阿圆凸凸凸
Listening: Aging Population The world’s population is growing at a rate of a little more than 1% per year. However, not all segments of the population are growing at the same rate. This graph shows that the rates of growth have 3 different groups, children, adults and the elderly. As you can see, while the population of children is fairly constant, the elderly population is increasing at the fastest rate. This is due to very low birth rates in the developed country and birthrate declines in most developing countries. As a result of these trends, the world’s population is aging. Between 2015 and 2050, the percentage of the world’s population over 60 is expected to nearly double. In 2015, there were 900 million people over 60 and in 2050, the number should be around 2 billion. Aging populations are becoming a huge problem in many countries, especially in developing counties. It used to be that many elderly people lived with their family and helped take care of the next generation. They had a place to stay and people who help take care of them when they needed assistance. Now, however, many elderly people, or senior citizens, are left on their own. This is partly the result of people having fewer children, and also because of the massive urbanization. Young and middle-aged audits have left the rural area for economic opportunities only available in large urban centers. As a result, there is no one to care for the elderly who were left behind to live on their own. This is especially true in developing countries. With an aging population, health problem becomes a growing concern. Some of the leading conditions that accompany aging include vision problems, hearing loss, diabetes and dementias such as Alzheimer's disease. These problems can lead to disabilities that make it difficult to live without assistance. With diseases such as Alzheimer's, people lose their memory and are unable to recognize their own children. Worldwide, more than 46% of people aged 60 and over have disabilities. Giving meals and medical care, for example, becomes both expensive and difficult. As a result, the cost of providing services to the sick and disabled can become a huge problem. Listening: Dependency Ratio In economics, the dependency ratio shows the relationship between the number of people not in the labor force and those in the labor force. Those not in the labor force are the dependent part of the population. Those in the labor force are the productive part of the population. A high dependency ratio means that there are fewer working people to support health, social security and education services, which are used by the dependent sectors of a population. This number is calculated by adding together the total number of young and old people, and dividing that number by the number of working age people. Sometimes the dependency ratio is presented in two parts. One part focuses on the ratio between children and the working age population. This is the dependency ratio for the young. The other is the ratio between the elderly and the working age population, which is the dependency ratio for the old. Here are some dependency ratios for the old in 5 countries, China, India, Japan, the US and the UK. It shows the ratios at 3 different points of time, 2000, 2015 and 2050. Note that the greatest percentage change from 2015 to 2050 is for China. The dependency ratio nearly triples from 13.1 to 39. The other counties show gains, but as a percentage increase, they are less. In Japan, the ratio increases from 43.6 to 71.8 which is less than double. The life expectancy for Japan in 2050 is predicted to be 93, which is the highest of these countries. A high life expectancy obviously increases the dependency ratio. And note that the dependency ratio ignores the fact that those counted in elderly segment of the population are not necessarily depended. An increasing proportion of them are working, and many of those in the working age segment may not be working. So this way of calculating the dependency ratio in the country can be misleading. By pointing this out, we can see the danger of using of such number to make policy without understanding how they are calculated. In the end, details are important. Dialogue: John's Resignation So what is it that you wanted to see me about, John? I thought it would be good for us to have a heart-to-heart conversation. You're unhappy with how things are going, right? Yes, I am. But I don't want others in the company to know. I thought we should meet outside. Ok, so what are you thinking? To be perfectly frank, I’ve decided that it doesn’t make sense for me to stay with the company. You are the CEO, but I don’t agree with how you’re handling things. I can no longer support you. Hmm, OK, I have suspected that for quite a while. I’m still happy to support the company if I can, of course, but I’d like to work elsewhere. There's a start-up that has contacted me, and I’m planning to join them as soon as I can. Are you gentlemen really to order? No, not yet. Could you come back in a few minutes? Certainly, sir. Well, we are going to miss you. There's nothing I can say that would change your mind? No, it’s too late for that. I no longer have confidence in your decisions. Your latest business plan, for example, makes no sense at all. It makes us weaker in the area where we are strong, and it takes us in some new areas where we can’t compete. Well, that’s where we disagree. So, if that’s the way you feel about it, I agree that it’s best that you work somewhere else. Still, I hope we can count on you when we need you for something. Sure, keep me informed and let me know if and when I can be useful. I will. So how do you propose that we should communicate this to the company? I will write up something and you can review it. I’ll make it sound as positive as possible. Ok, thanks. I’m sure it will come as a shock to many. Things are already difficult enough. I know and maybe I’m wrong. Maybe your plan will work. If so, I will be the first to congratulate you. Are you ready to order? Sure, though I don’t feel like eating much. Waiter. Reading: Global Life Expectancy People today are living longer than at any point in human history. Virtually every country enjoys a higher life expectancy than it did in the 19th century. In 1870, the average person could expect to live for 30 years. By 2015 that number had increased to 71, more than doubling. The west was the first region to see an increase in life expectancy. Scientific discoveries led to a growing awareness of germs and disease. New medicines and treatments were developed, and people adopted more hygienic lifestyles. Public health measures were a major factor. During the 20th century, the average lifespan in the United States increased by more than 30 years, if which 25 years can be attributed to advances in public health. Between 1900 and 1950, Europe’s life expectancy grew from 43 years to 65 years. However, this did not reflect the experience of the rest of the world, which largely remained impoverished and underdeveloped. In 1950, Asia’s average life expectancy was 42 and the Africa’s was 36. In the following decades, living conditions in both continents improved, along with life expectancy. As Asian economies grew, people had better access to health services and greater quantities of food. In Africa however, several countries did not see significant economic growth, but still enjoyed a growing life expectancy. This was due to better access to medicines and vaccines. As of 2015, the life expectancies of Asia and Africa were about 72 and 60 years respectively. In all countries, some facts are universal, including higher mortality rates associated with childhood. Therefore, life expectancy increases with age. Economics condition also affect life expectancy. For example, in the UK, life expectancy among the wealthiest is several years higher than among the poorest. This may reflect factors such as diet and lifestyle, as well as access to medical care. And finally, women enjoy an advantage over men. Females have a higher survival rate from birth to old age. Of individuals aged 110, 90% are women. In fact, for almost all animal species except birds, females have higher survival rates than males. Reading: Virtual Heaven If you could live forever, would you want to? The challenge of keeping your body alive seems impossible, but some scientists are working on an alternative. They want to create a digital copy of your “self” and keep that copy “alive” long after your physical body has stopped functioning. In effect, their plan is to clone a person electronically. Unlike ordinary physical clones –which have identical features as their parents, but which are independent organisms, each with a different conscious self – your electronic clone would believe itself to be you. One plan relies on the development of nanotechnology. Ray Kurzweil, a leading futurist, predicts that within two or three decades we will have tiny transmitters that can be injected into the brain. once there they would line up alongside neurons and monitor the details of the brain’s activity. They would then be able to transmit that information to receivers inside a special helmet, allowing us to map the brain. As a further step, Kurzweil foresees using these tiny transmitters to connect you to a world of virtual reality. With the transmitters in place, you could think your way onto the internet. Instead of seeing pictures on a screen, you would see them in your mind. Rather than send emails to your friends, you could meet them on some virtual tropical beach and exchange messages in “virtual person”. For a futurist like Ray, this would be heaven, a virtual heaven. Once you upload the brain onto the internet and log on to that virtual world, your body can be left to decompose while your virtual self can play games for as long as you wish. However, there is still a problem. To exist on the net, your virtual self will have to reside on the computer of a web-hosting company. These companies want to be paid real money, or they will delete your “self” and sell the space to someone else. With your body long gone how you pay?
垫块砖一米三
Living conditions around the world vary from country to country. 世界各地的生活条件因国而异。 Some countries have very large economies, but the majority of their citizens are poor. 有些国家经济规模很大，但大多数国民都很贫穷。 Other countries have smaller economies, but the majority of their citizens are NOT poor. 其他国家的经济规模较小，但大多数国民并不贫穷。 So the size of a country's economy isn't the only factor that determines how wealthy its citizens are. 因此，一个国家的经济规模并不是决定其国民富裕程度的唯一因素。 The size of its population is also an important factor. 人口规模也是一个重要因素。 Another factor is how a country's wealth is distributed between the rich and the poor. 另一个因素是一个国家的财富如何在富人和穷人之间分配 Besides the size of its economy, what is another factor that determines living conditions? - the distribution of wealth 除了经济规模，决定生活条件的另一个因素是什么?——财富分配 A country's living conditions depend not only on the size of its economy. The size of its population is also an important factor . Another factor is how a country's wealth is distributed between the rich and the poor. 一个国家的生活条件不仅取决于它的经济规模。人口规模也是一个重要因素。另一个因素是一个国家的财富如何在富人和穷人之间分配。 Let's look at some examples. 让我们看一些例子。 This chart shows the world's 10 largest economies in 2015. 这张图表显示了2015年世界十大经济体。 It ranks the countries by their Gross Domestic Product, or GDP. 它根据这些国家的国内生产总值(GDP)对其进行排名。 The GDP is one way of measuring the size of an economy. GDP是衡量经济规模的一种方式。 It is the total value of the goods and services produced in a country in a year. 它是一个国家在一年内生产的商品和服务的总价值。 As you can see, according to this chart, the US and China had the largest economies. 如你所见，根据这张图表，美国和中国是最大的经济体。 According to the chart, which country had the fifthe largest economies? -Germany. 根据图表，世界第五大经济体是哪个国家?德国。 What does this chart use to compare the sizes of their economies? - Gross Domestic Product 这个图表用什么来比较他们的经济规模?-本地生产总值 In 2015, Germany had the fifth largest economy. 2015年，德国是世界第五大经济体。 According to the chart, India had the seventh largest economy in the world. 根据图表，印度是世界第七大经济体。 Its economy was bigger than Italy's. 其经济规模大于意大利。 However, the average living conditions in Italy are much higher than in India. 然而，意大利的平均生活条件比印度高得多。 One reason for this is the difference in population. 原因之一是人口的差异。 India has a much larger population, so its wealth is distributed among a much larger number of people. 印度的人口要多得多，所以它的财富分配给了更多的人。 You can find this information by checking a country's GDP per capita. 你可以通过查看一个国家的人均GDP来找到这个信息。 Per capita means per person. 人均是指每人。 If two countries have the same GDP, but one country has half the number of people, its GDP per capita is twice as large. 如果两个国家有相同的GDP，但一个国家有一半的人口，它的人均GDP是两倍大。 What is one reason why the living conditions in Japan are much higher than in India? - Its population is much smaller. 为什么日本的生活条件比印度高得多?-它的人口要少得多。Another important factor is how the wealth of a country is shared. 另一个重要因素是一个国家的财富如何分配。 In some countries much of the wealth is concentrated in just a few people. 在一些国家，大部分财富集中在少数人手中。 For example, in the US, just 5% of the population holds more than 70% of the wealth. 例如，在美国，只有5%的人口拥有超过70%的财富。 This shows that many US citizens are not wealthy despite the size of their economy. 这表明，尽管美国经济规模庞大，但许多美国公民并不富裕。 In fact, the wealth share held by the wealthiest 10% more than 10 times bigger than the rest of the population. 事实上，最富有的10%的人所拥有的财富比其他人多10倍以上。 About what percent of the US population holds more than 70% of the wealth? - About 5% 大约有百分之几的美国人拥有超过70%的财富?——约5% Why are there so many poor people in the US despite the size of their economy? -Much of the wealth is held by a small segment of the population. 为什么美国有那么多穷人，尽管他们的经济规模很大?-大部分财富由一小部分人持有。 As we have seen, much of the wealth of the US is concentrated in just a few people. 正如我们所看到的，美国的大部分财富集中在少数人身上。 10% of its population had an estimated 75% of the wealth in 2015. 据估计，2015年该国10%的人口拥有75%的财富。 In this chart we see some comparisons with other countries. 在这个图表中，我们看到了一些与其他国家的比较。 In contrast to the US, 10% of Japan's population had less than half of the total wealth. 与美国相比，日本10%的人口拥有的财富还不到总财富的一半。 In China, in 2014, the estimated share of the top 10% was 64%, but this number is rising. 在中国，2014年最富有的10%人口的比例估计为64%，但这个数字还在上升。 Russia had the highest concentration of wealth, at over 80%! 俄罗斯的财富最集中，超过80%! India, which has one of the largest economies, has the largest share of the world's poorest people. 印度是世界上最大的经济体之一，也是世界上最贫困人口最多的国家。 The share of wealth of its richest 10% is 370 times that of its poorest 10%. 最富有的10%的人所拥有的财富是最穷的10%的370倍。 Which of these countries has the largest share of the world's poorest people? - India 以下哪个国家的贫困人口比例最高?——印度A major challenge for a government is to improve the living conditions of its citizens. 政府面临的主要挑战是改善公民的生活条件。 As we have seen, growing an economy isn't enough. 正如我们所看到的，经济增长是不够的。 Population growth and distribution of wealth are also important factors. 人口增长和财富分配也是重要因素。 Improving education and developing job skills can help people move up in an economy. 改善教育和发展工作技能可以帮助人们在经济中获得提升。 With better education and training, the poor can increase their ability to get better jobs and raise their income. 通过更好的教育和培训，穷人可以提高他们获得更好的工作和增加收入的能力。 What does better education allow? - It increases a person's ability to get a better job. 更好的教育意味着什么?-它增加了一个人找到更好工作的能力。How can education change how wealth is distributed? - It can help the poor to get better jobs and increase their share of the wealth. 教育如何改变财富的分配?——它可以帮助穷人获得更好的工作，增加他们的财富份额。However, taxes are needed to pay for social services, including health and education. 然而，需要税收来支付社会服务，包括医疗和教育。 Some countries tax the rich at a higher rate than the poor. 有些国家对富人的征税比穷人高。 However, if taxes are too high, it can discourage investment and risk taking. 然而，如果税收过高，就会阻碍投资和风险承担。 This is because investors won't take risks unless the rewards are high. 这是因为除非回报很高，否则投资者是不会冒险的。 So, as you can see, these are complex issues. 所以，正如你所看到的，这些都是复杂的问题。 How can high taxes discourage investment? -They can reduce the rewards for taking a risk. 高税收如何抑制投资?-他们会减少冒险的回报。
