①Britain is one of just a handful of jurisdictions where surrogacy is governed by clear (though restrictive) rules. ②In some other European countries, it is illegal. ③American laws vary from state to state, all the way from complete bans togranting parental rights tothe intended parents, rather than the woman who carries the baby. ④In most of the rest of the world, until recently, surrogacy has been unregulated, leaving all concerned in a legal vacuum. ⑤The variation in laws—and costs—has created a global surrogacy trade rife with complications and pitfalls.
①句讲了英国的代孕法律。Britain is one of just a handful of jurisdictions是句子主干：英国是少数几个法律辖区之一。jurisdiction [ˌdʒʊərɪsˈdɪkʃn] 指的是an area or a country in which a particular system of laws has authority「某套法律制度下的国家或地区」，其实可以简单理解成territory，只不过是法律角度的territory。比如美国各州法律不同，一个州就是一个jurisdiction，英国实行一套法律制度，所以英国就是一个jurisdiction。where surrogacy is governed by clear (though restrictive) rules是定语从句，修饰a handful of jurisdictions：代孕被明确（尽管限制性）规则管理的（少数几个辖区）。surrogacy [ˈsʌrəɡəsi] 指「代孕」这一行为，「代孕母亲」可以说the surrogate 或 surrogate mother，与之相对的则是「委托夫妻」，英文是是 the intended parents 或 the commissioning parents（commission v.委托）。 ②句讲到了欧洲的代孕法律。语言很简单：In some other European countries, it is illegal. 在其他欧洲国家，代孕是非法的。 ③句讲到了美国各州的代孕法律：American laws vary from state to state, all the way from complete bans to granting parental rights to the intended parents, rather than the woman who carries the baby.American laws vary from state to state是句子主干：美国法律从一州到另一州各不相同。vary是外刊中很喜欢用的小词，指differ「不同」，动词，写作中可以替换我们常用的形容词表达be different. 比如，说到「不同人有不同观点」时，以前我们会写：Different people have different opinions. 现在可以用vary替换：Opinions vary. 非常精简有力。再看一个例子：
Prices may vary so it's well worth shopping around before you buy.
价格可能会有高有低，所以在买之前很有必要货比三家。
all the way from A to B修饰vary，体现出各州法律相差之大：all the way from complete bans to granting parental rights to the intended parents：从全面禁止到授予父母以亲权。from...to...表示「从...到...」，一般前后是两个天壤之别的例子，以体现差异之大或范围之广，比如我们在《美国国会暴乱》中举的外卖的例子：
People could have everything from coffee to congee whisked to them in under 30 minutes on the back of a scooter.
人们在下单30分钟之内，就可以收到放在电动车后备箱里送来的咖啡和稀饭等各类食物。
from coffee to congee「从咖啡到稀饭」，coffee代表西餐，congee代表中餐，一中一西，体现出外卖食物的各式各样。在from...to...前面加上all the way（during the whole journey / period of time; completely），强化了这一差异。grant sth to sb指「授予某人某物」，可简单理解成give sth to sb，只不过grant更侧重于法律上的给予、准予。parental rights意为「亲权」，是指父母对未成年子女在人身和财产方面的管教和保护的权利和义务。后面 rather than the woman who carries the baby 进行补充，其中the woman who carries the baby 和 the intended parents 是并列的，意思是：授予意向父母以亲权，而非代孕母亲。the woman who carries the baby字面意思是「怀有婴儿的女性」，即「代孕母亲」。 ④句讲了世界其它大多数国家的法律规定：In most of the rest of the world, until recently, surrogacy has been unregulated, leaving all concerned in a legal vacuum.抓住时间点：until recently「在最近之前」，所以注意！——这句话叙述的是最近之前的情况，暗示现在出现了变化。如果觉得until的逻辑不太好理解，可以看成before。主干：surrogacy has been unregulatedunregulated就是not controlled by a government or law「无监管的」。leaving all concerned in a legal vacuum是主干的状语从句，补充了「不受监管」所带来的结果：使所有相关方处于法律真空。leave sb in...意为「使某人处于某种状态/境地」。all concerned指「所有相关人员」，新闻中经常出现的「各相关部门」英文是 all departments concerned。vacuum是「真空」，了解即可。 最后一句进行总结，讲了各地代孕法律不同 所带来的结果：The variation in laws—and costs—has created a global surrogacy trade rife with complications and pitfalls.英语中经常会出现一对破折号，一对破折号就相当于一对括号，起到补充的作用。我们先看这句话主干：The variation in laws (and costs) has created a global surrogacy trade。variation就是vary的名词，指「不同、区别」，同difference.主干的意思是：代孕法律和成本的不同造成了一个全球代孕贸易。什么样的代孕贸易呢？a global surrogacy trade后面跟了一个形容词结构，作后置定语进行修饰：rife with complications and pitfalls「充满复杂和陷阱的全球代孕贸易」be rife with...是个固定搭配，意为be full of sth bad「充斥着不好的东西」，比如：
The entertainment world is rife with gossip and rumour.
①Unscrupulous clinics often placed multipleembryos in their wombs with the aim of making pregnancy more likely, without making the risks clear. ②Some overused Caesarean sections and neglected post-partum care.
这段话介绍了会对代孕妈妈的健康造成严重影响的两个做法，先看第一个：Unscrupulous clinics often placed multiple embryos in their wombs with the aim of making pregnancy more likely, without making the risks clear.Unscrupulous clinics often placed multiple embryos in their wombs是句子主干。unscrupulous就是我们最近常说的「不讲武德」，看一下它的英文解释：behaving in an unfair or dishonest way.multiple形容数量之多，是many的高级替换；embryo指「胚胎」，有一个很常见的搭配：in embryo「在萌芽时期」，看一个英国《金融时报》里的例句：
Children had previously been treated as adults-in-waiting, their grown-up personalities already present in embryo.
以前，孩子被当做“没有长大的大人”，他们的成年性格已经初见端倪。
womb [wuːm] (“b”不发音) 指「子宫」，是一个日常说法，比较严肃正式的说法是uterus [ˈjuːtərəs]。主干部分的意思是：Unscrupulous clinics often placed multiple embryos in their wombs「不择手段的诊所把多个胚胎放入代孕妈妈的子宫中」。with the aim of making pregnancy more likely 和 without making the risks clear 都是状语，对主干部分进行补充。with the aim of making pregnancy more likely补充了「放入多个胚胎」的目的：目的是使怀孕更加可能、提高怀孕的可能性。without making the risks clear指「诊所没有明确告知风险」。 ②句讲了代孕妈妈面临的第二个风险：Some overused Caesarean sections and neglected post-partum care.Caesarean 或 Caesarean sections指「剖腹产」，section在医学领域有「手术」的意思，指the act of cutting or separating sth in an operation。再比如，婴儿 be born / delivered etc by caesarean 剖腹产出生。postpartum（或post-partum）意为「产后的」，文中post-partum care就是「产后护理」的意思，再比如 postpartum depression「产后抑郁」。 第二个是伦理问题。代孕出生的孩子，其母亲应该是“基因母亲”还是“孕生母亲”？如果代孕母亲产后反悔，争夺孩子的抚养权怎么办？如果在代孕母亲怀孕期间，意象父母婚姻破裂，或不想要孩子了，怎么办？《经济学人》中就有过这样的报道，先看代孕母亲争夺孩子：
The first formal surrogacy contract was drawn up in 1976 in America. Ten years later “Baby M”, intended for a couple in New York, made headlines when the surrogate changed her mind and sued—unsuccessfully—for custody of the child.
On the rare occasions when problems do arise: commissioning parents who decide they no longer want the baby. In Canada, which has regulated surrogacy since 2004, five such cases are known to have occurred. The main reason for pulling out was divorce. But in no case did the surrogate keep the child: they were all given up for adoption.
Many feminists feel that it casts women as mere baby-vessels for hire. In 2015 the European Parliament described it as “reproductive exploitation” that “undermines the human dignity” of women.
cast... as...的意思是：to describe or present sb in a particular way「把某人描写成；把某人表现为」，和后面的 describe... as...是同义替换。vessel常指a large ship or boat「轮船」，此处为熟词僻义指「容器」，文中是把女性的子宫比喻成生产孩子的器皿，极具讽刺意味。 三、《为奴隶的母亲》和《蛙》中的片段 柔石的短篇小说《为奴隶的母亲》中就描写了一位母亲，因家中境况不佳而被丈夫典了出去，给有钱的秀才家代孕。我们看一段小说里的文字：然而境况总是不佳，债是年年积起来了。他大约就因为境况的不佳，烟也吸了，酒也喝了，钱也赌起来了。这样，竟使他变做一个非常凶狠而暴躁的男子，但也就更贫穷下去，连小小的移借，别人也不敢答应了。在穷底结果得病以后，全身便变成枯黄色，脸孔黄的和小铜鼓一样，连眼白也黄了。别人说他是黄胆病，孩子们也就叫他“黄胖”了。有一天，他向他底（ [de] 同“的”）妻说：“再也没有办法了，这样下去，连小锅子也都卖去了。我想，还是从你底身上设法罢。你跟着我挨饿，有什么办法呢?”“我底身上?……”他底妻坐在灶后，怀里抱着她底刚满三周的男小孩——孩子还在啜着奶，她讷讷地低声地问。“你，是呀，”她底丈夫病后的无力的声音，“我已经将你出典了……”