为了让大家第一时间看到优质考研内容

千万!千万!千万!

记得【星标】【置顶】考研外刊阅读

每晚21:00,外刊君陪你考研

中国高翻团队倾力之作

词数:494 words

难度:★★★☆☆

小贴士:

25考研最新课程(公共课+专业课)

扫码直接获取

⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎

——大橙子留

✦ +

上期划线句答案

The answer, I believe,isthat in the world of greener vehicles, wehave reacheda classically difficult point in what’s known as the “technology-adoption life cycle” — specifically, the point where the challenge becomes figuring out how to move from what early adopters want to what a broader segment of the market wants.

我认为,答案在于,在全球更环保的汽车中,我们已经达到了“技术采用生命周期”中一个经典的难点——具体来说,这个阶段的挑战在于需要判断出如何从早期采用这项技术的人的需求转向更广泛的市场的需求。

✦ +

本期内容

双语阅读

Para.1

Analysed across all rich countries, birth rates are no higher among those where childcare is fullysubsidisedthan those where parents payeye-wateringfees — the link between births and total spending on family-friendly policies isnegligible. This often promptshead-scratching, but it should not. Unsurprisingly perhaps, the decision on whether to have children, and how many if so, turns out to be about far more than money.

在所有富裕国家中开展的分析显示,在托儿费得到全额补贴的国家,与家长支付天价费用的国家相比,出生率并没有更高——这表明出生率与家庭友好政策的总支出之间的联系微乎其微。这个问题经常让人摸不着头脑,但其实并不奇怪。或许并不意外的是,决定是否要生育,以及如果生育的话要生几个孩子,远不止是钱的问题。

点击此处查看翻译

1.subsidise

英/ ˈsʌbsɪdaɪz /美/ ˈsʌbsɪdaɪz /

vi.消退;下沉;平息

vt.资助(等于 subsidize);给……补助金

2.eye-watering

英/ ˈaɪ wɔːtərɪŋ /美/ ˈaɪ wɔːtərɪŋ /

令人心痛的;惨不忍睹的

3.negligible

英/ ˈneɡlɪdʒəb(ə)l /美/ ˈneɡlɪdʒəb(ə)l /

adj.微不足道的,不值一提的

4.head-scratching

美/ hed ˈskrætʃɪŋ /

令人挠头的;令人头痛的

点击此处查看词汇词组

Para.2

To be clear, family-friendly policies can have other positiveimpacts onindividuals and on society. They make it easier for those who have already chosen to have children tojugglefamily and work. Theyalleviatechild poverty. But when it comes to the heavy lifting on birth rates, culture is far more powerful than policy, oftenexertingits influence several steps before the point at which childcare costs might become a serious consideration.

需要明确的是,家庭友好政策对个人和社会来说会产生其他积极影响。它们让已经选择生育的人更容易平衡家庭和工作,也减轻了儿童贫困。但是,当涉及到提高出生率的重担时,文化的影响力远比政策的更大,通常在育儿费用可能成为严肃考虑因素之前的几个步骤就已经发挥了影响。

点击此处查看翻译

1.to be clear

更清楚一些地说;要清楚;要明确

2.impact on

对……的影响

3.juggle

英/ ˈdʒʌɡl /美/ ˈdʒʌɡl /

v.玩杂耍(连续向空中抛接多个物体);力图使平衡,尽力应付;歪曲,篡改;有效地组织,有效利用(信息、数字、开支等)

n.手技杂耍;平衡;虚报,谎报

4.alleviate

英/ əˈliːvieɪt /美/ əˈliːvieɪt /

v.减轻,缓和

5.exert

英/ ɪɡˈzɜːt /美/ ɪɡˈzɜːrt /

v.运用,施加(影响);努力,尽力(exert oneself)

点击此处查看词汇词组

Para.3

There are a number of distinct but related factors at play. First is the rapid rise of so-calledhelicopterparenting. In their 2019 book, Love, Money, and Parenting: How Economics Explains the Way We Raise Our Kids, Matthias Doepke and Fabrizio Zilibottitheorisethat the realisation a comfortable life has become impossible to attain without a top-quality education hassparkedintense status competition between parents. They feel compelled to invest huge amounts of time and effort intooptimisingtheir kids’upbringing. This may have become adeterrent.

有几个不同但相关的因素正在起作用。首先是所谓的“直升机式教育”的快速增长。在马蒂亚斯·多普克和法布里齐奥·齐利博蒂2019年的书《爱情、金钱和育儿:如何用经济学解释我们抚养孩子的方式》中,他们提出理论,意识到没有顶级的教育就无法获得舒适生活,这引发了父母之间激烈的地位竞争。他们觉得必须得投入大量的时间和精力来优化孩子的成长。这可能已经成为一种影响生育的威慑因素。

点击此处查看翻译

1.helicopter

英/ ˈhelɪkɒptə(r) /美/ ˈhelɪkɑːptər /

n.直升机

v.用直升机运送;乘直升机飞至(某地)

2.theorise

英/ ˈθɪəraɪz /美/ ˈθiːəraɪz; ˈθɪraɪz /

vi.建立理论

vt.使理论化

3.spark

英/ spɑːk /美/ spɑːrk /

n.导火线,诱因;火花,火星;电火花;一丝,略微;生气,活力,才华;愤怒的情感,激烈的情绪; <非正式> 军队中对无线电报务员(或电工)的昵称(Sparks);生龙活虎的小伙子;(内燃机里火花塞的)放电

v.引发,触发;产生火花(电火花);点燃;增加趣味(或活力、风味等);求婚

4.optimise

英/ ˈɒptɪmaɪz /美/ ˈɑːptɪmaɪz /

vt.使优化;充分利用

vi.表示乐观

5.upbring

英/ ʌpˈbrɪŋ /美/ ˈʌpbrɪŋ /

vt.教育,养育(孩子)

6.deterrent

英/ dɪˈterənt /美/ dɪˈtɜːrənt /

n.威慑,遏制;威慑武器

adj.威慑的,遏制的

点击此处查看词汇词组

Para.4

The second big factor is shifting priorities for young adults. In 1993, 61 per cent of Americans said having children was important for a fulfilling life, but Pew Research now puts the figure at 26 per cent. A study last year by Lyman Stone, ademographiceconomist and seniorfellowat the Canadian think-tank Cardus, shows that the competing priorities that mosterodebirth rates among young women are the desires to grow as a person and to focus on their career. Worries over the demands of helicopter parenting also rank high — childcare costs come in at a lowly 14th place. But just as significant as any individual concern is thesheeramount of anxiety among young adults today. Two pieces of further research from Stone show that the more worried aprospectiveyoung mother is, the fewer children she intends to have.

第二大因素在于年轻人考虑事情的优先级发生了变化。1993年,61%的美国人表示,养育孩子对实现一个充实的人生来说很重要,但皮尤研究中心指出现在这一数字降到了26%。人口经济学家、加拿大智库卡杜斯的高级研究员莱曼·斯通去年进行的一项研究显示,对年轻女性生育率影响最大的两个相互竞争的优先事项是个人成长和专注于事业的意愿。对直升机式教育需求的担忧也排在了前列——育儿成本排位较低,只到第14位。但与个人自身考量同样重要的是,当今年轻人的焦虑程度极高。斯通的两项深入研究表明,一个育龄女性越焦虑,她想要的孩子就越少。

点击此处查看翻译

1.demographic

英/ ˌdeməˈɡræfɪk /美/ ˌdeməˈɡræfɪk /

adj.人口的,人口统计的

n.(具有某种特征的)群体;人口统计数据

2.fellow

英/ ˈfeləʊ /美/ ˈfeloʊ /

n.小伙子,家伙;同伴,同事,同学;研究员;男朋友;(研究期间领取津贴的)研究生; <英> (大学的)董事;(学术或专业团体)会员;对等者,对手

adj.同类的,同伴的

3.erode

英/ ɪˈrəʊd /美/ ɪˈroʊd /

v.侵蚀,腐蚀;削弱,降低

4.sheer

英/ ʃɪə(r) /美/ ʃɪr /

adj.(用于强调)纯粹的,完全的;程度深的,数量大的;陡峭的,垂直的;(织物等)极薄的,透明的

adv.垂直地,陡峭地; <古> 彻底地,完全地

v.急转弯,突然转向;避开(不愉快的话题)

n.精纺(或透明)织物(或物品);(尤指船)突然偏航,突然转向;(船首及船尾处的)舷弧

5.prospective

英/ prəˈspektɪv /美/ prəˈspektɪv /

adj.有希望的,潜在的;可能发生的,预期的

点击此处查看词汇词组

Para.5

Finally, andarguablymost importantly, the share of young adults in the west living as a couple is in decline. As social scientist Alice Evans writes, with women increasingly able to support themselves financially, one traditional reason for partnering up has been eroded. This helps explain why the most recent part of thedownwardtrend in births has been driven not by people deciding to have two children instead of three, but by a rise in the share deciding not to have any at all. Birth rates inliberal, developed countries look exceptionally unlikely to return to replacement level any time soon. If theymiraculouslydo so, it will most likelybe due tobroad social and cultural shifts, not policy.

最后,而且也是最重要的原因在于,西方年轻成年人找伴侣生活的比例正在下降。正如社会科学家艾丽丝·埃文斯所写的那样,随着女性越来越能够在经济上自给自足,寻找伴侣的一个传统原因已经被削弱。翻译划线句,在文末留言打卡,答案下期公布~自由、发达国家的出生率似乎绝无可能在短期内回归到人口更替水平(大橙子注:生育率刚好维持人口数量不变的水平)。如果它们奇迹般地做到了,那很可能是由于普遍的社会和文化变革,而非政策因素。

点击此处查看翻译

1.arguably

英/ ˈɑːɡjuəbli /美/ ˈɑːrɡjuəbli /

adv.可论证地,按理

2.downward

英/ ˈdaʊnwəd /美/ ˈdaʊnwərd /

adj.向下的,下降的

adv.向下地,下降地

3.liberal

英/ ˈlɪbərəl /美/ ˈlɪbərəl /

adj.思想开明的;自由主义的,支持变革的;(加拿大、英国等国)自由党的;慷慨的,大量给予的;通识(教育)的,文科的;不确切的,不拘泥字面的;自由主义神学的

n.思想开明的人;自由主义者,支持变革的人;(加拿大、英国等国的)自由党党员,自由党支持者

4.miraculous

英/ mɪˈrækjələs /美/ mɪˈrækjələs /

adj.奇迹般的,不可思议的;超自然的

5.be due to

由于,因为

点击此处查看词汇词组

本文节选自:Financial Times(金融时报)

发布时间:2024.03.29

作者:John Burn-Murdoch

原文标题:Why family-friendly policies don’t boost birth rates

写作句总结

原句:Furthermore, the rapid advancement of technology has not only brought convenience and efficiency to our lives but has also raised concerns about privacy and security.

结构:Furthermore, the X of Y has not only brought A and B to our lives but has also raised concerns about C and D.

例句:Furthermore, the widespread use of social media has not only provided a platform for global connectivity and information sharing but has also raised concerns about online privacy and the spread of misinformation.

阅读理解题

What does the passage suggest is the primary factor influencing birth rates in developed countries?

A) Economic incentives provided by family-friendly policies

B) Cultural attitudes towards parenting and career priorities

C) The availability and cost of childcare services

D) Government regulations on family planning

B

点击此处查看答案

打卡作业

25考研最新课程(公共课+专业课)

扫码直接获取

⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎

• END •

排版/外刊君

图片/来源网络

中国高翻小组