VOA慢速英语2019 美国人均预期寿命下降（在线收听）

Life Expectancy Declines in the United States

Life expectancy rates in the United States have been increasing for most of the past 60 years. But a new study has confirmed changes.

过去60年大部分时间，美国人均预期寿命一直在不断增长。但一项新研究证实，这一趋势出现了变化。

It found that U.S. life expectancy rates decreased for three years in a row after 2014. The main cause appears to be higher rates of death among middle-aged Americans.

研究发现，2014年之后，美国人均预期寿命连续下降3年。主要原因似乎是美国中年群体的死亡率上升。

A report on the study appeared last week in JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association.

这项研究的总结报告发表在上周出版的《美国医学会杂志》上。

The report notes that, among working-age Americans, death rates for all causes increased between 2010 and 2017. The main reasons were drug overdoses, alcohol abuse, suicides, and organ system diseases, such as diabetes.

报告指出，2010年至2017年，美国工作年龄段人群的全因死亡率增加。主要原因是药物过量、酗酒、自杀以及糖尿病等各类器官系统疾病。

An American problem

美国独有的问题

Doctor Steven Woolf helped to prepare the report. He is director emeritus of the Center on Society and Health at Virginia Commonwealth University.

史蒂文·伍尔夫医生帮助准备了这份报告。他是弗吉尼亚联邦大学社会和健康中心的荣誉主任。

Woolf said, "There has been an increase in death rates among working age Americans. This is an emergent crisis. And it is a uniquely American problem since it is not seen in other countries. Something about life in America is responsible."

伍尔夫说：“美国工作年龄段人群的死亡率一直在上升。这是紧急危机。因为其他国家没有出现这种现象，所以这是美国所独有的问题。美国国内与生活有关的事情负有责任。”

The rising rates of midlife mortality hit some areas of the country harder than others, the report said. Increases were highest in northern New England and the Ohio Valley.

报告指出，就中年人群死亡率上升而言，美国一些地区的情况要比其他地区更加严重。死亡率上升幅度最大的地区是新英格兰州北部和俄亥俄河谷。

Economic hardship and the resulting despair, a sense of hopelessness, may be to blame, Woolf said. "While it's a little difficult to place the blame on despair directly, the living conditions causing despair are leading to other problems," he explained. "For example, if you live in an economically distressed community where income is flat and it's hard to find jobs, that can lead to chronic stress, which is harmful to health."

伍尔夫指出，这可能要归咎于经济困难以及由此导致的毫无希望的绝望感。他解释说：“虽然难以直接将责任怪罪给绝望情绪，但由生活条件引发的绝望感还导致了其他问题。比如，如果你生活在经济贫困地区，收入低而且很难找工作，那就可能导致对健康有害的慢性疾病。”

Woolf noted that other high income countries do not have the problem of increasing mortality rates in middle age. He added this might be because "in other countries there are more support systems for people who fall on hard times. In America, families are left to their own devices to try to get by."

伍尔夫指出，其他高收入国家不存在中年人群死亡率增加的问题。他还表示，这可能是因为“其他国家有更多支持系统，能帮助处境艰难的人群。而在美国，困难家庭只能靠自已勉强过活。”

Information from the study came from the National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Mortality Database for 1959 to 2017. The researchers also examined medical literature for studies of U.S. life expectancy and mortality rates.

这项研究的信息来自美国国家卫生统计中心以及美国死亡率数据库1959年至2017年的统计数据。研究人员还查看了涵盖美国人均预期寿命和死亡率研究的医学文献。

Based on the researchers' findings, life expectancy increased by almost 10 years, from 69.9 to 78.9 years, during that period. But they found that rates had been falling since 2014.

研究人员发现，在这段时间，人均预期寿命从69.9岁增加到78.9岁，增加了近10岁。但他们发现，人均预期寿命从2014年开始一直在下降。

Worrying Trends

令人担忧的趋势

"The current problems we are seeing are decades in the making," Woolf said. "We used to have the highest life expectancy in the world. The pace at which life expectancy was increasing in the U.S. started to fall off relative to other countries in the (19)80s."

伍尔夫说：“我们现在看到的问题是累积了几十年的结果。我们曾是世界上人均预期寿命最高的国家。上世纪80年代，相对于其他国家，美国人均预期寿命的增加速度开始下降。”

Dr. John Rowe is a professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in New York City.

约翰·罗威医生是位于纽约市的哥伦比亚大学公共卫生学院的教授。

The new findings provide evidence of some worrying trends. "It is depressing," he said, "but I don't think it's much of a surprise." He noted the problem of opioids in the United States, saying that "250,000 Americans have overdosed and died" after taking the drugs.

这一新发现突出了一些令人担心的趋势。他说：“这虽然令人沮丧，但我认为并不意外。”他提到了美国的阿片类药物危机，称“有25万人因服用阿片类药物过量而死亡”。

What is unusual is that the decrease in life expectancy is not the same for all age groups. "This is really evidence that mortality rates are increasing only in middle age while they're continuing to decline in children, adolescents and people over 65," he said.

不同寻常之处在于，并不是所有年龄层的人均预期寿命均出现下降。他说：“这是明确的证据，说明只有中年人群的死亡率在上升，而儿童、青少年以及65岁以上人群的死亡率则在持续下降。”

Words in This Story

in a row – expression one after another

overdose – n. the act of taking too much of something, such as a drug

emeritus – n. someone retired from a job but who is permitted to hold an honorary position

emergent - adj. newly created or noticed and growing in strength or popularity; becoming widely known or established

New England -- n. a northeastern area of the United States comprising the states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

income – n. earnings

stress – n. pressure or tension

decade - n. a period of 10 years

trend – n. a general movement

adolescent - n. a young person who is developing into an adult