英语听力精选进阶版 6292

It is official: there are now seven billion of us! This week baby Danica had hardly been brought to life in a Manila hospital's delivery room when she was awarded a Symbolic¹ Seven Billionth Person certificate.

But there were claims in Russia and India of other newly-born babies being 'Citizen Seven Billion'.

The UN's population demographer², Gerhard Heilig, accepted that it is impossible to know accurately³ who carries the honour as the figures come with a 1-2% margin⁴ of error. But this is an important milestone⁵.

The UN wanted to draw attention to the speed of population growth as it took less than 13 years for the Earth to welcome a billion more people.

And the organisation⁶ published a report that highlights the rise in average life expectancy⁷ and the fact that children are much less likely to die in infancy⁸.

But it also mentions the challenges for a species with a high fertility rate living on a planet of limited resources and uneven⁹ development conditions. It points out that 200 million women have no access to family planning advice.

''Sex education has an impact in delaying the age at the first sexual intercourse¹⁰, in increasing the use of contraception methods and condoms,'' says Gabriela Rivera from the UN's population agency.

Amid articles about population control measures, The Guardian¹¹, in Britain, invited its readers to send Danica a message. A comment signed by Faisal Al Mutar said: ''Having beaten out around 275 million other little spermatozoa you're already a winner!''

Quiz 小测验

1. Why has Danica become famous? 

Because she is considered the seven billionth person to live on Earth.

2. Why is it difficult to know who the seven billionth person is? 

Because the figures carry a 1-2% margin of error.

3. Why has the UN decided¹² to talk about the number of people on Earth now? 

To point out the implications of a fast growing population.

4. What expression in the article refers to the first few hours of a baby's life? 

Newly-born.

5. Is this statement true, false or not given? Two hundred million women had babies when they didn't want to. 

It is not given. The article says that 200 million women had no access to family planning advice but it does not mean that they had unwanted babies.

Glossary 词汇表

brought to life 给以生命

delivery room 产房

newly-born 新生儿

demographer 人口统计学家

accurately 准确的

margin of error 误差

to draw attention to 引起注意，关注

population growth 人口增长

average 平均

in infancy 初期，婴儿期

resources 资源

fertility rate 受孕率

family planning advice 计划生育咨询

sex education 性教育

contraception methods 避孕措施

condoms 避孕套

population control 人口控制

1 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

2 demographer   

n.人口统计学家

参考例句：

• Professor Antonio Golini is a demographer at the University of Rome. 罗马大学安东尼奥教授是位人口统计学家。 来自互联网
• Demographer William Frey says immigrants with young families will help keep the United States competitive. 人口统计学家佛瑞表示这些年轻的家庭会帮助美国保持竞争力。 来自互联网

3 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

4 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

5 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

6 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

7 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

8 infancy   

n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期

参考例句：

• He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
• Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。

9 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

10 intercourse   

n.性交；交流，交往，交际

参考例句：

• The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
• There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。

11 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。