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Life expectancy in US drops
美国人均寿命缩短1岁

Life expectancy in the US plummeted by an entire year in the first half of 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, the biggest decline since World War II, said a study on Thursday. 
美国疾病控制和预防中心下属机构美国国家卫生统计中心2月18日发布的一项研究显示，由于新冠疫情，2020年上半年，美国人的平均寿命比2019年缩短了整一岁，这是自二战以来的最大跌幅。

Preliminary data from January through June 2020 showed life expectancy at birth for the total US population fell from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77.8 years, the lowest since 2006, according to the study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. "This is a huge decline," said Robert Anderson, who oversees the data for CDC. "You have to go back to World War II, the 1940s, to find a decline like this." 
2020年1月至6月的初步数据显示，美国总人口出生时预期寿命从2019年的78.8岁降至77.8岁，为2006年以来最低。负责监督美国疾病控制和预防中心数据的罗伯特•安德森说："这个降幅很大，美国上一次出现平均寿命下降一岁的情况还是在20世纪40年代的第二次世界大战期间。

"Life expectancy for African American populations dropped the most from 2019, by 2.7 years, to 72 years. Latinos experienced the second-biggest decline, falling 1.9 years since 2019, to a life expectancy of 79.9 years.
 非洲裔美国人的平均寿命为72岁，比2019年下降了2.7岁，下降幅度最大。拉美裔美国人的平均寿命为79.9岁，比2019年下降了1.9岁，跌幅居第二，仅次于非洲裔

重点词汇
1、Life expectancy
预期寿命；平均寿命

小知识：
人均预期寿命，可以反映出一个社会生活质量的高低。社会经济条件、卫生医疗水平限制着人们的寿命。虽然难以预测具体某个人的寿命有多长，但可以通过科学的方法计算并告知在一定的死亡水平下，预期每个人出生时平均可存活的年数，这是根据婴儿和各年龄段人口死亡的情况计算后得出的，是指在现阶段每个人若无意外，应该活到这个年龄。

Mapping site draws criticism
日本'道路族地图'惹争议

A mapping site in Japan that shows areas with noisy children, loud gossipers and other “annoying” people has drawn criticism as promoting intolerance and providing an outlet for disgruntled residents seeking to lash out at their neighbors. 
日本一家地图网站制作了"道路族地图"， 标注了有吵闹的孩子、大声闲聊的人以及其他"惹人烦"的人们出没的地区。该网站因此遭到批评，称此举让人们更加不宽容，为心怀不满的居民发泄对邻居的不满提供了一个出口。

Opened in 2016, the site as of Feb 1 featured 5,973 registered spots nationwide. Clicking the icons on the map will show descriptions of the specific areas, such as “children noisily playing with balls” and “their parents engage in back-fence gossip together for hours.”

该网站于2016年开放，截至2月1日，地图上共有5973个标注点。点击地图上的图标，就会显示特定区域的描述，比如"孩子们大声地玩球"，"他们的父母围在一起闲聊几个小时"。 

Some online users have praised Dorozoku Map for “clearly displaying whether certain areas are tolerant of children’s playful voices and proving helpful for families with children to choose homes to buy.” But others are upset that their areas have appeared on the map.
一些网友对"道路族地图"表示赞赏，称该地图"清楚地显示了某些区域是否能容忍孩子的顽皮声音，这对有孩子的家庭选择买房地段很有帮助。"但其他人对所在地区出现在地图上感到不安。

Norihisa Hashimoto, a professor emeritus of acoustic environment engineering at the Hachinohe Institute of Technology, noted that judgments on whether neighborhood sounds are “irritating noise” can be determined by the individual’s loneliness, stifling mood and other psychological factors.
八户工业大学声环境工程荣誉退休教授桥本德久指出，判断邻里的声音是否是恼人的噪音，可能取决于个人的孤独感、压抑的情绪和其他心理因素。

重点词汇
1、gossiper
n. 爱闲聊的人；搬弄是非者

2、intolerance
英 /ɪnˈtɒlərəns/  美 /ɪnˈtɑːlərəns/ 
n. （尤指对别人的意见）不宽容；偏狭

3、back-fence
英 /fens/  美 /fens/ 
adj. 隔壁邻舍的

Japan appoints a 'Minister of Loneliness'
日本任命首位'孤独大臣'

Japan has appointed a "Minister of Loneliness" to try and reduce loneliness and social isolation among its residents as the country deals with rising suicide rates. 
为了应对自杀率上升，日本任命了一位"孤独大臣"，试图减少国民的孤独感和社交孤立。

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with people more socially isolated than ever, Japan saw a rise in suicides for the first time in 11 years. In October, more people died from suicide than from COVID-19 in Japan in all of 2020.
在2020年新冠疫情期间，由于人们比以往都更加与世隔绝，日本自杀率11年以来首次出现上升。去年10月份日本死于自杀的人比2020年全年死于新冠肺炎的人都要多。 

Studies show that loneliness has been linked to a higher risk of health issues such as heart disease, dementia, and eating disorders. 
研究显示，孤独会增加心脏病、痴呆症和饮食失调等健康问题的风险。

The United Kingdom was the first country to appoint a loneliness minister in 2018, after a 2017 report found that more than 9 million people in the UK said they often or always felt lonely. But the role seems to not be a particularly desirable one, as the UK has gone through three loneliness ministers in three years. Australia has considered creating a similar position.
英国是第一个任命孤独大臣的国家。2017年的一份报告发现，英国逾900万人表示自己经常或总是感到孤独，一年后孤独大臣这个职位就诞生了。但是这个职位似乎不是特别受欢迎，因为英国三年换了三任孤独大臣。澳大利亚也考虑安排一个类似的职位。

重点词汇
1、dementia
英 /dɪˈmenʃə/  美 /dɪˈmenʃə/ 
n. [内科] 痴呆

2、disorder

英 /dɪsˈɔːdə(r)/  美 /dɪsˈɔːrdər/

n. 混乱；骚乱

vt. 使失调；扰乱

Americans will be wearing masks in 2022

美国人2022年仍需戴口

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that it's "possible" Americans will still need to wear masks in 2022 to protect against the coronavirus, even as the US may reach "a significant degree of normality" by the end of this year.

安东尼•福奇博士2月21日表示，尽管今年年底美国也许能达到"一个相当程度的正常状态"，但美国人"可能"到了2022年仍需要戴口罩来防止感染新冠病毒。

"As we get into the fall and the winter, by the end of the year, I agree with (President Joe Biden) completely that we will be approaching a degree of normality," said Fauci, who serves as Biden's chief medical adviser. 

福奇说："我完全同意(拜登总统的观点)，认为今年年底前，在秋冬季来临时我们将迎来一定程度的正常状态。"福奇是拜登的首席医疗顾问。

The Biden administration has been pushing mask-wearing more aggressively than the Trump administration did, with the President signing an executive order last month mandating interstate travelers wear a mask and requiring masks on federal property. Biden also challenged Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days of his presidency to reduce the spread of the virus.

拜登领导的美国政府相比特朗普政府更为积极地推行戴口罩。上个月拜登总统签署了一条行政令，命令跨州旅行者佩戴口罩，并规定联邦地产上必须佩戴口罩。拜登还向美国人发起了百日口罩挑战，敦促民众在其就任总统的头100天坚持戴口罩，以减少病毒传播。

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