英语 英语 日语 日语 韩语 韩语 法语 法语 德语 德语 西班牙语 西班牙语 意大利语 意大利语 阿拉伯语 阿拉伯语 葡萄牙语 葡萄牙语 越南语 越南语 俄语 俄语 芬兰语 芬兰语 泰语 泰语 泰语 丹麦语 泰语 对外汉语

2006年VOA标准英语-US Copes With Growing Population, Approach

时间:2007-03-15 16:00来源:互联网 提供网友:943362478   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
08 March 2006

watch US Population report

Census1 officials say the U.S. population will reach 300 million in October, and that the 300th million American may well be a Latino living in the Southwest. Mike O'Sullivan reports from Los Angeles, the growing population brings promise, and challenges, for U.S. urban centers.

-------------------------------------------------------

  
  

The U.S. population is increasing at nearly one percent a year, making the United States the world's fastest growing industrial nation.

Sixty percent of the growth is natural. Forty percent comes from immigration.

Demographer2 William Frey of the Brookings Institution says immigrants are moving to cities like New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas and Los Angeles.
 

William Frey  
  
"These are really melting pot cities in the sense that it's not a just a mostly white place with a couple of minority groups," he explained, "but many minority groups are part of this big race and ethnic3 stew4 that's going on, so you can't really exist there unless you have an open mind about different backgrounds and different cultures. "

In Los Angeles, there are concentrations of immigrants in Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Koreatown and other ethnic enclaves.

A shopkeeper from China has Spanish-speaking customers and friends in neighboring shops from other countries.


Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles  
  
"Down here, the owner is Chinese, and over there, a lot of Koreans, and Mexican people," the shopkeeper said.

Throughout the American Southwest, immigrants from Latin America are changing the culture, and they form an important part of the workforce5. Hispanics account for half of U.S. population growth. Some critics of immigration worry about strains on the health care system and the schools.

Ira Mehlman is a spokesman for the Federation6 for American Immigration Reform. He says the children of recent immigrants have problems in public schools, where classes are taught in English.

"Half of the school district in Los Angeles is non-English-speaking, which means that you have the nation's second largest educational institution that can't educate an entire generation of kids," he said.

Harry7 Pachon of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute says there have always been strains when population grows, but the country assimilated earlier waves of immigration.


Latino immigrants working in a Los Angeles grocery store   
  
"We rail against the immigrants and we forget that two or three generations ago, our grandparents or our parents were immigrants themselves," he noted8.

Population growth is a global phenomenon, and others worry about strains on the natural environment.

Dan Silver of the Endangered Habitats League says unchecked population growth is changing the natural landscape that we share with other species.


Dan Silver   
  
"Our issues with population are twofold," he explained. "First, it's the absolute increase in the number of people, which is very severe in places like California, plus the amount of resources and the amount of land that each new person consumes, and that's extremely important in the pattern of development that's occurring."


He says in many parts of America, the problem is urban sprawl9, as cities expand in vast suburban10 housing tracts11. He says with proper urban planning, more people can live together in a denser12 environment, preserving their natural surroundings.

He worries that not enough planning is being done. So do some population experts, who say cities like Los Angeles suffer strains from immigration, while the country as a whole benefits from it.

A generation of Americans born after World War II, the so-called Baby Boomers, is ready to retire, and some population experts say immigrants can keep the economy vibrant13.

Dowell Myers teaches policy and planning at the University of Southern California.  "Because after all, we're growing here the future middle class taxpayers14 and we're growing the future workers," he said. " When these Baby Boomers want to retire, a lot of the replacements15 - we estimate about two-thirds - are going to be the children of immigrants."

Demographer William Frey says immigrants with young families will help keep the United States competitive.

"As we become much more globalized society, globalized economy, where what we produce here, how we produce it here, has to be bought and consumed by people in other parts of the world," he said, "and vice16 versa, it's paramount17 that we have people from different cultures helping18 us make decisions in our workplaces and in our schools."


Evening view of downtown Los Angeles   
  
The U.S. population is expected to reach 400 million in 40 years. Population analysts19 say the country faces challenges, to ensure tomorrow's children have the services they need, from education to health care, that the economy stays healthy, and that we preserve the environment for future generations. They say that will take careful planning.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 census arnz5     
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 demographer rwpxt     
n.人口统计学家
参考例句:
  • Professor Antonio Golini is a demographer at the University of Rome. 罗马大学安东尼奥教授是位人口统计学家。 来自互联网
  • Demographer William Frey says immigrants with young families will help keep the United States competitive. 人口统计学家佛瑞表示这些年轻的家庭会帮助美国保持竞争力。 来自互联网
3 ethnic jiAz3     
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。
4 stew 0GTz5     
n.炖汤,焖,烦恼;v.炖汤,焖,忧虑
参考例句:
  • The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
  • There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。
5 workforce workforce     
n.劳动大军,劳动力
参考例句:
  • A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
  • A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。
6 federation htCzMS     
n.同盟,联邦,联合,联盟,联合会
参考例句:
  • It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
  • Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。
7 harry heBxS     
vt.掠夺,蹂躏,使苦恼
参考例句:
  • Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天,人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
  • Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。
8 noted 5n4zXc     
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。
9 sprawl 2GZzx     
vi.躺卧,扩张,蔓延;vt.使蔓延;n.躺卧,蔓延
参考例句:
  • In our garden,bushes are allowed to sprawl as they will.在我们园子里,灌木丛爱怎么蔓延就怎么蔓延。
  • He is lying in a sprawl on the bed.他伸开四肢躺在床上。
10 suburban Usywk     
adj.城郊的,在郊区的
参考例句:
  • Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
  • There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。
11 tracts fcea36d422dccf9d9420a7dd83bea091     
大片土地( tract的名词复数 ); 地带; (体内的)道; (尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的)短文
参考例句:
  • vast tracts of forest 大片大片的森林
  • There are tracts of desert in Australia. 澳大利亚有大片沙漠。
12 denser denser     
adj. 不易看透的, 密集的, 浓厚的, 愚钝的
参考例句:
  • The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民,对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
  • As Tito entered the neighbourhood of San Martino, he found the throng rather denser. 蒂托走近圣马丁教堂附近一带时,发现人群相当密集。
13 vibrant CL5zc     
adj.震颤的,响亮的,充满活力的,精力充沛的,(色彩)鲜明的
参考例句:
  • He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
  • She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。
14 taxpayers 8fa061caeafce8edc9456e95d19c84b4     
纳税人,纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
  • She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。
15 replacements 1f6e0d51ec9f57961e86b4aa2e91ef29     
n.代替( replacement的名词复数 );替换的人[物];替代品;归还
参考例句:
  • They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
  • For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说,价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网
16 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
17 paramount fL9xz     
a.最重要的,最高权力的
参考例句:
  • My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国,摧毁奴隶制度。
  • Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。
18 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
19 analysts 167ff30c5034ca70abe2d60a6e760448     
分析家,化验员( analyst的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
  • I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。
本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎点击提交分享给大家。
------分隔线----------------------------
TAG标签:   VOA标准英语  US  Copes  Growing  Popul  US  Copes  Growing  Popul
顶一下
(0)
0%
踩一下
(0)
0%
最新评论 查看所有评论
发表评论 查看所有评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:
听力搜索
推荐频道
论坛新贴