每天关注微信第二条，有慢英学~

美音：

With the help of 3D printing technology, doctors in Shanghai have separated three-month-old twin sisters who were conjoined at the hip.

The twins, born in east China’s Jiangxi Province, were connected by soft tissues at the lower spine. They had mostly separate digestive systems but shared one lower bowel.

After a five-hour operation in the Children&`&s Hospital of Fudan University, the twins were separated, and had their organs and muscles reconstructed.

Doctors used 3D printing to build two models simulating the structure of the twins&`& connected parts, which helped them better understand the case.

Since 2000, doctors at the hospital have successfully separated seven pairs of conjoined twins.

3D printing technology n. 3D打印技术

该技术出现在20世纪90年代中期，实际上是利用光固化和纸层叠等技术的最新快速成型装置。它与普通打印工作原理基本相同，打印机内装有液体或粉末等“打印材料”，与电脑连接后，通过电脑控制把“打印材料”一层层叠加起来，最终把计算机上的蓝图变成实物。

conjoined adj. 结合的，连体的

这个词主要有两种用法：1）后面加at…，表示“在某部位连体”，比如第一段里的twin sisters who were conjoined at the hip；2）conjoined twins，表示“连体双胞胎”，比如最后一段里的seven pairs of conjoined twins。twins也可以用triplets、quadruplets等词来代替，但因为连体三胞胎、四胞胎等等比较罕见，所以最常用的还是conjoined twins。

soft tissue n. 软组织

软组织是指人体的皮肤、皮下组织、肌肉、肌腱、韧带、关节囊、滑膜囊、神经、血管等等的组织，是相对于骨骼这类较硬的组织而言的。组织是人体的基本组成单位。

lower spine n. 腰部，腰区

lumbar region的英文定义：The lumbar region is sometimes referred to as the lower spine, or as an area of the back in its proximity. 由此可见，the lower spine也就是the lumbar region，即腰部地区。

lower bowel n. 大肠的下部
这里的shared one lower bowel其实就是指这对婴儿臀部连体。Bowel movement是大便的委婉语，所以不难推测出，lower bowel也就相当于屁股的委婉语。

simulate vt. 模拟，模仿
simulate跟imitate最大的区别在于，前者往往含有“人为制造”的成分，多跟实验有关；后者可以只是单纯的模仿，比如学某人的动作、表情等等。

例句：
The scientist developed a model to simulate the extreme temperatures at the North Pole. （那位科学家研制出一个可以模拟北极地区极端气温的模型。）

He has been imitating his favorite news anchor for years. Don’t be surprised if you can’t tell them apart. （他多年来一直在模仿他最欣赏的那位新闻主播。如果你区分不出他俩，不用觉得太意外。）