美国国家公共电台 NPR What You Need To Know About The 2020 Census

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Mark your calendars. One year from today, the entire United States will be able to take part in a once-in-a-decade tradition - a headcount of every person living in the country. The numbers from the 2020 census¹ will shape how political power and federal funding are shared over the next 10 years. But there are plenty of challenges to an accurate count, including a Supreme² Court battle. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang covers all things census related and joins us now in the studio.

Hi, Hansi.

HANSI LO WANG, BYLINE³: Good morning.

MARTIN: The 2020 census is going to be different. Right?

WANG: This is going to be a little different. This is going to be the first census in the U.S. to allow all households to either respond online, return a paper form or call a 1-800 number. The Census Bureau is also more than doubling the number of languages you can respond to the census in compared to 2010. New languages include Arabic, Tagalog, Polish, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese⁴ and Japanese.

And there's a change to the race question - really interesting. If you identify as white, you'll be asked to write in your non-Hispanic origins, like German or Irish. Or if you identify as black, you're going to be asked to write in origins like Jamaican or Nigerian. And really important to remember - why do all of these details matter?

MARTIN: Right. Why do we care about the census, Hansi?

WANG: ...This is about everyone getting their fair share based on how many people are living in the country. This is about how we distribute congressional seats and Electoral College votes around this country, to each state. And also, it guides federal funding. More than $800 billion a year is estimated to - for local services, for local communities is distributed based on census numbers.

MARTIN: OK. That matters. But - interesting. They're trying to increase access - right? - to get an accurate count. I know, though, that there has been a looming⁵ debate over whether or not to include a citizenship⁶ question. You've been following that legal dispute. Where do things stand?

WANG: Two federal judges have ruled to block these plans the Trump⁷ administration wants to enact⁸. This is a question that asks - is this person a citizen of the United States? And whether or not it will stay or go, right now it's going to be a final word - we're waiting for final word from the Supreme Court. They're hearing oral arguments on April 23.

And the federal judges that have ruled so far - one in New York, one in California - they've ruled that it violates administrative⁹ law to add this question. And a judge in California has ruled that it's unconstitutional to add this question because it harms the ability of the federal government to count every person in the country, as the Constitution requires.

MARTIN: Right. So you mentioned that part of these changes to make it more accessible is to allow people to fill out responses online. Of course, we live in a time where there are all kinds of talk about cybersecurity threats. Is that an issue here?

WANG: That is certainly an issue. The Census Bureau is really concerned about this. And so they are preparing for, you know, at any given time, more than 100,000 users on the Census Bureau's website that will be launched next year for people to respond online. And so right now, they're working very hard to try to build up the IT infrastructure¹⁰ to try to prevent that website from crashing, to prevent people from hacking¹¹ the information - want to keep that census data confidential¹².

There's also concern about, you know, disinformation campaigns. This is going to be the first social media census, if you will, and also taking place during the presidential race.

MARTIN: So you mentioned all these outstanding questions about the 2020 census. It's real close, though. And it takes a long time to print a census, doesn't it?

WANG: It is very close. You know, one of the most urgent deadline is June. And last week, a Census Bureau official Al Fontenot, he emphasized that the - there's a printing company. They've got two versions of the census form - one with the citizenship question, one without. Let's listen to what he said.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

AL FONTENOT: The printer knows that when the Supreme Court decision is made, we give them the go to start the process with the set of plates they're ready to use.

MARTIN: Amazing.

WANG: Bureau says the printing has to start in June - in July, rather.

MARTIN: NPR's Hansi Lo Wang covering the 2020 census for us. Thanks, Hansi.

WANG: You're welcome.

1 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。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

5 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

6 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

8 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

9 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。

10 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

11 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

12 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。