VOA慢速英语2021 2020年美国人预期寿命大幅下降（在线收听）

The average life expectancy for people in the United States fell by one year and a half in 2020. The decrease marks the largest one-year drop since World War II, public health officials said.

公共卫生官员表示，2020年美国人的平均预期寿命下降了1岁半。这是二战以来最大的单年降幅。

Experts with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the report on life expectancy Wednesday.

美国疾控预防中心的专家周三发布了这项预期寿命报告。

The decrease was mainly caused by the COVID-19 health crisis. Health officials said the pandemic was responsible for close to 74 percent of the life expectancy decline.

这次大降的主要是由新冠肺炎健康危机所造成。卫生官员表示，预期寿命下降有74%是由这次大流行造成的。

Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of years a baby born in a given year might expect to live. It is a useful method to show a country's health. The number can be influenced by long-term health issues, such as weight problems. It also can be influenced by more temporary threats like pandemics or wars -- which might not affect those newborns in their lifetimes.

预期寿命是对特定年份新生儿预期可存活平均岁数的估算。这是显示一国健康状况的实用手段。该数字可能会受到长期健康问题的影响，例如体重问题。它还可能受到流行病或战争等更多暂时性威胁的影响，这些威胁可能不会影响这些新生儿的一生。

More than 3.3 million Americans died last year. That is far more than any other year in U.S. history. COVID-19 made up about 11 percent of those deaths.

去年有超过330万美国人死亡。这远远超过了美国历史上的任何年份。新冠肺炎约占这些死亡人数的11%。

For many years, U.S. life expectancy was rising. In 2019, the estimate was 78 years, 10 months. Last year, the CDC said, it dropped to about 77 years, 4 months.

多年来，美国预期寿命一直在上升。2019年预期寿命为78岁零10个月。美国疾控预防中心表示，去年这个数字下降到大约77岁4个月。

The decrease among Black Americans and Hispanic Americans was greater than the national average. The number for both populations dropped by three years.

美国黑人和西班牙裔美国人当中的下降幅度大于全国平均水平。这两个族群的预期寿命都下降了3岁。

Life expectancy among Black Americans has not fallen so much in one year since the 1930s, during the Great Depression. Black life expectancy dropped last year to 71 years and 10 months. It has not been that low since 2000.

自上世纪30年代大萧条时期以来，美国黑人的预期寿命从未在一年内下降这么多。去年，美国黑人的预期寿命下降到71岁零10个月。自2000年以来，它从未如此低过。

Hispanic Americans have a longer life expectancy than white or Black Americans. Health officials only started measuring Hispanic life expectancy 15 years ago. The three-year drop measured in 2020 is the largest one-year decrease on record.

西班牙裔美国人比白人和美国黑人的预期寿命都要更长。卫生官员在15年前才开始统计西班牙裔美国人的预期寿命。2020年下降3岁的降幅是有记录以来最大的单年降幅。

Several problems affected Black and Hispanic people in 2020 that made COVID-19 a greater risk. Experts said these included a lack of good health care and more crowded living conditions. Experts also said that these groups held a greater share of lower-paying jobs that required them to keep working as usual during the pandemic.

2020年有几大问题影响到了美国黑人和西班牙裔美国人，使得新冠肺炎成为其面临的一项巨大风险。专家表示，其中包括缺乏良好的医疗保健，生活条件更拥挤。专家还表示，这些群体在低薪工作中所占的份额更大，这需要他们在大流行期间照常工作。

Elizabeth Arias was the report's lead writer. She said a rise in murders among Black Americans was a small but important reason for the drop among that population.

伊丽莎白·阿里亚斯是该报告的主要作者。她说，美国黑人当中的谋杀案增加也是该族群预期寿命下降的一个微小但又极其重要的原因。

Other causes of the national life expectancy drop included drug abuse problems, especially among white Americans.

全国预期寿命下降的其它原因还包括药物滥用问题，尤其是在美国白人当中。

The sharp fall among all populations is "basically catastrophic," said Mark Hayward. He is a University of Texas professor who studies changes in U.S. death rates.

马克·海沃德表示：“预期寿命在所有族群中的大幅下降基本上都是灾难性的。”他是德克萨斯大学研究美国死亡率变化的教授。

Life expectancy in 2020 fell nearly two years for men, but only about one year for women, widening an already existing difference between the sexes. The CDC reports a life expectancy of 74 years, 6 months for boys in 2020. For girls, life expectancy is 80 years, 2 months.

2020年，男性预期寿命下降了近两岁，而女性预期寿命仅下降了1岁左右，扩大了两性之间本已存在的差异。美国疾控预防中心表示，2020年男性预期寿命为74岁零6个月。女性预期寿命为80岁零两个月。