當提及六級聽力時,尤其是英語六級真題聽力,我們不禁會想起那些考驗英語學習者聽力理解能力的挑戰(zhàn)。作為英語六級考試的重要組成部分,六級聽力部分不僅要求考生能夠捕捉和識別出基本的語言信息,更需要他們在有限的時間內(nèi)對復(fù)雜的語境進行準確理解,并快速作出反應(yīng)。小編為大家整理了2024年6月英語六級真題聽力第一套Recording 2的內(nèi)容,希望能對您有所幫助!
英文原文
Recording 2
錄音2
As the American population grows, so does the number of American moms. But more than a century after Mother's Day became an official holiday, even as that number increases, the share of the American population who are mothers is at the lowest point in a quarter century. It's frequently noted that fertility rates are falling sharply in richer countries. But the less observed consequence of this trend is that a decline in births can also mean a decline in otherhood in general. According to my analysis of data from the Census Bureau, the decline of American motherhood is real, occurring very quickly, and may continue for some time. Yet, not only are moms making up less of the population, but their characteristics are changing too, and in a way that might be linked to their proportional decline.
隨著美國人口的增長,美國媽媽的人數(shù)也在增加。但自母親節(jié)成為官方節(jié)日的一個多世紀以來,盡管這一數(shù)字在增長,但美國人口中母親的比例卻降至25年來的最低點。人們經(jīng)常注意到,富裕國家的生育率急劇下降。但這一趨勢較少被觀察到的后果是,出生率的下降也意味著整體“為人父母”的比例在下降。根據(jù)我對人口普查局數(shù)據(jù)的分析,美國母親比例的下降是真實的,而且發(fā)生得非常迅速,并可能持續(xù)一段時間。然而,不僅母親在總?cè)丝谥兴嫉谋壤谙陆担齻兊奶卣饕苍诎l(fā)生變化,而且變化的方式可能與她們比例下降有關(guān)。
Moms today tend to be older than in the past. Just looking at recent years, the change in age-specific birth rates has been drastic. In just the past few years, the peak child-bearing age range for American women has advanced from that of 25 to 29 to that of 30 to 34. Meanwhile, child-bearing among women under 20 has fallen by half or more, while child-bearing among women 35 and older is rising. One positive consequence of this age shift is that a larger proportion of new mothers are economically prepared to raise children. Less positively, however, many women find that as they age, they can't have as many kids as they would like. Plus, having children later in life can increase the risk of health complications. These finer points aside, one major consequence of the older mom's trend is that fewer years of a woman's life are spent as a mother. This means that at any given time, a larger share of women, and thus of the whole population, will report not having children in government surveys. In other words, later motherhood means less motherhood.
如今的媽媽們往往比過去年紀大。僅從近幾年來看,按年齡劃分的生育率變化幅度很大。就在過去的幾年里,美國女性的最佳生育年齡范圍已經(jīng)從25至29歲提高到30至34歲。與此同時,20歲以下女性的生育率下降了一半或更多,而35歲及以上女性的生育率卻在上升。這一年齡轉(zhuǎn)變的一個積極后果是,更大比例的新媽媽在經(jīng)濟上為撫養(yǎng)孩子做好了準備。然而,不太積極的是,許多女性發(fā)現(xiàn),隨著年齡的增長,她們無法擁有自己想要的孩子數(shù)量。此外,晚年生育可能會增加健康并發(fā)癥的風險。拋開這些細微差別不談,母親年齡偏大的一個主要后果是,女性作為母親的時間減少了。這意味著在任何時候,更大比例的女性,以及因此整個人口中更大比例的人,會在政府調(diào)查中報告自己沒有孩子。換句話說,晚育意味著“為母”的時間更少。
Even as motherhood rates decline, Mother's Day, of course, will endure. In fact, despite the demographic shift, retail spending on the holiday appears to be rising. It is hard to say if Mother's Day spending is rising more than one would expect, given that the American population keeps growing. But one factor might be that the proportion of women who are the mothers of adult children is rising, and those adult children may spend more generously when it comes to celebrating the moms they no longer live with.
盡管母親的比例在下降,但母親節(jié)當然會延續(xù)下去。事實上,盡管人口結(jié)構(gòu)發(fā)生了變化,但節(jié)日的零售支出似乎仍在上升。很難說清楚,考慮到美國人口持續(xù)增長,母親節(jié)的支出是否比人們預(yù)期的增長得更多。但一個可能的因素是,身為成年子女母親的女性比例在上升,而這些成年子女在慶祝不再一起生活的母親時可能會更加慷慨。
Questions 19 to 21are based on the recording you have just heard.
問題19至21是基于您剛剛聽到的錄音。
Question 19: what does the speaker conclude from her analysis of the Census Bureau's data?
問題19:演講者從她對人口普查局數(shù)據(jù)的分析中得出了什么結(jié)論?
Question 20: what does the speaker say is a positive consequence of the age shift in child bearing?
問題20:演講者認為生育年齡變化的一個積極后果是什么?
Question 21: what might be one explanation for the rise in retail spending on Mother's Day?
問題21:母親節(jié)零售消費增長的一個可能原因是什么?
2024年6月英語六級真題聽力第一套Recording 2的發(fā)布,為考生提供了寶貴的備考資料,助力他們提升聽力成績,順利通過考試。