第1650期:An ageing population

There’s one thing for certain – we’re all getting older. And while the older amongst us may be no spring chickens any more, growing old gracefully is no bad thing. And with age comes wisdom. However, as the world population ages, will there be enough people to replace our younger selves?

有一件事是肯定的——我们都在变老。虽然我们当中的老年人可能不再是春鸡，但优雅地变老并不是一件坏事。随着年龄的增长，智慧也随之而来。然而，随着世界人口老龄化，会有足够的人来取代我们年轻的自己吗？

A situation where there are more old people than young certainly has an effect on the world. A report by the Pew Research Center says that globally the number of people over 65 years old will triple by 2050, drastically altering some countries’ demographic make-up.

老年人多于年轻人的情况肯定会对世界产生影响。皮尤研究中心的一份报告称，到 2050 年，全球 65 岁以上的人口数量将增加两倍，从而彻底改变一些国家的人口构成。

This growing and dependent population means that there is an increased demand for health and social care. Governments will struggle to provide satisfactory pensions, which are ultimately funded by taxes paid by the working population. And long-term, a smaller population of economically-active people may be a problem for companies trying to recruit staff.

这种不断增长和受抚养的人口意味着对健康和社会护理的需求增加。政府将难以提供令人满意的养老金，而养老金最终是由劳动人口缴纳的税款资助的。从长远来看，较少的从事经济活动的人口对于试图招聘员工的公司来说可能是一个问题。

Attitudes to an ageing population vary around the world. The Pew Research Center survey found that 87% of Japanese people were most concerned about it, while only 26% of people from the USA were. Here, immigration is helping to boost the younger workforce. Some countries thought the elderly should take care of themselves, while others thought it was the responsibility of the family. Many thought the government should be responsible.

世界各地对人口老龄化的态度各不相同。皮尤研究中心的调查发现，87%的日本人对此最为关注，而只有26%的美国人对此表示关注。在这里，移民有助于提振年轻劳动力。一些国家认为老年人应该照顾好自己，而另一些国家则认为这是家庭的责任。许多人认为政府应该对此负责。

But old age shouldn’t just be seen negatively. Elderly people have knowledge and experience they can pass on. Some have wealth which they can spend, helping the economy. And some help society by doing voluntary or charity work. Of course, solutions are needed to tackle the issue, and these include increasing the retirement age, encouraging people to save for the future, persuading skilled and educated migrants to fill labour shortages, or even convincing people to have more children.

但老年不应该仅仅被消极看待。老年人拥有可以传授的知识和经验。有些人拥有可以花掉的财富，帮助经济发展。还有一些人通过做志愿或慈善工作来帮助社会。当然，解决这个问题需要解决方案，其中包括提高退休年龄、鼓励人们为未来储蓄、说服有技能和受过教育的移民来填补劳动力短缺，甚至说服人们生育更多孩子。

词汇表

no spring chicken 不再年轻
gracefully 优雅地，体面地
wisdom 智慧
age 变老，老龄化
demographic make-up 人口构成
dependent 需要被赡养的，依赖他人生活的
social care 社会护理服务
pension 养老金
working population 劳动人口
ageing population 老龄化人口
the elderly 老人，上了年纪的人
old age 老龄，老年
pass on 传授
retirement age 退休年龄