VOA慢速英语2019 中欧领导人担心人口出生率下降

中欧领导人担心人口出生率下降

Central European and Balkan leaders are worried about falling demographics. So, they are calling on families to have more children to stop the decrease.

中欧和巴尔干领导人担心人口数量的下降。因此，他们呼吁家庭生更多的孩子来阻止这个趋势。

Some of the appeals for more babies are like those made many years ago in Fascist¹ or Communist countries. They include appeals to nationalism and family values as well as big tax cuts and awards to larger families.

对更多婴儿的一些呼吁就像许多年前在法西斯或共产主义国家所做的那样。其中包括对民族主义和家庭价值观的呼吁，以及大幅减税和对成员多的家庭的奖励。

Liberal critics accuse populist governments of using the depopulation threat to support nationalist programs and limit women's rights. But government officials note that unless they can stop falling birth rates, governments will not be able to finance the pensions and health-care costs of aging generations.

自由派批评人士指责民粹主义政府利用人口减少的威胁来支持民族主义项目和限制妇女权利。但政府官员指出，除非他们能够阻止出生率的下降，否则政府将无法为老一代人的养老金和医疗成本提供资金。

The struggle to increase native-born populations and produce more young workers to pay for future costs is tied to immigration. Young people are leaving Central Europe in ever larger numbers for better pay in Western European countries.

增加土生土长的人口和年轻工人以支付未来成本的斗争与移民有关。为了在西欧国家获得更高的工资，越来越多的年轻人离开中欧。

In Hungary, the fertility rate has dropped to 1.49 live births per female, while the rate needed to support current population levels is 2.1. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has offered housing assistance as well as reducing home loan payments in an effort to increase births.

在匈牙利，生育率下降到每位女性1.49例活产，而支持目前人口水平所需的生育率为2.1。总理维克托·奥尔班提供了住房援助，并减少了住房贷款，以增加出生率。

His government has offered to cancel income taxes on women who raise four or more children. Women marrying under the age of 40 can receive a $36,000 government loan that they do not have to repay after their third child is born.

政府已经提出取消对抚养四个或更多孩子的妇女征收的所得税。40岁以下结婚的妇女可以获得3.6万美元的政府贷款，在第三个孩子出生后不必偿还。

Last month, Orban announced the state takeover of six fertility centers, which now offer free in-vitro fertilization treatments. The free treatments started on February 1, when Orban declared fertility an issue of strategic importance to Hungary.

上个月，欧尔班宣布国家接管6个生育中心，这些中心现在提供免费的体外受精治疗。免费治疗始于2月1日，当时欧尔班宣布生育问题对匈牙利具有战略重要性。

"If we want Hungarian children instead of immigrants...then the only solution is to spend as much of the funds as possible on supporting families and raising children," he said last month.

“如果我们想要匈牙利儿童而不是移民……那么唯一的解决办法就是将尽可能多的资金用于支持家庭和抚养孩子，”他上月表示。

In Poland, the government provides a monthly allowance of about $125 per child to families after their first child. The program has become a model for depopulating neighboring countries also struggling with falling birth rates.

在波兰，政府每月为第一个孩子出生后的家庭提供大约125美元的津贴。该计划已成为邻国的典范，这些国家人口也在下降，因出生率的降低而苦苦挣扎。

But Central Europe's interest in demographics is worrying women and liberals. They fear that governments led by populist parties are paying for larger families not only for demographic reasons, but as a way to buy votes.

但中欧对人口结构的兴趣让女性和自由派感到担忧。他们担心，民粹主义政党领导的政府为大家庭买单，不仅是出于人口方面的原因，也是为了购买选票。

They accuse populists of wanting to return to patriarchal times when women were limited only to having children, not careers outside the house. They see free IVF as something out of Margaret Atwood's best-selling book, The Handmaid's Tale.

他们指责民粹主义者想要回到父权制时代，那时女性只能生孩子，而不能在家庭之外从事职业。他们认为体外人工受孕是玛格丽特·阿特伍德最畅销的书《使女的故事》中的内容

"Can we just simply declare that Hungary is Gilead from now on," asked Hungarian reporter Anita Komuves on Twitter. Gilead is the name of Atwood's made-up country.

匈牙利记者Anita Komuves在Twitter上问道："从现在开始，我们能简单地宣布匈牙利是基列吗？"基列是阿特伍德虚构的国家。

Demographic experts wonder whether the Central European cash-for-babies campaigns will do much to affect population growth. They point to Russia as an example. Russia's long-running program of paying for large families has done little to increase birth rates. The country's population is expected to drop from 142 million to 110 million by the year 2050.

人口专家想知道中欧的婴儿换现金运动是否会对人口增长产生很大影响。他们以俄罗斯为例。俄罗斯为大家庭买单的长期计划在提高出生率方面收效甚微。到2050年，该国人口有望从1.42亿降至1.1亿。

Central European governments are not alone in worrying about shrinking populations and the aging of Europe. Croatia is the world's fifth-fastest shrinking nation. It has made demographics an important issue during its six months heading the European Union presidency².

并非只有中欧政府担心人口的减少和欧洲的老龄化。克罗地亚是世界上人口萎缩速度第五快的国家。在担任欧盟轮值主席国的6个月里，该国将人口统计学作为一个重要问题。

Even Italy is worried about its falling birth rate. New births are at the lowest number since records began in 1861. The government is paying for free child care and extending time off for new fathers.

就连意大利也对其不断下降的出生率感到担忧。新生儿数量是自1861年有记录以来最低的。政府正在支付免费儿童保育费用，并延长新父亲的休假时间。

Greece has one of the lowest birthrates in Europe. It is now offering mothers nearly $2,200 for every newborn child, as well as tax breaks.

希腊是欧洲出生率最低的国家之一。现在，政府为每名新生儿的母亲提供近2200美元的补贴，以及税收优惠。

Words in This Story

demographic – n. a group of people that has a particular set of qualities

Fascist – adj. a way of organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government

pension – n. an amount of money that a company or the government pays to a person who is old or sick and no longer works

income – n. money that is earned from work, investments, business

in-vitro – adj. a baby conceived outside the body

strategic – adj. useful or important in achieving a plan or strategy

allowance – n. an amount of money that is given to someone regularly or for a specific purpose

patriarchal – adj. a man who controls a family, group, or government

1 fascist   

adj.法西斯主义的；法西斯党的；n.法西斯主义者，法西斯分子

参考例句：

• The strikers were roughed up by the fascist cops.罢工工人遭到法西斯警察的殴打。
• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship.他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。