Tim： Is it true that a single child can cost millions of dollars over a lifetime of spending on food， clothes， schools and hospital bills？

Sandy： Yeah. It’s pretty crazy. But do you know what’s even scarier？ How about the fear of being unemployed？ And that goes for anyone； parents， married couples， single college grads. Things are looking bleak with the financial crisis and all. Tim： Well， when you got pregnant， weren’t you afraid that you’d lose your job because the company has been struggling so much recently？

Sandy： Actually， quite the opposite. I was afraid， really afraid that our whole department was on the outs. So a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do！

Tim： What do you mean？

Sandy： ①I mean I got pregnant on purpose， knowing the company was in the red.

Tim： Why on earth would you do that？ What about that baby’s future？ Sandy： What about my future？ It’s a 3）calculated risk.

Tim： But how are the two different？

Sandy： ②Because the company can’t fire me unless it actually goes under.

Tim： Of course they can fire you. They can fire any of us.

Sandy： Not if I’m pregnant， they can’t.

Tim： Really？！ So now that you’re pregnant， the company can’t fire you， even if they wanted to？

Sandy： Not unless they can prove 4）insolvency.

Tim： That certainly is an interesting 5）loophole in China’s labor law.

Sandy： I wouldn’t exactly call it a loophole. I’d call it leveling the scales， since women are pretty much second-class around the workplace， in terms of hours and salaries.

Tim： But does this financial strategy of getting knocked up actually work？

Sandy： Worked for me and millions of others. After all， we know how much it’s gonna cost to raise a baby， so a little job 6）assurance goes a long way.

Tim： Man， I wish I could get pregnant.

Sandy： Trust me， you don’t.

Tim： Why not？

Sandy： Well， the obvious pain and discomfort aside， the company still has the right to fire me as soon as I pop this little guy out.

Tim： That sucks. But， oh， wait， it’s a boy？ Congratulations！

Sandy： Thanks. We were trying to keep it a secret， but I guess I let it slip.

Tim： Don’t worry. ③My lips are sealed. And thanks for 7）confiding in me about your—I guess I should call it a business plan. What did your 8）hubby think when you told him about your pregnancy strategy？

Sandy： He probably would’ve been against it， which is why I took a page out of the soap-opera handbook and stopped taking my birth control pills without telling him.

Tim： Oh！ Wow. Well， I guess that’s just another secret I’ll have to keep.

Sandy： You better. Or， mark my words， I will take you down.

Tim： Good God， pregnant women are terrifying！

Sandy： You have no idea…

蒂姆：人的一輩子養(yǎng)一個(gè)孩子在衣、食、上學(xué)和醫(yī)療費(fèi)用上要花費(fèi)數(shù)百萬(wàn)美元，這是真的嗎？

桑迪：嗯。這是很可怕的事。但是你知道什么更恐怖嗎？那害怕被解雇這件事呢？任何人都會(huì)有這樣的擔(dān)憂——為人父母的、（還未要小孩的）夫婦、單身的大學(xué)畢業(yè)生。在經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)下大家的境遇都很凄涼。

蒂姆：好吧，當(dāng)你懷孕了，你不怕會(huì)丟了你的飯碗嗎？因?yàn)楣咀罱懿痪皻狻?/p>

桑迪：事實(shí)上，正好相反。我很害怕，真的害怕我們整個(gè)部門都被裁員。所以一個(gè)女人要做一個(gè)女人應(yīng)該做的事！

蒂姆：你什么意思？

桑迪：我的意思是，我知道公司在虧損，所以我是故意懷孕的。

蒂姆：你究竟為什么這樣做？那個(gè)孩子的未來(lái)怎么辦？

桑迪：那么我的未來(lái)呢？這是一個(gè)可預(yù)料的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

蒂姆：但是（懷孕與不懷孕）有什么區(qū)別呢？

桑迪：因?yàn)檫@樣公司就不能解雇我，除非它真的破產(chǎn)了。

蒂姆：他們當(dāng)然能解雇你。他們可以解雇我們?nèi)魏我粋€(gè)人。

桑迪：如果我懷孕了，他們就不能這樣做。

蒂姆：真的嗎？！那么既然你現(xiàn)在懷孕了，公司即使想解雇你也不行？

桑迪：不行，除非他們能夠證明公司破產(chǎn)了。

蒂姆：這肯定是中國(guó)勞動(dòng)法的一個(gè)有趣的漏洞。

桑迪：我不會(huì)管它叫漏洞。我會(huì)把它叫作等級(jí)的提升。因?yàn)樵诼殘?chǎng)中，女性在工作時(shí)間和薪酬方面的待遇都是在次位的。

蒂姆：但是懷孕這樣的經(jīng)濟(jì)策略真的有用嗎？

桑迪：對(duì)我和其他數(shù)百萬(wàn)人都有用。畢竟，我們知道養(yǎng)一個(gè)孩子得用多少錢，所以保住工作才是長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)之計(jì)。

蒂姆：天啊，我希望我也能懷孕。

桑迪：相信我，你不會(huì)希望的。

蒂姆：為什么？

桑迪：好吧，先不管生孩子必然的疼痛和不適，當(dāng)我這個(gè)小子生出來(lái)以后，公司還是有權(quán)解雇我。

蒂姆：這很糟糕。但是，噢，等等，是個(gè)男孩嗎？恭喜你！

桑迪：謝謝。我們一直想保密，不過(guò)我想我泄密了。

蒂姆：別擔(dān)心。我會(huì)守口如瓶的。謝謝你向我吐露了你的——我想應(yīng)該叫作你的事業(yè)計(jì)劃。當(dāng)你告訴你老公你的懷孕策略時(shí)，他是怎么想的？

桑迪：他很有可能會(huì)反對(duì)，這就是為什么我要使出家庭主婦的招數(shù)，在他不知情的情況下不吃避孕藥。

蒂姆：噢！哇。好吧，我想這是我要保守的另一個(gè)秘密。

桑迪：你最好這樣，不然，記著我說(shuō)的話，我會(huì)干掉你的。

蒂姆：天啊，懷孕的女人真可怕！

桑迪：你無(wú)法想象……

Smart Sentences

① I mean I got pregnant on purpose， knowing the company was in the red. 我的意思是，我知道公司在虧損，所以我是故意懷孕的。

in the red： losing money， in debt（虧損，負(fù)債）。例如：The city government went in the red three years ago.

市政府三年前背上了債務(wù)。

② Because the company can’t fire me unless it actually goes under. 因?yàn)檫@樣公司就不能解雇我，除非它真的破產(chǎn)了。

go under： when a business is unable to continue in operation or in existence（破產(chǎn)，倒閉）。例如：

The restaurant went under because of the avian flu.

這家餐廳因禽流感倒閉了。

③ My lips are sealed. 我會(huì)守口如瓶的。

lips are sealed： will not talk about sth.（保守秘密）。例如：I wouldn’t worry about Justin. His lips are sealed.

我不擔(dān)心賈斯汀，他會(huì)守口如瓶的。