File photo of a pregnant woman. Will the bizarre new U.S. trend of ‘gender reveal’ parties for expectant couples catch on in the same way?
Baby showershave been popular in the UK for a decade or more. But will the bizarre new US trend of ‘gender reveal’ parties for expectant couples catch onin the same way?
YouTube is flooded with home videos of expectant American couples revealing the sex of their baby in front of throngsof over-excited friends and family - by cutting a cake.
So how does a Gender Reveal party work? At the routine 20-week scan (when babies in the womb are checked from head to toe with ultrasound) the couple ask the sonographerto determine the baby’s sex, but to keep it a secret from them.
Instead, the gender is written down and sealed in an envelope. The envelope is then passed to a baker or friend who makes a large celebration cake in either pink or blue sponge- depending on whether the couple are expecting a girl or a boy.
The cake is iced in a neutral colour, and friends and family are invited over to try to guess the sex of the baby. Guests are encouraged to arrive wearing the colour relating to the sex they think the baby is going to be.
The culmination of the party is the cutting of the Gender Reveal cake by the expectant couple. As the cake is cut - and the sex finally revealed by the colour of the sponge - cue congratulations from the throng.
Unfortunately, if you look past the mayhemof well-wishers, balloons and popping champagne corks on these videos, you can sometimes see the father-to-be is having to try his hardest to looked thrilled when he hears he’s having a girl. Then there’s the mum-to-be with the tight-lipped smile who’s just found out she’s having her third boy in a row.
Sometimes these things are probably best celebrated in private. . .
“迎婴聚会”在英国已经流行了十几年了，但新兴起的“性别揭秘”新奇聚会在美国的准爸妈中也会如此风靡吗？
YouTube视频网站上最近涌现出大量的家庭视频，录下了美国的准爸爸准妈妈们通过切蛋糕来揭秘胎儿性别的一刻，周围聚满了激动的亲友。
那么“性别揭秘”聚会是如何进行的呢？在例行的20周孕检（胎儿在子宫里接受超声全面检查）时，准爸妈会让超声医师判断胎儿性别，但要对他们保密。
医师会把性别写下，装进信封封好口，然后把信封交给制作聚会大蛋糕的蛋糕师或者一位好友。根据胎儿性别，做出粉色或者蓝色海绵蛋糕。
蛋糕被冻成中和色。参加聚会的亲友要猜猜宝宝的性别。大家还鼓励宾客认为宝宝是哪种性别，就穿相应颜色的衣服。
聚会的高潮是准爸妈切“性别揭秘”蛋糕的一刻。切开后，蛋糕的颜色就代表宝宝的性别，这时宾客会欢呼庆祝。
但不幸的是，如果你忽略掉这些视频里忙乱的祝福者、气球、弹出的香槟瓶塞，有时你会看到，准爸爸在听到是女孩时，竭尽全力装出高兴的表情，而准妈妈在听到要连生三个男孩时勉强笑笑。
有些时候这种聚会还是私下举办比较好。
Vocabulary:
baby shower: a party given for a pregnant woman, to which guests bring presents for the baby（迎婴聚会，是专为临产孕妇举办的派对）
catch on: 受欢迎；流行起来；变得时髦
throng: 聚集的人群；一大群人
sonographer: 超声医师
sponge cake: a light, sweet cake made with a comparatively large proportion of eggs but no shortening（海绵蛋糕，松蛋糕）
mayhem: a state of rowdy disorder（慌乱，忙乱）