VOA慢速英语20061021a

IN THE NEWS - Immigrants², Births Put US on Way to Population of 400 Million by 2043By Brianna Blake

Broadcast: Saturday, October 21, 2006

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, the national population clock at the United States Census³ Bureau⁴ reached three hundred million. This is only an estimate⁵ -- the next official count is in two thousand ten.


The Census Bureau's population clock

But the Census Bureau says the United States is gaining one new person every eleven seconds. Government experts based this on an estimate of one birth every seven seconds and one death every thirteen seconds.

They also considered immigration. The Census Bureau says an immigrant¹ enters the country every thirty-one seconds.

The United States is the third most populous⁶ country in the world, although it is still much smaller than China and India.

Some hospitals claimed they had the three hundred millionth baby. Yet the three hundred millionth person in the United States could have been an immigrant. Experts say about fifty-five percent of new population growth has resulted from immigration, including the children of immigrants.

Today twelve percent of the population is foreign-born. The leading place of origin is Mexico. In the past, it was Europe.

America's population reached one hundred million in nineteen fifteen. It reached two hundred million just over fifty years later, in nineteen sixty-seven.

But the country has taken less than forty years to reach three hundred million people. And researchers expect a population of four hundred million in even less time.

At that point, in two thousand forty-three, non-Hispanic whites could make up just over half the population.

In nineteen sixty-seven, more than eighty percent of Americans were white. Less than five percent were of Spanish ancestry⁷. Today, Hispanics -- either American-born or foreign-born -- make up almost fifteen percent of the population.

About thirteen percent of the population is black, and about five percent is of Asian ancestry.

The population growth in the United States is unusual among big industrial nations. Japan and some European countries expect their populations to decrease over the next twenty to thirty years.

America is known as a nation of immigrants. But today, as at other times in its history, immigration is also a hot issue. There is debate especially about the millions who are in the country illegally.

Reporters were invited to watch the Census Bureau clock hit three hundred million Tuesday morning. There was no big ceremony, although bureau employees later held a small event of their own at their offices near Washington.

President Bush released⁸ a statement. He said the new population mark is, in his words, further proof⁹ that the American Dream remains¹⁰ as bright and hopeful as ever.

In nineteen fifteen, the most popular names for babies in the United States were John and Mary. This year they are Jacob and Emily.

IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English, was written by Brianna Blake. MP3 files and transcripts¹¹ of our programs are at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 immigrant   

adj.(从国外)移来的，移民的；n.移民，侨民

参考例句：

• Life in the USA was very hard for almost every new immigrant.美国的生活几乎对每一个新移民都很艰难。
• I'd like to obtain some information about applying for an immigrant visa.我想取一些申请移民签证的资料。

2 immigrants   

n.移民( immigrant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Illegal immigrants were given the opportunity to regularize their position. 非法移民得到了使其身份合法化的机会。
• Immigrants from all over the world populate this city. 这个城市里生活着来自世界各地的移民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 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。

5 estimate   

n.估计，估量；评价，看法；vt.估计，估量

参考例句：

• We estimate the cost to be five thousand dollars.我们估计费用为5000美元。
• The lowest estimate would put the worth of the jewel at ＄200.按最低的评估这块宝石也值200美元。

6 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

7 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

8 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

9 proof   

adj.防...的，耐...的，能防护；n.校样，证据，证明；vt.检验，给...做防护措施

参考例句：

• He is living proof of the wonders of modern medicine.他是当代医学奇迹的活证明。
• The proof was fished up from some old papers.校样在旧文件中被找到了。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句