What is making the world so much older? There are two long-term causes that will continue to show up in the figures for the next

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问题     What is making the world so much older? There are two long-term causes that will continue to show up in the figures for the next few decades. The first of the big causes is that people everywhere are living far longer than they used to, and this trend started with the industrial revolution and has been slowly gathering pace. In 1900 average life expectancy at birth for the world as a whole was only around 30 years, and in rich countries under 50. The figures now are 67 and 78 respectively, and still rising.
    A second, and bigger, cause of the ageing of societies is that people everywhere are having far fewer children, so the younger age groups are much too small to counterbalance the growing number of older people. This trend emerged later than the one for longer lives, first in developed countries and now in poor countries too.

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答案 是什么让世界人口日益老龄化?这是由两个长期原因造成的,并且在未来的几十年里,这些因素还将继续存在下去。第一个主要原因是,与以前相比,现在人们的寿命要长得多,而这一趋势在工业革命时期就初现端倪,之后逐渐变得越来越明显。在1900年,总体而言世界人口在出生时的平均预期寿命大概只有30岁,而富国国民的平均寿命也不到50岁。如今,这两个数字已分别上升至67岁和78岁,而且还在上升当中。 第二个原因就是世界各地新生人口数量越来越少,结果导致年轻人群数量过少,无法和不断增长的老龄人数持平,这也是造成社会老龄化更主要的原因。与人均寿命不断延长的趋势相比,这一趋势出现的时间相对较晚,它首先出现在发达国家,现已蔓延到贫穷国家。

解析     1.第一段首句虽然结构和单词都十分简单,但不宜直译,要想译文能得更高分,需注意以下方面:理解关键词world和older表达的意思,这里不是真的在说“世界变老”,根据下文可知,本篇探讨的是全球人口老龄化的问题,故此处应理解为世界人口老龄化的趋势更加明显;本句用的是现在进行时,表明世界人口老龄化现在正并将会继续加深下去,故翻译时要把“日益,逐步”这一涵义表达出来。本句可以译为:是什么让世界人口日益老龄化?
    2.第一段第二句主句是there be结构,causes后面带了一个由that引导的定语从句,causes在从句中充当主语成分:该定语从句进一步说明这两个causes有什么具体特征——它们在未来的几十年里还将继续存在。causes有两个修饰成分,分别是前面的long-term和后面的定语从句,由于定语从句较长,翻译时若放至causes前,会显得头重脚轻,不符合汉语表达习惯,故将本句断开,先译主句There are two long-term causes,再译从句that will continue...next few decades,在译从句时将从句的逻辑主语补上,即“这些因素”。
    3.第二段首句较长,首先理清句子各部分的逻辑关系:本句介绍的是世界人口日趋老龄化的另一个原因,即people everywhere are having far fewer children,so the younger age groups…;根据so可知,“世界各地新生人口数量越来越少”导致了“年轻人群数量过少,无法和不断增长的老龄人数持平”的局面,而这即为世界人口老龄化的第二个原因。主句的主语cause含三个修饰成分一一a second,bigger和of the ageing of societies,上一段介绍了世界人口老龄化的第一个原因,此处接着介绍下一个原因,故A second宜放在句首译出来,且为避免重复啰嗦,这里不建议译为“造成社会老龄化的另一个原因”,可将bigger和of the ageing of societies置于整个句子的后面一起翻译:这也是造成社会老龄化更主要的原因。如此一来,译文语言显得更为地道和顺畅。
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