VOA(听力原文)

The world at 7 billion, and growing
Census Bureau人口普查局Shortage 短缺
fertility: 生育力demographic人口统计学的
dividend股息; 红利
malnourished 营养失调的; 营养不良的
听力原文
The United Nations estimates that the world reached seven billion people on Monday. No one can be sure. The United States Census Bureau does not expect that to happen until March.
Populations are growing faster than economies in many poor countries in Africa and some in Asia. At the same time, low fertility rates in Japan and many European nations have raised concerns about labor shortages.
Population experts at the United Nations estimated that the world reached six billion in October 1999. They predict nine billion by 2050 and 10 billion by the end of the century.
China's population of one and a third billion is currently the world's largest. India is second at 1.2 billion. But India is expected to pass China and reach one and a half billion people around 2025. India will also have one of the world's youngest populations.
Economists say this is a chance for a so-called demographic dividend. India could gain from the skills of young people in a growing economy at a time when other countries have aging populations. But economists say current rates of growth, although high, may not create enough jobs.
Also, the public education system is failing to meet demand and schooling is often of poor quality. Another concern is health care. Nearly half of India's children under the age of five are malnourished.
听写原文
The United Nations estimates that the world reached seven billion people on Monday.
Populations are growing faster than economies in many poor countries in Africa and some in Asia.
At the same time, low fertility rates in Japan and many European nations have raised concerns about labor shortages.
Population experts at the United Nations estimated that the world reached six billion in October 1999. They predict nine billion by 2050 and 10 billion by the end of the century.
China's population of one and a third billion is currently the world's largest. India is second at 1.2 billion. But India is expected to pass China and reach one and a half billion people around 2025.
India will also have one of the world's youngest populations.
Economists say this is a chance for a so-called demographic dividend.
India could gain from the skills of young people in a growing economy at a time when other countries have aging populations.
But economists say current rates of growth, although high, may not create enough jobs.
Also, the public education system is failing to meet demand and schooling is often of poor quality. Another concern is health care. Nearly half of India's children under the age of five are malnourished.
Tiger Mother
虎妈战歌
Comparing American and Chinese Parents 比较中美家长对孩子教育方式差异
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother 《虎妈战歌》
Amy Chua蔡美儿
Yale Law School耶鲁法学院New Haven纽黑文
raise 养大
immigrant移民represent代表
stuffed animal毛绒玩具
insult责骂
sleepover外面过夜
play date同学聚会
school play课外活动
makes fun of 嘲弄
ease放松
low expectation较低期望
assume 采取，承担
fragility脆弱
stirring信号、焦点
intense激烈
retreat退让
Some American parents might think their children need better educations to compete with China and other countries. But how much do the parents themselves need to change?
一些美国家长可能认为他们的孩子需要接受更好的教育，来与中国以及其他国家的孩子竞争。

但家长本身又需要做出多大改变呢？
A new book called "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" by Amy Chua has caused a debate about cultural differences in parenting. Ms. Chua is a professor at the Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, and the mother of two daughters. She was raise d in the American Midwest by immigrant Chinese parents.
蔡美儿（Amy Chua ）撰写的新书《虎妈战歌》引发了一场关于在教育孩子上的文化差异的辩论。

蔡女士是耶鲁大学法学院的一名教授，同时也是2个孩子的妈妈。

她在美国中西部的一个中国移民家庭长大。

In the Chinese culture, the tiger represent s strength and power. In her book, Ms. Chua writes about how she demanded excellence from her daughters. For example, she threatened to burn her daughter's stuffed animal s unless she played a piece of music perfectly. She would insult her daughters if they failed to meet her expectations.
在中华文化中，老虎代表的力量和权势。

蔡女士在她的书中写到了她如何要求女儿表现优异。

例如，她扬言要烧毁女儿的毛绒玩具，除非她们能完美的弹奏一段音乐。

如果达不到她的期望，她就会责骂她们。

Ms. Chua told NBC television that she had a clear list of what her daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were not permitted to do.
蔡女士告诉NBC电视台说，她明确了列出了她女儿索菲亚和路易莎不允许做的事情。

AMY CHUA: "Attend a sleepover, have a play date, watch TV or play computer games, be in a school play, get any grade less than an A."
蔡美儿：“在外面过夜、与同学聚会、看电视或玩电脑游戏、参加课外活动、任何一门成绩低于A，（这些都是不允许的。

）”
Many people have criticize d Amy Chua. Some say her parenting methods were abusive. She even admits that her husband, who is not Chinese, sometimes object ed to her parenting style. But she says that was the way her parents raised her and her three sisters.
许多人批评蔡美儿，有人称她的教育方式是虐待。

她承认，她的丈夫不是华裔，有时也会反对她的教育方式。

但她表示，这就是她的父母教育她们姐妹四个的方式。

Ms. Chua makes fun of her own extreme style of parenting. She says she eased some of the pressure after her younger daughter rebelled and shouted "I hate my life! I hate you!"
蔡女士自嘲自己极端的教育方法。

她说，在她的小女儿反抗并冲她大喊“我恨我的生活，我恨你！”后，她略微放松了部分要求。

Ms. Chua says she decided to retreat when it seemed like there was a risk that she might lose her daughter. But she also says American parents often have low expectations of their children's abilities.
蔡女士说，当她意识到她可能失去女儿时，她决定退让。

但她表示，美国家长通常对孩子能力的期望较低。

AMY CHUA: "One of the biggest differences I see between Western and Chinese parents is that Chinese parents assume strength rather than fragility."
蔡美儿：“我认为中西方父母最大的差异之一就是中国父母更强势。

”
Stacy DeBroff has written four books on parenting.
斯泰西·迪柏夫（Stacy DeBroff）写了四本关于教育孩子的书。

STACY DEBROFF: "The stirring of this intense debate has to do with what does it mean to be a successful parent and what does it mean to be a successful child?"
迪柏夫：“这场激烈辩论的焦点在于怎么才算是一个成功的父母？怎么才算是一个成功的孩子？”
Ms. DeBroff says Amy Chua's parenting style is not limited to Chinese families. She says it represents a traditional way of parenting among immigrants seeking a better future for their children.
迪柏夫称蔡美儿的教育方式不仅限于华人家庭。

它代表着移民家庭望子成龙的传统教育方式。

But she also sees a risk. When children have no time to be social or to follow their own interests, they might not develop other skills that they need to succeed in life. Stacey DeBroff advises parents to develop their own style of parenting and
not just repeat the way they were raised.
但她也看到了这当中的风险。

当孩子没有时间参加社交活动或发展自己的兴趣爱好时，他们可能就无法发展生活中取得成功所需的其他技能。

迪柏夫建议家长找到自己的教育方法，而不是重复上一辈对自己的教育方式。

Less Salt Can Mean More Life
少盐生活，更多健康
单词学习：
heart disease/attack心脏病diet饮食
computer model电脑模型predict预测
reduction减少
gram克
health care医疗保健
stroke中风
new cases新增病例
Stanford University斯坦福大学Columbia University哥伦比亚大学
New England Journal of Medicine
《新英格兰医学期刊》
teaspoon茶匙
blood pressure血压
sodium钠
milligram毫克
salt content盐含量
American Heart Association
美国心脏协会
Mayor市长
National Salt Reduction Initiative
全国减盐行动
critic批评家
government interference政府干涉
calorie能量/卡路里
Seattle Children's Research Institute
西雅图儿童研究所
Pediatrics儿科
count数字
Even a small reduction in salt in the diet can be a big help to the heart. A new study used a computer model to predict how just three gram s less a day would affect heart disease in the United States.
饮食中即使减少少量的盐分，对心脏也会产生很大的帮助。

美国一项最新研究利用电脑模型预测每天减少三克盐将对心脏病产生怎样的影响。

The result: thirteen percent fewer heart attack s. Eight percent fewer stroke s. Four percent fewer deaths. Eleven percent fewer new cases of heart disease. And two hundred forty billion dollars in health care savings.
结果：心脏病发病率减少13%。

中风减少8%。

死亡率降低4%。

新增心脏病患者减少11%。

医疗保健费用节约2400亿美元。

Researchers found it could prevent one hundred thousand heart attacks and ninety-two thousand deaths every year.
研究人员发现，每天减少三克盐可以减少10万人次心脏病发作，减少9.2万心脏病死亡并列。

The study is in the New England Journal of Medicine. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo at the University of California San Francisco, was the lead author. She says people would not even notice a difference in taste with three grams, or one-half teaspoon, less salt per day. The team also included researchers at Stanford and Columbia University.
该研究发表在《新英格兰医学期刊》上。

加州大学旧金山分校的Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo是首席作者。

她表示，每天都饮食中减少三克盐，甚至减少半匙，人在味道上不会注意到有什么差别。

该研究小组还包括斯坦福大学和哥伦比亚大学的研究人员。

Each gram of salt contains four hundred milligram s of sodium, which is how foods may list their salt content.
每克盐中含有400毫克钠，这也是食品标明盐含量的方式。

The government says the average American man eats ten grams of salt a day. The American Heart Association advises no more than three grams for healthy people. It says salt in the American diet has increased fifty percent since the nineteen seventies, while blood pressure s have also risen. Less salt can mean a lower blood pressure.
政府表示，普通的美国男子平均每天使用10克盐。

美国心脏协会建议健康人每天摄入的盐量不超过3克。

该协会表示，自70年代以来，美国饮食中的含盐量增加了50%，同时血压水平也上升。

少吃盐可以降低血压水平。

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is leading an effort called the National Salt Reduction Initiative. The idea is to put pressure on food companies and restaurants. Critic s call it government interference.
纽约市长Michael Bloomberg领导进行了一个叫做“全国减盐行动”(National Salt Reduction Initiative)的项目。

该项目主要是向食品公司和餐馆施加压力。

批评家称这是政府干涉行为。

Mayor Bloomberg has already succeeded in other areas, like requiring fast food places in the city to list calorie information. Now a study by the Seattle Children's Research Institute shows how that idea can influence what parents order for their children.
Bloomberg市长在其他领域已经获得了成功，例如要求该市快餐场所标明能量信息。

现在，西雅图儿童研究所一项研究表明了该项目怎样影响父母为孩子预订饮食。

Ninety-nine parents of three to six year olds took part. Half had McDonald's menus clearly showing how many calories were in each food. The other half got menus without the calorie information.
99名三至六岁孩子的父母参加了调查。

一半的父母手中持有的麦当劳菜单标明了每种食物的能量水平。

另一半所持的菜单则没有能量信息。

Parents given the count s chose an average of one hundred two fewer calories when asked what they would order for their children. Yet there was no difference in calories between the two groups for foods that the parents would have chosen for themselves.
手中持有能量数字的每位父母都为孩子选择了102种能量较少的食物。

而在为自己选择饮食方面，两组在能量选择方面没有差异。

Study leader Pooja Tandon says even small calorie reductions on a regular basis can prevent weight gain over time. The study was published in the journal Pediatrics.
研究负责人Pooja Tandon表示，即使经常减少少量的能量，长期来看也能防止体重增加。

这项研究发表在儿科期刊上。

Are People Who Speak More Than One Language Smarter?
双语能使人更聪明吗？（*只听写黑体部分）
score 得分
intelligence test 智力测试
bilingual 双语的
monolingual 单语的
American Association for the Advancement of Science 美国科学促进会
bilingualism 双语环境/行为executive control system 行为控制系统
cognitive system 认知系统
Stroop Test 斯特鲁测验
salient 显著的
override 压倒，驾驭
dementia (Alzheimer's disease) 老年痴呆症（又名阿尔茨海默氏病）
In the early nineteen fifties, researchers found that people scored lower on intelligence tests if they spoke more than one language. Research in the sixties found the opposite. Bilingual people scored higher than monolinguals--people who speak only one language. So which is it?
上世纪五十年代早期，研究人员发现掌握超过一门语言的人在智力测试上得分更低。

而六十年代研究的发现则恰恰相反，“双语者”比只懂一种语言的“单语者”得分更高。

那么，哪个发现是正确的呢？
Researchers presented their newest studies last month at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The latest evidence shows that being bilingual does not necessarily make people smarter. But researcher Ellen Bialystock says it probably does make you better at certain skills.
研究人员上月在美国科学促进会的一次会议上介绍了他们的最新研究成果。

最新证据表明，通晓双语并不能使人更聪明。

但研究人员艾伦·比雅利斯托克（Ellen Bialystock）表示，它会使你在某些技能上表现更好。

ELLEN BIALYSTOCK: "Imagine driving down the highway. There's many things that could capture your attention and you really need to be able to monitor all of them. Why would bilingualism make you any better at that?"
比雅利斯托克：“想象一下在高速公路上开车，可能会有很多吸引你注意力的东西，你必须能够同时关注所有这一些。

为什么双语环境可能会让你在这方面表现更好呢？”
And the answer, she says, is that bilingual people are often better at controlling their attention -- a function called the executive control system.
她表示，答案就是“双语者”更善于控制自己的注意力，这种能力也被称为行为控制系统。

ELLEN BIALYSTOCK: "It's quite possibly the most important cognitive system we have because it's where all of your decisions about what to attend to, what to ignore, what to process are made."
比雅利斯托克：“这可能是人类具备的最重要的认知系统。

因为你做出专注、忽略、执行的决定时都离不开它。

”
Ms. Bialystock is a psychology professor at York University in Toronto, Canada. She says the best method to measure the executive control system is called the Stroop Test. A person is shown words in different colors. The person has to ignore the word but say the color. The problem is that the words are all names of colors.
比雅利斯托克是加拿大约克大学的心理学教授。

她表示，衡量行为控制系统能力最好的办法是斯特鲁测验（Stroop Test）。

该测试向被测试者展示各种不同颜色的单词。

被测试者需要忽略单词本身，说出字体的颜色。

难点在于，这些单词都是一些颜色的名称。

ELLEN BIALYSTOCK: "So you would have the word blue written in red, but you have to say red. But blue is so salient, it's just lighting up all these circuits in your brain, and you really want to say blue. So you need a mechanism to override that so that you can say red. That's the executive control system."
比雅利斯托克：“因此，“蓝色”这个单词可能是用红色书写的，而你必须说“红色”。

但“蓝色”这两个字非常突出，它一直闪现在你的大脑中，你很想说“蓝色”。

这时你就需要一种抑制该想法的系统，你才能说出红色。

这就是行为控制系统。

”
Her work shows that bilingual people continually practice this function. They have to, because both languages are active in their brain at the same time. They need to suppress one to be able to speak in the other.
她的研究表明，“双语者”在不断锻炼这种能力，因为两种语言同时都在他们大脑中活跃，他们必须抑制一种语言，才能用另一种语言表达。

This mental exercise might help in other ways, too. Researchers say bilingual children are better able to separate a word from its meaning, and more likely to have friends from different cultures. Bilingual adults are often four to five years later than others in developing dementia or Alzheimer's disease.
这一脑力锻炼在其它方面也有所帮助。

研究人员称，双语儿童能更好地区别单词含义，也更有可能结交不同文化背景的朋友。

双语成年人患老年痴呆症（又名阿尔茨海默氏病）的时间要比其他人晚4-5年。

Foreign language study has increased in the United States. But linguist Alison Mackey at Georgetown University points out that English-speaking countries are still far behind the rest of the world.
外语学习在美国有所提升。

但乔治城大学的语言学家艾莉森·麦基（Alison Mackey）指出，英语系国家（在外语学习方面）仍远远落后于世界上其他国家。

ALISON MACKEY: "In England, like in the United States, bilingualism is seen as something special and unique and something to be commented on and perhaps work towards, whereas in many other parts of the world being bilingual is just seen as a natural part of life."
麦基：“英国和美国一样，双语被看作特殊的，惹人评论的东西，也可能是努力的方向。

而在世界上许多其他地方，双语只是生活中很自然的一部分。

”。