If the World Were a Village of 100 People

 

 

If we could ¹⁾shrink the earth’s population to a village of ²⁾precisely¹ 100 people, with all the existing human ³⁾ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following:

There would be:

57 Asians

21 Europeans

14 from the Western ⁴⁾Hemisphere, both north and south

8 Africans

52 would be female

48 would be male

70 would be non-white

30 would be white

70 would be non-Christian²

30 would be Christian

89 would be ⁵⁾heterosexual

11 would be ⁶⁾homosexual

6 people would possess 59% of the entire world’s wealth

and all 6 would be from the United States.

80 would live in ⁷⁾substandard housing

70 would be unable to read

50 would suffer from ⁸⁾malnutrition³

1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth

1(yes, only 1) would have a college education

1 would own a computer

When one considers our world from such a ⁹⁾compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes ¹⁰⁾glaringly apparent.

The following is also something to ¹¹⁾ponder...

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness... you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of ¹²⁾imprisonment⁴, the ¹³⁾agony of torture, or the ¹⁴⁾pangs of ¹⁵⁾starvation... you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep... you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in dish

someplace... you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealth.

If your parents are still alive and still married... you are very rare, even in the United States and Canada.

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing⁶ in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

Someone once said: What goes around comes around.

So...

Work like you don’t need the money.

Love like you’ve never been hurt.

Dance like nobody’s watching.

Sing like nobody’s listening.

Live like it’s Heaven on Earth. CE

 

01、如果世界是个一百人的村落

 

 

如果我们把全世界的人口按照现有比率压缩为一个100人的村子，情况就会如同以下：

这个村子里有：

57人是亚洲人

21人是欧洲人

14人来自西半球的南、北美洲

8人是非洲人

52人是女性

48人是男性

70人是有色人种

30人是白人

70人是非基督徒

30人是基督徒

89人是异性恋者

11人是同性恋者

6人拥有全世界59%的财富

而且这6人全是美国人

80人的居住环境不达标准

70人是文盲

50人苦于营养不良

1人濒临死亡边缘；1人正要出生

1人（是的，只有1人）会接受大学教育

1人拥有电脑

透过这个压缩图来放眼我们的世界，就会明晓接纳他人、谅解、以及教育是何等重要。

再从以下角度来想想看……

如果你早上醒来的时候健康无恙……那么，比起活不过这一周的百万人来说，你真是幸运多了。

如果你未曾经历过战争的危险、入狱的孤独、严刑的苦楚、饥饿的痛苦……那么，比起世界上5亿的人来，你真是幸运多了。

如果你冰箱里有食物，身上有衣服可穿，有屋篷遮蔽，有地方睡觉……那么，比起世界上75%的人来，你真是富足多了。

如果你银行中有存款，钱包中也有钱，还能到某处消费、

点菜……你便跻身于世界上最富有的8%人口当中了。

如果你的父母依然健在，而且还在一起生活的话……这可是非常难得的事，即使是在美国与加拿大。

如果你能读到此文，那意味着你获得了双重的祝福，因为有人想到了你，而且与世界上超过20亿的文盲人口来比，你真是幸运多了。

有人说过：我所付出的终将会有回报。

所以……

去工作时，犹如你不执迷于金钱。

去爱他人，犹如你从未曾被伤害。

去舞蹈吧，犹如无人在一旁观看。

去歌唱吧，犹如无人在一边倾听。

好好地生活，犹如这里是人间乐土。CE

 

 

1) shrink [FriNk] v. 使缩短   

2) precisely [pri5saisli] adv. 正好

3) ratio[5reiFiEu ] n. 比率

4) hemisphere [5hemisfiE] n. 半球

5) heterosexual [hetErEu5sekFuEl] n. 异性恋者

6) homosexual [hEumEu5sekFuEl] n. 同性恋者

7) substandard [sQb5stAndEd] a. 不合标准的

8) malnutrition [mAlnju:5triFEn] n. 营养不良

9) compressed [kEm5prest] a. 被压缩的

10) glaringly [5glZErinli] adv. 耀眼地，突出地

11) ponder [5pCndEr] v. 考虑

12) imprisonment [im5priznmEnt] n. 关押

13) agony [5AgEni] n. 苦恼

14) pang⁵ [pAN]n. 悲痛，剧痛

15) starvation [sta:5veiFEn] n. 饥饿

 

1 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。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

4 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

5 pang   

n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷

参考例句：

• She experienced a sharp pang of disappointment.她经历了失望的巨大痛苦。
• She was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love.她开始尝到了失恋的痛苦。

6 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。