VOA慢速英语:The World at 7 Billion, and Growing

The United Nations estimates that the world reached seven billion people on Monday. No one can be sure. The United States Census Bureau does not expect that to happen until March.
据联合国估计，世界人口于星期一达到了70亿。没有人可以肯定。美国人口普查局预计到明年三月才会达到这一数字。

Populations are growing faster than economies in many poor countries in Africa and some in Asia. At the same time, low fertility rates in Japan and many European nations have raised concerns about labor shortages.
在许多非洲和一些亚洲贫困国家，人口增长速度比经济增长要快。与此同时，日本与许多欧洲国家的低出生率已经引起了对劳动力短缺的担忧。

Population experts at the United Nations estimated that the world reached six billion in October nineteen ninety-nine. They predict nine billion by twenty-fifty and ten billion by the end of the century.
联合国人口专家估计，1999年10月全世界人口达到60亿。他们预计世界人口将于2050年达到90亿，本世纪末达到100亿。

China's population of one and a third billion is currently the world's largest. India is second at 1.2 billion. But India is expected to pass China and reach one and a half billion people around twenty twenty-five. India will also have one of the world's youngest populations.
中国拥有13亿人口，是世界上人口最多的国家，印度12亿，居第二位。但是，预计印度将在2025年左右超过中国，达到15亿。印度将拥有全世界最年轻的人群。

Economists say this is a chance for a so-called demographic dividend. India could gain from the skills of young people in a growing economy at a time when other countries have aging populations. But economists say current rates of growth, although high, may not create enough jobs.
经济学家称这是一个所谓人口红利的机会。当其他国家人口面临老龄化问题时，印度经济增长中年轻人的技能将带来好处。但经济学家说，目前的增长速度虽高，可能无法创造足够的就业机会。

Also, the public education system is failing to meet demand and schooling is often of poor quality. Another concern is health care. Nearly half of India’s children under the age of five are malnourished. Sarah Crowe at the United Nations Children's Fund in New Delhi says these two problems "could keep India back."
此外，公共教育体系未能满足需要和学校教育质量往往很差。另一个令人关注的问题是保健品。印度5岁以下的儿童近一半营养不良。联合国驻新德里儿童基金的 Sarah Crowe说，有两个阻碍印度发展的问题。

SARAH CROWE: "That child is unable to really grow to its ability and will remain in a state of stunting and not be able to learn when it goes to school -- when he or she goes to school, and indeed later earn and really pay back and pay into the economic and help the country and the region move forward. We have, you know, out of every two hundred million children who start school, only ten percent complete grade twelve."
Sarah Crowe：“这回导致儿童无法真正成长，发育不良，上了学也学不到东西，长大后也难以挣得足够的收入，无法为经济做贡献，推动地区和国家的发展。你知道的，每2亿在校儿童中，只有10%能上完12年级。”

Michal Rutkowski is the director of human development in South Asia at the World Bank. He says the seven billionth person was likely to be a girl born in rural Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh is one of India’s poorest and most crowded states, with nearly two hundred million people.
Michal Rutkowski是南非世界银行人类发展总监，他说，第70亿人可能出生在印度北方邦农村，是个女孩。北方邦是印度最贫困、人口最多的州，有近2亿人。

He says reaching seven billion people in the world is a good time for a call to action.
他说，世界人口达到70亿，是一个呼吁采取行动的好时机。

MICHAL RUTKOWSKI: "I think the bottom line of the story is that the public policy needs to become really, really serious about gender equality and about access to services -- to combat malnutrition, and to provide for access to health services, water, sanitation, schooling."
Michal Rutkowski：“我觉得事情的最低标准是，公共政策要特别关注两性平等和公共服务的提供，解决营养不良问题，提供医疗服务、水、卫生和学校。”