2015年经济学人 反对人口普查 十年一度制度被保留

Official statistics

Con¹ census²

Britain's decennial population count has been saved. Now make it work better

WHEN the first results of the 2011 census were published, almost two years ago, the most striking discovery was straightforward³.

Britain's population, it turned out, was around 500,000 bigger than statisticians had thought.

For all that Britons are relentlessly⁴ surveyed, only a full count could reveal the size of the country,

yet alone that of individual cities, towns and neighbourhoods.

Given that finding, the proposal made in 2010 by an austerity-minded coalition⁵ government to scrap⁶ Britain's decennial census seemed odd.

It now looks as though the census will survive after all.

On March 27th the Office for National Statistics (ONS) concluded that a full population count is still necessary,

though many people will in future be asked to fill in the census online.

In all likelihood, the government will follow its recommendations.

Academics, market researchers and social historians breathed a sigh of relief.

Scrapping⁷ the census in favour of rolling surveys of a portion of the population was always a silly idea.

A full count can provide information at the level of a single street, which even very large surveys could never do.

The census also supplies detailed⁸ data about poorly understood groups of people, such as some ethnic⁹ minorities.

Each year billions of pounds of government spending are allocated¹⁰ according to estimates derived¹¹ from the census.

Its data determine where new schools and hospitals are built, where planning permission for housing is granted and where money is spent on transport.

The census is hardly perfect. It is expensive—the 2011 edition cost around 480m (800m).

Its findings go out of date quickly. And it is increasingly difficult to conduct,

as a rising proportion of people do not fill in their forms.

In many European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands,

the authorities use administrative¹² data collected by public bodies in place of a traditional census.

In Britain that would be tricky¹³. The nation lacks a central population register or an identity-card system that would allow administrative data to be linked up.

By northern European standards, Britain also has lots of irregular migrants who have little interaction with the state.

That makes a full count unavoidable.

Yet the authorities should still be investing in working out how to use administrative data better,

argues Chris Skinner, a statistician at the London School of Economics.

That would help to provide a check on the accuracy of census and survey data,

as well as providing timelier and more precise estimates in between census years.

The ONS agrees—and it is researching the possibility of using government data better.

The trouble is that doing so will mean spending money,

which is precisely¹⁴ what ministers wanted to stop doing when they pushed the ONS into thinking about cancelling the census.

Data users will be hoping that they have a change of heart. If not, Britain might be stuck with inadequate¹⁵ numbers for decades to come.

1 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

2 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

3 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

4 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

5 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

6 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

7 scrapping   

刮，切除坯体余泥

参考例句：

• He was always scrapping at school. 他在学校总打架。
• These two dogs are always scrapping. 这两条狗总是打架。

8 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

10 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

11 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

13 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

14 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

15 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。