Asian births on the rise in New Zealand

     WELLINGTON, May 22 (Xinhua) -- One in every eight women giving birth in a New Zealand hospital last year was Asian, local media reported Sunday.

    In the country's most populous(人口稠密的) city, Auckland, 5,149 Asian women gave birth, more than double the number of 15 years ago, the New Zealand Herald¹ reported.

    Last year was the first year in the city when more Asian women gave birth than indigenous² Maori women, who registered 5,015 births.

    Citing figures from the government statistics agency, Statistics New Zealand, the report said the majority of women nationwide who gave birth last year were still of European descent, accounting³ for 43,965 of last year's 63,897 births.

    But more women of other ethnic⁴ backgrounds were also becoming mothers, including those from the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.

    Auckland University head of obstetrics and gynaecology, Professor Lesley McCowan, said the increase reflected New Zealand is an increasingly multicultural⁵ society.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

2 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

3 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

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 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。