VOA新闻杂志2023 韩国启用周岁计龄法

Many South Koreans are now one or two years younger after the nation changed the way it counted ages on Wednesday.

在韩国于周三改变了年龄计算方法后，许多韩国人现在年轻了一两岁。

A new law will bring South Korea¹ in line with how most countries around the world count a person's age.

一项新法律将使韩国与世界上大多数国家的年龄计算方式保持一致。

In the past, South Korea used a traditional age-counting method that considered a baby one year of age at birth.

过去，韩国使用传统的年龄计算方法，即在婴儿出生时就算作一岁。

People then turned a year older every January 1.

每年1月1日，人们都会新增一岁。

That means² that a child born in December would turn 2 shortly³ after birth.

这意味着12月出生的孩子在出生后不久就会满2岁。

One young girl told a local television station: "I turned 6 and then I became 5 again."

一个小女孩告诉当地电视台：“我刚满6岁，然后又变成了5岁。”

Some South Koreans became two years younger.

一些韩国人年轻了两岁。

Oh Seung-youl went from 63 to 61.

吴承佑从63岁变成了61岁。

"It's always good to be younger," he said with a laugh.

他笑着说：“年轻一点总是好的”。

One person, however, reminded people that the new age-counting plan does not change a person's true age.

然而，有人提醒人们，新的计龄计划并不会改变人的真实年龄。

Choi Eun-young is now 49.

崔恩英现年49岁。

She used to be 50.

她曾经50岁。

"The law doesn't make you biologically younger and there are no real benefits⁴ other than feeling good about being called a year younger than before," she said.

她说：“这项法律并没有让你在生理上变得更年轻，除了被称比以前年轻一岁之外，没有什么真正的好处。”

President Yoon Suk Yeol said updating all South Korean's ages to the international norm⁵ was an important goal for his government.

韩国总统尹锡悦表示，让所有韩国人的年龄更新为国际标准是他的政府的一个重要目标。

He said he wanted to reduce "social and administrative⁶ confusion⁷."

他说，他希望减少“社会和行政混乱”。

But government officials said the new law does not change how South Koreans receive public services and benefits.

但政府官员表示，新法律不会改变韩国人获得公共服务和福利的方式。

They were always based on the international standard.

它们一直都是以国际标准为基础。

So were rules about when a child starts school, when a young person is permitted⁸ to drive a car, and when an adult can get a pension⁹.

关于孩子什么时候开始上学，年轻人什么时候可以开车，成年人什么时候可以领取养老金的规定也是如此。

Kim Si-eun said she already misses the old method of age-counting.

金世恩说，她已经开始怀念旧的计龄法了。

She is 21 years old. She said the old way seemed easier.

她今年21岁。她说，旧的计龄法似乎更容易。

"With everybody now going with international age, the changed ages feel awkward," Kim said.

金世恩说：“现在每个人都和国际年龄保持一致，改变了的年龄让人感到尴尬”。

Some observers¹⁰ say the change will be helpful in situations such as giving medicine to children.

有些观察人士表示，这一变化在诸如给儿童用药等方面会有所帮助。

Instructions on a box of medicine could say the amount for a 12-year-old is different from an 11-year-old.

药盒上的说明可能会写，12岁儿童和11岁儿童的剂量不同。

However, if the package was made outside of South Korea, it could be hard for South Korean parents to know how much medicine to give their child.

然而，如果包装是在韩国以外的国家生产的，韩国父母可能很难知道给孩子的用药剂量。

One office worker noted¹¹ that South Koreans respect older people.

一名公司职员指出，韩国人尊重老年人。

So if someone is now a bit younger, they may no longer be considered as important in an office or an organization.

因此，如果某人现在年轻了一点，他们在办公室或组织中可能不再被认为是重要的。

"You are losing as much as two years!" said 56-year-old office worker Choi Duck-sang.

56岁的公司职员崔德相说：“你失去了多达两年的时间！”

"Still, I think this is a change that should have been made much earlier. It's a good thing -– the entire nation got younger together," he said.

他说：“尽管如此，我认为这是一个应该更早做出的改变。这是一件好事——整个国家都变得更加年轻了。”

1 Korea   

n.朝鲜(亚洲)

参考例句：

• Korea lies to the east of China.韩国位于中国东面。
• Korea and China are separated by only the Yalu River.朝鲜和中国只隔一条鸭绿江。

2 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

3 shortly   

adv.立即，不久；简略地，简言之

参考例句：

• You go along with him. I'll come shortly.你陪陪他，我马上就来。
• He answered my questions rather shortly.他相当简慢地回答我的问题。

4 benefits   

n.津贴费；利益( benefit的名词复数 )；（给职工的）奖金；救济金；益处

参考例句：

• economic benefits accruing to the country from tourism 旅游业为该国带来的经济效益
• The article enthused about the benefits that the new system would bring. 本文热情赞扬了新制度将带来的好处。

5 norm   

n.标准，规范，平均数

参考例句：

• Of his age,the child is above the norm in arithmetic.在他那个年龄，这个孩子的算术能力是超过标准的。
• These events were aberrations from the norm.这些事件不合常规。

6 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。

7 confusion   

n.困惑，迷乱，混淆，混乱，骚乱

参考例句：

• His answers to my questions have only added to my confusion.他对我的问题的回答只是使我更加困惑不解。
• His unexpected arrival threw us into total confusion.他的突然来访使我们完全不知所措。

8 permitted   

允许( permit的过去式和过去分词 )； 许可； 许用

参考例句：

• Radios are not permitted in the library. 图书馆内不许使用收音机。
• Entrance is permitted only on production of a ticket. 出示门票才可进入。

9 pension   

n.退休金，年金，抚恤金；v.发给退休金

参考例句：

• The country provided a pension to the old person.国家给老人们提供养老金。
• She went to the company to draw her pension.她去公司领退休金。

10 observers   

n.观察者( observer的名词复数 )；遵守者；观测者；目击者

参考例句：

• According to observers, the plane exploded shortly after take-off. 据目击者说，飞机起飞后不久就爆炸了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。