VOA慢速英语2020 40岁以下人口已占美国主流（在线收听）

A new study shows that Americans under the age of 40 now make up a majority of the U.S. population.

一项新的研究表明，40岁以下美国人现在占到了美国人口的大多数。

The finding came from an examination of detailed age data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The examination was carried out by the Brookings Institution, a Washington D.C. policy and research center.

该研究结果来自于美国人口普查局发布的一项对详细年龄数据的调查。该调查是由布鲁金斯学会所进行，这是华盛顿特区一家政策与研究中心。

The Brookings study found that people under age 40 made up 50.7 percent of the U.S. population as of July 2019. The percentage represented 166 million people. Older age groups numbered 162 million people.

布鲁金斯学会的这项研究发现，截至2019年7月，40岁以下人口占美国人口的50.7%。该百分比代表了1.66亿人口。老年人群有1.62亿。

Many of the older people are considered "baby boomers" - people born in the years following World War II. They have long been an important group in America because of their large numbers.

许多老年人被认为是“婴儿潮一代，”这是指二战后出生的人群。他们长期以来一直被认为是美国的重要群体。

Many of the people under age 40 are in a group known as "millennials." Members of the millennial group were born between 1981 and 1996.

许多40岁以下人口属于“千禧一代。”千禧一代人群出生在1981年到1996年之间。

People in another group, the so-called "Generation Z," were born after 1996.

被称为“Z世代”的另一群人出生在1996年之后。

A generation is a group of people born and living during the same time.

世代是指在同一时期出生或生活的人群。

William Frey is a senior fellow at Brookings' Metropolitan Policy Program. "To many Americans - especially baby boomers themselves - this news may come as a shock," he wrote in a report about the study.

威廉·弗雷是布鲁金斯学会大都市政策项目的高级研究员。他在关于该研究的一份报告中写道：“对许多美国人，尤其是婴儿潮一代的人来说，这个消息可能会令人震惊。”

Frey added that for many baby boomers, the term "millennial" has a negative meaning. But now, he explained, "the millennial generation is poised to take over influential roles in business and government."

弗雷还表示，对于许多婴儿潮一代的人来说，“千禧一代”这个词具有负面含义。但是他解释道，如今，千禧一代已经准备好接管企业和政府中具有影响力的角色。

Those under age 40 are more diverse in terms of race and ethnicity, with almost half saying they are part of a minority group.

40岁以下人口在种族和族裔方面更加多样化，几乎一半人口称其为少数族群的一部分。

Past public opinion studies have shown that younger generations differed from older generations on major political issues such as immigration, criminal justice and the environment.

过去的民意调查显示，年轻一代在移民、刑事司法和环境等重大政治议题上与老一代存在分歧。

Frey wrote that the coronavirus health crisis and recent racial justice protests are likely to cause the younger groups to promote a number of progressive causes. Progressive refers to using or being interested in new or modern ideas, especially in politics and education.

弗雷写道，新冠病毒健康危机和最近的种族抗议活动可能会导致年轻一代推动许多进步事业。进步是指对新思想或现代思想，尤其是政治和教育方面的新思想进行运用或感兴趣。

I'm John Russell.

我是约翰·罗素。