VOA慢速英语2018 美国人口普查:美国人受教育程度创新高

US Census¹: Americans are More Educated than Ever Before

The United States Census Bureau² is reporting two major developments involving education.

美国人口普查局报告了两项关于教育的重大进展。

For the first time in history, 90 percent of Americans over 25 years of age have finished high school. In addition, more than one-third of Americans over the age of 25 have a college degree or higher.

25岁以上美国人有90%完成了高中学业，这是有史以来的首次。此外，25岁以上美国人有1/3获得了大学以上学位。

That is a big change from 1940. At that time, a Census Bureau study found that less than 25 percent of the U.S. population had completed at least four years of high school. It also found that just 4.6 percent had earned a four-year bachelor’s degree or taken additional³ classes after completing a study program at a college or university.

这是1940年以来的一项重大变化。当时，人口普查局的一项调查发现只有不到25%的美国人完成了至少四年高中学业。调查还发现，只有4.6%的人士在高校完成学习课程后获得了四年制学士学位或是参加了额外的课程。

Born inside the U.S. vs outside

美国海内外出生人口的对比

The new study found that, in 2017, 54 percent of Americans who did not complete high school were born outside the United States. The numbers are even higher among Hispanic men and women. Seventy-six percent of Hispanics born overseas did not have a high school degree.

这项新研究发现，2017年，54%未完成高中学业的美国人出生在美国以外。西班牙裔男女中的数字甚至更高。76%在海外出生的西班牙裔不具备高中学历。

Higher percentages of foreign-born people from all race and ethnic⁴ groups have not finished high school. Yet nearly the same amount of foreign-born Americans as people born in the United States have a college education.

来自各个种族和民族的海外出生人口有较高比例未完成高中学业。然而，美国出生人口和外国出生人口接受过大学教育的人数几乎等同。

Thirty-four percent of U.S.-born Americans have a four-year college degree. That rate is similar to the 33 percent of those born in other countries.

34%的美国出生人口拥有四年制大学学位，这一比例与海外出生人口的33%的几乎相等。

Recession⁵ and school

经济衰退与深造

The value of a high school degree has changed a lot since the 1940s. Today, a high school education is often required for workers in the U.S. job market.

自上世纪40年代以来，高中学历的价值发生了很大变化。如今，受过高中教育是美国就业市场对工人的常态化要求。

The Census Bureau information showed that the 2007 to 2009 recession led more Americans to go to college.

人口普查局的信息显示，2007年到2009年的经济衰退导致更多美国人去上大学深造。

During the recession, there was a 33 percent increase in students registering⁶ at two-year colleges. Those new students may have decided⁷ to return to school to improve their skills or learn new ones during a time when labor⁸ market conditions were worsening.

在衰退期间，两年制大学的注册学生提高了33%。在劳动力市场状况恶化时期，这些新学生可能决定重返校园提高他们的技能或是学习新技能。

Twenty-nine percent of all students were registered⁹ at two-year colleges in 2010, but that number had dropped to 25 percent in 2015.

2010年有29%的学生在两年制大学注册，但是这一数字在2015年降到了25%。

As the labor market improved, fewer Americans left their jobs to go to college. However, the number of students registered at two-year colleges was still 10 percent higher in 2015 than in 2006.

随着劳动力市场改善，离职去大学深造的美国人的人数减少。然而，2015年在两年制大学注册的学生人数仍然比2006年高出10%。

The Census Bureau found that people can earn more money if they go to college. In 2016, people with high school degrees earned an average of $35,615 per year. Those with a four-year college degree earned $65,482, and people with advanced degrees took home an average of $92,525.

人口普查局发现，人们如果上大学可以赚到更多钱。2016年，拥有高中学历的人士的年均收入是35615美元，拥有四年制大学学位的人士赚到了65482美元，而拥有更高学位的人士平均赚到了92525美元。

There is still a big difference between men and women. Men with a college degree earned an average of $79,927 in 2016. Women with the same level of education were paid an average of $50,856.

男女之间仍然存在很大差异。2016年，拥有大学学历的男性的平均收入为79927美元，受过同等教育的女性的平均收入是50856美元。

I’m Phil Dierking.

Words in This Story

degree - n. an official document and title that is given to someone who has successfully completed a series of classes at a college or university?

bachelor - n. a person who has received a bachelor's degree?

hispanic - n. coming originally from an area where Spanish is spoken and especially from Latin America

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 bureau   

n.提供或收集消息的机构；局，司，处；署

参考例句：

• The weather bureau makes daily reports on weather conditions.气象局每天报告天气状况。
• The Tourist Bureau arranged everything for our journey to Rome.旅游局已为我们去罗马旅行准备了一切。

3 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

6 registering   

寄存

参考例句：

• An increasing number of students are registering for degree courses each year. 每年，越来越多的学生注册学习学位课程。
• The new students have started registering. 新生已开始报到。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 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。

9 registered   

adj.登记的，注册的

参考例句：

• Ships were registered abroad to circumvent employment and safety regulation. 船只在外国注册以逃避有关雇佣和安全的规定。
• In former times, only property owners could be registered as voters. 从前，只有有财产的人才能登记作选民。