ESL Podcast 790 - Giving Birth to Twins

pregnant - for a woman to have a child growing in her body; for a female animal to have a baby growing in her body

Ophelia is pregnant and will have her baby in October.

twins - two children born at the same time of the same mother; two children born during the same birth

Angelica and Ted's twins are very close and like to do everything together.

multiple birth - having more than one baby during one birth; for two or more babies to be born at the same time from the same mother

Are there any examples of multiple births in your family?

to come from a long line of - to be from a family with a history of; to be from a family known for a particular thing or characteristic

Julie comes from a long line of farmers and she plans to continue the farming tradition by becoming a farmer herself.

identical twins - two babies born at the same time of the same mother who look alike

Our neighbors' identical twin daughters look so much alike that I have trouble telling them apart.

fraternal twins - two babies born at the same time of the same mother who do not look alike

Maria and Carlos are fraternal twins. They have similar personalities, but don't look alike at all.

not even the half of it - a phrase used to mean that the speaker has not yet said the most interesting, surprising, or shocking thing yet, but is preparing to

A: You went out Saturday night after your parents said you couldn't?

B: You don't know the half of it. I stayed out until 2:00 a.m. and when I got home, my parents were really angry.

maternal - related to the mother; related to the mother's side of the family; related to being a mother

When I visited my maternal grandfather, he told me stories about my mother's childhood that I'd never heard before.

triplets - three children born at the same time of the same mother; three children born during the same birth

You would know that Donny, Danny, and Duncan are triplets simply by looking at them, even if they weren't wearing the same clothes.

quadruplets - four children born at the same time of the same mother; four children born during the same birth

Trying to care for quadruplets is a job for two parents.

to run in (one's) family - to have a common characteristic in one's family members; to be a common occurrence in one's family

Being overweight runs in Marla's family, so she's very careful about what she eats.

immediate family - one's closest family members, including father, mother, sisters, and brothers, but not aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.

Leila and Dong decided to have a very small wedding, inviting only their immediate family and a few close friends.

octuplets - eight children born at the same time of the same mother; eight children born during the same birth

Having octuplets can be difficult and dangerous for the mother and for the babies.

to survive - to continue to live despite difficulty or danger; to live even though one has experienced or is experiencing hardship

Monique is one of the toughest women I know, and I know she'll survive her husband's death and the loss of her business.

every single one - a phrase used to emphasis that all are included, without exception

As punishment, you are going to clean every room in this house, every single one!

litter - a group of baby animals born to one animal at one time

Our cat had a litter of six black kittens.