聚酯薄膜製成的絕緣材料（一對上世紀五六十年代的人造聚合物）SpaceX的「龍」號宇宙飛船使用酚醛浸漬碳製成的隔熱板在太空人重返大氣層時保護太空人。
但是，並非只有穿著白大褂的人才能提出乳濁物質。日本住友林業（Sumitomo Forestry）和京都大學（Kyoto University）正在考慮用一種先進的、高性能的複合材料製造衛星，這種複合材料由纖維素和木質素製成，這兩種複合聚合物分別具有很強的張力和壓縮性。這種材料既便宜又豐富。它是自組裝的，只需要簡單的化學輸入。製造可以完全自動化，不需要人工監督。他們想用木頭做衛星。
研究小組認為木材有兩個優點。與金屬不同，經過風乾的木材很容易被無線電波穿透。這意味著通信天線、傳感器等可以放在衛星體內。他們希望，這將簡化建築。第二個優點是，在重返大氣層時，衛星的木質部件應該完全燃燒掉，使處理過程更加清潔。
研究人員希望在2023年之前推出他們稱之為木質衛星的原型版本。太空既非常冷又非常熱，當太空飛行器從陰涼處移動到陽光直射處時，可以在兩者之間快速切換。處理木材以應對這種極端情況對成功至關重要。住友只是說，它這樣做的方式是一個「研發秘密」。
將木材送入太空並不是住友對這種材料的唯一野心。它希望從衛星項目中得到的教訓能幫助它在東京建造世界上最高的木質摩天大樓的計劃。這座名為W350的建築將於2041年慶祝公司的350歲生日，因此，它的高度將達到350米，大約相當於沒有尖頂的帝國大廈的高度。
·be composed of [kəmˈpəʊzd ɒv]
中文解釋:由…組成
例句:
Around 15% of our diet is composed of protein.
我們的飲食中大約有15%的蛋白質。
·insulation [ˌɪnsjuˈleɪʃn]
中文解釋:隔熱;隔音;絕緣;
英文釋義:the state of being isolated or detached
例句:
Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.
請檢查一下我屋子裡電線的絕緣情況。
·shield [ʃiːld]
中文解釋:盾(牌);保護人;保護物;掩護物;屏障
英文釋義:a protective covering or structure
同義詞:buckler，screen
例句:
Water is not an effective shield against the sun's more harmful rays.
水不能有效阻擋太陽中更有害的射線。
·whizzy [ˈwɪzi]
中文解釋:採用先進技術的
例句:
The US labour market used to be whizzy.
美國勞動力市場曾經表現出色。
·abundant [əˈbʌndənt]
中文解釋:大量的;豐盛的;充裕的
英文釋義:present in great quantity
例句:
Birds are abundant in the tall vegetation.
高大的植被中有著大量的鳥類。
·antennas [ænˈtɛnəz]
中文解釋:觸角;觸鬚
例句:
Performance Analysis of UWB System Based on Multiple Receive Antennas
基於空間分集的UWB系統性能分析。
·crucial [ˈkruːʃl]
中文解釋:至關重要的;關鍵性的
英文釋義:of extreme importance
同義詞:important
例句:
It is crucial that we get this right.
我們把這個問題弄明白是極其重要的。
·skyscraper [ˈskaɪskreɪpə(r)]
中文解釋:摩天大樓
英文釋義:a very tall building with many stories
例句:
This skyscraper was constructed entirely of concrete and glass.
這幢摩天大樓全部是用水泥和玻璃構築的。
文字|護理學院國際交流社團曹煒鈺
排版|護理學院國際交流社團曹煒鈺
圖片|網絡
END