2007年VOA标准英语-White House Summit Addresses Challenges of Glob

By Carol Pearson
Washington
16 March 2007
 
watch Global Aging

For the first time in history, people 65 years and older will soon outnumber children under the age of five in many parts of the world. The challenge, even for the poorest countries, is to meet the needs of the elderly while also attending to the young. An international conference sponsored by the U.S. State Department addressed these challenges and concerns.  VOA's Carol Pearson reports.

United Nations records show people the world over are getting older.  This is due to better medicine and more food, even in developing countries.

Another global statistic¹: there are fewer younger people able to provide health care and other services for the elderly.

Other U.N. statistics² show that by the year 2050, people 60 years or older will account for half of the increase in the world's population.

Also, as people age, chronic³ diseases are expected to increase.

The United States is already experiencing nursing shortages⁴ and expects other staffing shortages in health care in the coming years.

Many governments are beginning to recognize that global aging can affect almost every function of government and private life.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described this trend as one of the greatest challenges that most nations will face this century. "Nations around the world are taking notice of the challenges of aging, but too many are still wrestling with them independent of one another, when we all stand to benefit from sharing our common solutions to these common problems."

Secretary Rice said one of the key goals of the White House summit⁵ was to open international discussions on this trend and to encourage research to provide the answers to the challenges posed⁶ by global aging.

1 statistic   

n.统计量；adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• Official statistics show real wages declining by 24%.官方统计数字表明实际工资下降了24%。
• There are no reliable statistics for the number of deaths in the battle.关于阵亡人数没有可靠的统计数字。

2 statistics   

n.统计，统计数字，统计学

参考例句：

• We have statistics for the last year.我们有去年的统计资料。
• Statistics is taught in many colleges.许多大学都教授统计学。

3 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

4 shortages   

n.不足( shortage的名词复数 )；缺少；缺少量；不足额

参考例句：

• Food shortages often occur in time of war. 在战争期间常常发生粮食短缺的情形。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• At the same time, worldwide food and fuel shortages eased. 同时，世界性粮食和石油短缺的现象终止了。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

5 summit   

n.最高点，峰顶；最高级会议；极点

参考例句：

• They climbed up the mountain and reached the summit.他们爬山，最终达到了山顶。
• The summit of the mountain is lost in the cloud and mist.山顶隐没在云雾之中。

6 posed   

使摆姿势( pose的过去式和过去分词 )； 以…身份出现； 招摇； 炫耀

参考例句：

• The players strutted and posed for the cameras. 运动员昂首阔步，摆好姿势让记者拍照。
• After the wedding we all posed for a photograph. 婚礼之后，我们全体排好拍了一张照片。