VOA慢速英语:World Not Prepared to Deal With the Fast Growth of Cities

The United Nations is warning that the world is not prepared to deal with the fast growth of cities. The World Economic and Social Survey 2013 calls for new ways to meet the needs of city populations. More than 6.5 billion people are expected to be living in cities by 2050.
联合国警告称，全世界还没有做好应对城市的快速增长的准备。《2013年世界经济和社会调查报告》要求寻找新办法以满足城市人口的需求。预计到2050年，将有超过65亿人居住在城市。

Most new city dwellers will be in developing countries. The United Nations says the effect on limited resources in many countries will be huge. The World Economic and Social Survey points to the increasing demand for energy, water, sanitation, public services, education and health care.
大多数新的城市居民将来自发展中国家。联合国称，这将对许多国家有限资源的产生巨大的影响。《世界经济和社会调查报告》指出，全球对能源、水、卫生、公共服务、教育和医疗保健的需求不断增长。

The world population is expected to rise to more than nine billion by 2050, two-thirds of all people are expected to live in cities. The United Nations says about 80 percent of this growing urban population will be found in Africa and Asia.
预计到2050年，世界人口将上升至90亿。三分之二的人口将居住在城市。联合国称，80%的城市人口增长将会来自非洲和亚洲。

The report says sustainable development of urban areas requires coordination and investments to deal with important issues, these include land-use, food security, job creation and transportation.
报告称，城市地区的可持续发展，需要协调和投资以处理很多重要问题，这些包括土地利用、粮食安全、创造就业机会和运输。

Willem Van Der Geest is with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, he says cities need to work closely with rural communities, so that food supplies can be secured, and the environment can be protected.
Willem Van Der Geest就职于联合国经济和社会事务部，他说，城市需要和农村社区紧密合作，这样可以保证粮食供应，还可以保护环境。

"We need sufficient integration with cities... An integration between the rural and urban economies is absolutely vital for issues of nutrition, food security, and environmental sustainability."
“我们需要充分整合城市...农村和城市之间经济一体化对营养、食品安全和环境可持续问题都至关重要。”

The report says development in a sustainable way is important to ending poverty. The report also examines the problem of food insecurity, which affects hundreds of millions of people around the world. One in eight people are still chronically undernourished.
报告称，以可持续的方式发展对消除贫困很重要。报告还探讨了粮食不安全的问题，该问题影响世界各地数以百万计的人们。有1/8的人仍然长期营养不良。

UN officials says somethings are clear. The Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Shamshad Akhtar, says world food production will have to increase by 70%, that increase will be needed to feed the additional 2.3 billion people expected on the planet by the middle of the century. She says an important part of meeting that need is to waste less food.
联合国官员称有些事很明确。Shamshad Akhtar是联合国经济发展部门的助理秘书长。她说，为了养活到本世纪中叶地球上新增的23亿人口，全球粮食产量不得不增长70%。她说，减少食物浪费是满足这一需求的一个重要组成部分。

"There has to be efforts to reduce food wastage. Changes will have to take place in the food chain-production, storage, transportation and consumption."
“必须努力减少浪费食物。在食物链的生产、储存、运输和消费环节不得不有所作为。”

Food and nutrition security are core elements of the sustainable development agenda.
食品和营养安全都是可持续发展议程的核心要素。