VOA慢速英语2011--The World at 7 Billion, and Growing

Health Report - The World at 7 Billion, and Growing

 

健康报道 - 世界人口达到70亿并继续增长

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

The United Nations estimates that the world reached seven billion people on Monday. No one can be sure. The United States Census¹ Bureau does not expect that to happen until March.

联合国估计世界人口于周一达到了70亿。没有人可以肯定这一点。美国人口普查局预计明年三月前世界人口不会达到70亿。

Populations are growing faster than economies in many poor countries in Africa and some in Asia. At the same time, low fertility rates in Japan and many European nations have raised concerns about labor² shortages.

多数非洲及部分亚洲贫穷国家人口增长速度大于经济增长速度。与此同时，日本与许多欧洲国家的低生育率已经引起了对劳动力短缺的担忧。

Population experts at the United Nations estimated that the world reached six billion in October nineteen ninety-nine. They predict nine billion by twenty-fifty and ten billion by the end of the century.

联合国人口专家估计世界人口于1999年10月达到了60亿。他们预计世界人口将于2050年达到90亿，本世纪末达到100亿。

China's population of one and a third billion is currently the world's largest. India is second at 1.2 billion. But India is expected to pass China and reach one and a half billion people around twenty twenty-five. India will also have one of the world's youngest populations.

中国以13亿人口位居全球首位，印度以12亿人口位居次席。但印度人口有望在2025年左右超过中国，达到15亿。印度还将拥有全球最年轻化的人群之一。

Economists³ say this is a chance for a so-called demographic dividend⁴. India could gain from the skills of young people in a growing economy at a time when other countries have aging populations. But economists say current rates of growth, although high, may not create enough jobs.

经济学家表示这是一个所谓人口红利的机会。当其它国家面临人口老龄化时，印度却可以从持续增长的经济中有技术的年轻人中获利。但经济学家表示，印度当前经济增长速度虽然已经很高，但可能无法创造足够的就业机会。

Commuters at the Churchgate train station in Mumbai, India, on Monday

Also, the public education system is failing to meet demand and schooling⁵ is often of poor quality. Another concern is health care. Nearly half of India’s children under the age of five are malnourished. Sarah Crowe at the United Nations Children's Fund in New Delhi says these two problems "could keep India back."

此外，公共教育体系未能满足需求，学校教育质量往往很差。医疗是另一个让人关注的问题。近一半印度5岁以下儿童营养不良。联合国儿童基金会新德里办事处工作人员Sarah Crowe表示，这两个问题可能使印度倒退。

SARAH CROWE: "That child is unable to really grow to its ability and will remain in a state of stunting⁶ and not be able to learn when it goes to school -- when he or she goes to school, and indeed later earn and really pay back and pay into the economic and help the country and the region move forward. We have, you know, out of every two hundred million children who start school, only ten percent complete grade twelve."

SARAH CROWE：“儿童无法真正成长，将一直保留在发育不良状态，上学时也无法学习。当他或她去上学，实际上随后赚到的和对经济的回报和投入有助于推动该国家和地区向前发展。你知道，印度每2亿上学的儿童只有10%上完12年级。

Michal Rutkowski is the director of human development in South Asia at the World Bank. He says the seven billionth person was likely to be a girl born in rural Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh is one of India’s poorest and most crowded states, with nearly two hundred million people.

Michal Rutkowski是世界银行人类发展局南亚地区负责人。他表示，第70亿人可能是出生于印度北方邦农村的一名女孩。北方邦是印度最贫穷和人口最多的省份之一，拥有近2亿人口。

He says reaching seven billion people in the world is a good time for a call to action.

他表示，世界人口达到70亿是一个呼吁采取行动的好时机。

MICHAL RUTKOWSKI: "I think the bottom line of the story is that the public policy needs to become really, really serious about gender⁷ equality and about access to services -- to combat malnutrition⁸, and to provide for access to health services, water, sanitation⁹, schooling."

MICHAL RUTKOWSKI：“我认为事情归根结底在于公共政策特别需要关注性别平等，关注公共服务的提供---解决营养不良，提供医疗服务，水，公共卫生和学校教育。”

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. I'm Jim Tedder¹⁰.
___

Contributing: Anjana Pasricha and Vidushi Sinha

1 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 dividend   

n.红利，股息；回报，效益

参考例句：

• The company was forced to pass its dividend.该公司被迫到期不分红。
• The first quarter dividend has been increased by nearly 4 per cent.第一季度的股息增长了近 4%。

5 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

6 stunting   

v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective To report three-year-old twin brothers with speech stunting. 目的报道孪生兄弟同患语言发育迟缓的临床结果。 来自互联网
• No one should talk while stunting except coach or back spotter. 在技巧进行的过程中，只有教练或后保能说话。 来自互联网

7 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

8 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

9 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

10 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网