VOA慢速英语2021 人口普查数据表明美国白人人口下降 种族更加多元化（在线收听）

The Census Bureau found the U.S. became more diverse and more people live in cities over the past ten years. It found the white population dropped for the first time on record. The information will be used to reshape the nation's political maps.

美国人口普查局发现，过去10年美国变得更加多元化，并且越来越多人居住在城市中。该局发现白人人口出现有记录以来的首次下降。这些信息将用于重塑国家的政治版图。

The information offered the most detailed look at how the country has changed since 2010. It is sure to set off a battle between America's two political parties as the numbers will shape political elections for years to come. It will also help decide how $1.5 trillion in yearly spending is divided.

这些信息提供了2010年以来美国如何变化的最详细分析。它肯定会引发美国两大政党之间的争斗，因为这些数字将会影响到未来几年的政治选举。它还将有助于确定每年1.5万亿美元的支出如何分配。

White population reducing

白人人口减少

The white population of the United States fell from 63.7 percent in 2010 to 57.8 percent in 2020, the lowest on record. The numbers show people continue to move to the South and West from the Midwest and Northeast. In California, Hispanics are now the largest racial group, growing to 39.4 percent from 37.6 percent in the last ten years. Also, in California, the white population fell from 40.1 percent to 34.7 percent.

白人人口从2010年的63.7%下降到了2020年的57.8%，创下历史新低。数据显示人们继续从美国中西部和东北部向南部和西部迁移。在加州，西班牙裔现在成为最大的种族群体，过去10年它所占比例从37.6%增长到39.4%。此外，加州白人人口所占比例从40.1%下降到34.7%。

Nicholas Jones is a Census Bureau official. He said, "The U.S. population is much more multiracial and much more racially and ethnically diverse than what we have measured in the past."

尼古拉斯·琼斯是人口普查局的一名官员。他表示；“与过去的普查数据相比，美国人口的种族变得更加多元化。”

Reshaping political districts

重塑政治选区

Back in April, the Census Bureau released state population totals from the 2020 census showing how many congressional seats each state gets.

早在4月，美国人口普查局就发布了2020年人口普查的州人口总数，显示了每个州获得的国会席位。

The release offers states the first chance to reshape their political districts, which must be done after a census to reflect population changes. Some states will lose members of the House of Representatives, and other states will gain them. The process is expected to be a battle since it means control over Congress and statehouses. It also provides the first chance to see if the counting was well done. Many considered the count the most difficult in recent memory.

此次发布为各州提供了第一次重塑其政治选区的机会，这必须在人口普查反映出人口变化之后完成。有些州将会失去众议院席位，而另一些州将会获得席位。该过程预计将会是一场争斗，因为这意味着对国会和州议会的控制。它还提供了首次见证这次普查是否很好完成的机会。许多人认为这次普查是近期历史中最困难的一次。

Politics and pandemic

政治与流行病

Even before it began, the Trump administration wanted to add a citizenship question to the count form. Critics said it would create fear and decrease immigrant or Hispanic participation. The effort was stopped by the Supreme Court.

甚至在开始普查之前，川普政府就希望在普查表格中增加一个公民问题。批评者表示，这会造成恐惧，并减少移民或西班牙裔的参与。美国最高法院叫停了这项措施。

Terry Ao Minnis is an official with Asian Americans Advancing Justice, a support group. She said, "the pandemic played a big role, but we can't forget the political interference we saw." She said it was clear that this affected if people took part in the count. For example, some people may have not opened their door because of COVID or of fear of a government official.

特里奥·明尼斯是亚裔美国人正义促进会的一名官员。她说：“大流行扮演了关键角色，但是我们不能忘记我们看到的政治干预。”她说，很明显这会影响到人们是否参与普查。例如，有人可能因为新冠病毒或是害怕政府官员而没有开门。

Since the count is tied to where people were on April 1, 2020, the numbers will not show the loss of nearly 620,000 people in the U.S. who died from COVID-19.

由于这次普查是跟2020年4月1日人们的状态相关，因此这些数字不会反映出美国因新冠肺炎死亡造成的近62万人的损失。

The census information was supposed to be released in March, but the date was pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic.

这次人口普查数据本应在3月份发布，但是由于新冠病毒大流行而推迟了发布日期。

Undercounts of communities

社区的统计遗漏

Thursday's release permits researchers to check the count before it will release a study showing undercounts and overcounts next year. Communities of color have been undercounted in the past, and this could lead to court cases saying the numbers are wrong. The Census Bureau has a program that permits elected officials to challenge the numbers, but it does not apply to changing the districts or the seats in Congress.

周四发布的普查数据允许研究人员在明年发布一项显示少计或多计的研究之前核查这次统计。有色人种社区过去一直被少计，这可能会引发一些声称这些数字不正确的法庭案件。人口普查局有一个方案，允许民选官员对这些数字提出挑战，但是它不能被用于更改选区或是国会席位。

Thomas Saenz is president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF). He said, "There is always an undercount." But he said their concern is making sure they are not as large as previous counts.

汤玛士·赛尼兹是墨西哥裔美国人法律辩护和教育基金会的总裁。他表示：“每次都会有统计遗漏。”但是他表示，他们关注的是确保统计遗漏不要像以前那么大。