VOA新闻杂志2022 美国去年出生率略有增长但仍低于大流行前

Births in the United States increased by one percent last year. However, the number of babies born in 2021 was still lower than before the coronavirus pandemic.

去年美国的出生人数增长了1%。然而，2021年出生的婴儿数量仍然低于新冠病毒大流行之前。

In 2020, the U.S. had its largest one year drop in births in nearly 50 years.

2020年，美国出生人数出现了近50年来最大的年度降幅。

But a recent government report states there were still about 86,000 fewer births last year than in 2019.

但是最近的一份政府报告指出，去年的出生人数仍然比2019年减少了约8.6万人。

Dr. Denise Jamieson is head of gynecology and obstetrics at Emory University School of Medicine. She said, "We're still not returning to pre-pandemic levels."

丹尼斯·贾米森博士是埃默里大学医学院妇产科主任。她说：“我们还没有回到大流行前的生育水平。”

U.S. births had been decreasing for more than 10 years before COVID-19 hit, and "I would expect that we would continue to see small decreases," she added.

在新冠肺炎出现之前，美国出生人数已经下降了十多年。她还表示：“我预计我们还会看到小幅下降。”

Deliveries¹ were lower in January 2021 but improved as the year went on, said Brady Hamilton. He is with the U.S. Centers for Disease² Control and Prevention and the lead writer of the new report. He noted³ that much of the increase was seen in older mothers.

布雷迪·汉密尔顿说，2021 年 1 月的分娩量较低，但随着时间的推移有所改善。他在美国疾病控制和预防中心工作，是这份新报告的主要作者。他指出，大部分增长出现在年长的母亲身上。

The report is based on an examination⁴ of almost all birth certificates⁵ issued last year.

该报告是基于对去年签发的几乎所有出生证明的检查。

Almost 3.7 million births were reported last year. That is up from the nearly 3.6 million births recorded in 2020.

据报告去年有近370万人出生。这比2020年记录的近360万出生人数有所增长。

Births among 13- to 25-year-olds were down in 2021. But births increased three percent among women in their early 30s and early 40s. The year also saw a five percent increase in babies born to women in their late 30s.

2021年13至25岁人群中的分娩率有所下降。但是三四十岁出头女性的分娩率增长了3%。这一年，三十多岁女性所生的婴儿数量也增长了5%。

The U.S. was once one of only a few developed countries with a birth rate that guaranteed each generation had enough children to replace itself. That rate was about 2.1 children for each woman. But that number has been decreasing in recent years. In 2020, it dropped to about 1.6, the lowest rate on record. It rose slightly last year to nearly 1.7.

美国曾经是少数几个出生率能够保证每一代人都有足够婴儿替代自己的发达国家之一。这个比例为每名妇女生育2.1个孩子。但是这个数字近年来一直在下降。2020年，该比率降至1.6左右，为有记录以来的最低水平。去年略有上升，接近1.7。

1 deliveries   

投递( delivery的名词复数 )； [法律]（正式）交付； 分娩； 表演

参考例句：

• Deliveries of mail could be delayed because of cost-cutting. 由于削减成本，邮件的递送可能会延迟。
• We have developed rapid order processing to expedite deliveries to customers. 我们已创造了快速处理订单的方法以便迅速将货物送达顾客。

2 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 examination   

n.考试，考查，试题；检查，调查

参考例句：

• Teachers always judge their students on the final examination.老师常根据期末考试来评价他们的学生。
• He put up a good show in the final examination.他在期末考试中表现得不错。

5 certificates   

n.证明书，执照( certificate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They accepted their certificates with words of thanks. 他们一边道谢，一边接过证书。 来自辞典例句
• The bank manager is said to have issued fake certificates. 据说那个银行经理曾出具伪造的凭证。 来自辞典例句