VOA慢速英语2021--美国人口增长放缓

The United States population has slowed to its lowest rate since the 1930s, the Census¹ Bureau said Monday.

Every ten years, the Census Bureau counts the country's people. The total U.S. population is now 331,449,281. It is 7.4 percent more than ten years ago, but the second slowest increase ever. Experts say the slow rate is due to an older population, less immigration and the effects of the Great Recession. The 2008 economic crisis led many young adults to wait to get married and have families, which slowed the birthrate.

The only slower growth of the U.S. population growth was in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. The slow rate in the 2010s had a similar start because of the Great Recession and the long recovery that followed.

Demographers⁴ do not think population growth will pick up soon, and some believe growth may slow down even more. Americans are getting older — the median age in the U.S. is 38, up one year from 37 in 2010. Immigration had been decreasing, and the pandemic mostly ended it.

William Frey is a demographer³ with the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

"Unlike the Great Depression, it's part of a process where we're likely to keep having slow growth," Frey said.

A slowing population growth may create problems for the country's future.

John Lettieri is the president of the Economic Innovation Group. He said that the U.S. now has more Americans aged⁵ 80 or older than 2 or younger.

"The big demographic advantage the U.S. once enjoyed over other rich nations has evaporated," he wrote in a tweet.

The census is also politically important because the number of congressional seats in each state is decided⁶ by its population. The 2020 census data shows that Americans are continuing to move to Republican-run states in the south and west. For now, that gives Republicans a chance to win many seats in the U.S. House and possibly win back control.

Several Republican states have gained congressional seats. Texas, the state with the second-most people, was the biggest winner. It added two congressional seats. Florida and North Carolina each gained one. Colorado, Montana and Oregon all grew in population and gained a seat each. States losing seats included the Democratic states of Illinois, Michigan, and New York.

In the long term, however, migration² may not be good news for Republicans. Many of the fastest growing states in the south and west are bringing in younger people and minorities, groups that usually vote Democratic.

William Fulton is the director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University in Houston.

He said Texas is becoming the new California—a large state that is adding a lot of people. California still has 10 million more people than Texas, but many are moving. The cost of living in California can be very high, and people are leaving for other western states. That migration helped make Colorado and Nevada Democratic.

"That's the California exodus⁷," Frey said. "Californians are taking their votes and moving to other places."

Words in This Story

demography⁸ -n. the study of changes (such as the number of births, deaths, marriages, and illnesses) that occur over a period of time in human populations

median – adj. the middle value in a series of values arranged from smallest to largest

advantage -n. something (such as a good position or condition) that helps to make someone or something better or more likely to succeed than others

evaporate –v. to go away suddenly, to disappear or vanish

exodus –n. a situation in which many people leave a place at the same time — usually singular

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 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

3 demographer   

n.人口统计学家

参考例句：

• Professor Antonio Golini is a demographer at the University of Rome. 罗马大学安东尼奥教授是位人口统计学家。 来自互联网
• Demographer William Frey says immigrants with young families will help keep the United States competitive. 人口统计学家佛瑞表示这些年轻的家庭会帮助美国保持竞争力。 来自互联网

4 demographers   

n.人口统计学( demography的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Demographers, however, point out that the'single" trend will have a profound effect on American institutions. 不过，人口学家们指出，“单身”趋势将对美国的公共机构产生深远的影响。 来自时文部分
• Selectivity of human migration long been the focus of demographers and economists. 人口迁移的选择性一直以来都是人口学家和经济学家关注的焦点。 来自互联网

5 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

8 demography   

n.人口统计，人口学

参考例句：

• Demography is the analysis of population variables.人口学是对人口变量的分析。
• It was once a rule of demography that people have fewer children as their countries get richer.按人口统计学的一贯规律，一个国家里的人民越富有，他们所拥有的孩子就越少。