日本人口老齡化

1、“Coping with Senilitin Japan”本文節(jié)選自經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人一篇題為“Coping with Senility in Japan”的 文章。節(jié)選部分以日本老齡人口比重在世界的排名引出討論主題：日 本應(yīng)如何應(yīng)對老齡化帶來的一系列問題。文章接著展開對日本老齡化 問題的討論，首先以老年癡呆為例介紹日本正面臨嚴(yán)重的老齡化問 題，亟待解決，然后肯定日本政府為此做出的努力，繼而指出其不足 之處，最后引用專家觀點(diǎn)對日本政府的表現(xiàn)予以評價。本文結(jié)構(gòu)清楚， 采用列數(shù)據(jù)、舉例子、引用他人話語多種論證方式，說理克制卻有力， 值得賞讀。原文I Japan is one of the planets o

2、ldest societies, pipped only by tiny Monaco for the proportion of elderly in the population.Lengthening life expectancy is a boon for millions of Japanese retirees leading full lives.But it also means a sharp increase in the numbers suffering from dementia.Who, asks Florian Coulmas, an expert on Jap

3、anese ageing, should accept responsibility for people unable to articulate their own interests or care for themselves?7m will need care, the health ministry predicts.Most live at home, putting a strain on relatives.A new survey says three-quarters of people looking after elderly family members are a

4、t their wits end, and many have considered suicide, or worse: last year police recorded 44 cases of murder or attempted murder in such homes.Japan has made strides in coping with the problems of a population with ever fewer young people.The retirement age has been pushed back, and it is not unusual

5、for 70-year-olds to be driving taxis, working as watchmen on building sites and serving in supermarkets.Many elderly say they are keen to keep on working for as long as they are fit. As for dealing with senility, some approaches have been innovative. Convenience stores, everywhere in Japan, offer th

6、emselves as safe havens for wandering pensioners.Phone and car companies have made products with simpler, more intuitive functions.Policy and spending lag, however.Public funding for long-term care for the elderly was the equivalent of just 1.2% of GDP in 2010 versus 3.7% in the Netherlands, accordi

7、ng to the most recent OECD comparison.One reason is that relatives are still the main caregivers in Japan, says Miharu Nakanishi of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science.Family members often quit work and burn through savings to lookafter senile parents.Undaunted, the prime minister, S

8、hinzo Abe, promises that Japan will become an example to the world in dealing with se nility. Among his promises is better funding for research into Alzheimers disease and more money to train 60,000 doctors in its early diagnosis.But much more should be done, including lowering the immigration barri

9、ers that keep out foreign care workers (which Mr Abe shows little sign of doing).Ms Nakanishi says the entire national strategy for dealing with dementia is fragmented.Above all, she says, the government has failed properly to consult with those who actually take care of the elderly.“Coping with Sen

10、ility in Japan The Economist, Apr. 9th.詞匯短語*pip pip v.打敗，擊敗，險勝life expectancy n,預(yù)期壽命，平均壽命*boon bu:n n.恩惠；福利；利益retiree ri,taiari: n.退休人員*dementiadimenja n.癡呆put a strain on 使.(極度)勞累at ones witsend山窮水盡；智窮計盡stride straid n,大步；步幅；進(jìn)展fit fit a.健康的；合適的；恰當(dāng)?shù)?；?zhǔn)備好的*senility siniliti n.衰老；高齡；老態(tài)龍鐘*haven heiv(a)n

11、 n,港口；避難所，安息所pensioner penj(a)na n.領(lǐng)養(yǎng)老金者lag lg vi.滯后undaunted Andomtid a.勇敢的，無畏的*AlzheimerWlzHmi n.阿爾茨海默病，老年癡呆癥(等于 Alzheimers disease)點(diǎn)評I Japan is one of the planets oldest societies, pipped only by tiny Monaco for the proportion of elderly in the population. Lengthening life expectancy is a boon fo

12、r millions of Japanese retirees leading full lives.But it also means a sharp increase in the numbers suffering from dementia.Who, asks Florian Coulmas, an expert on Japanese ageing, should accept responsibility for people unable to articulate their own interests or care for themselves?翻譯：日本是地球上最年長的國

13、家之一，老年人占總?cè)丝诒壤齼H次于 世界第二小國摩納哥。對于日本數(shù)百萬過著充實(shí)生活的退休老人來 說，預(yù)期壽命得以延長是一件好事。但這同時也意味著罹患老年癡呆 的人數(shù)激增。日本老齡化問題專家Florian Coulmas問道，誰應(yīng)該為這 些無法表達(dá)自己喜好、無法照顧自己的人們擔(dān)起責(zé)任？點(diǎn)評:第I段以日本老年人比例居世界第二的數(shù)據(jù)引入文章論述主題: 老齡化問題。本段段內(nèi)銜接由 oldest，elderly，retiree，dementia，ageing， people unable to articulate their own interests or care for themselves 等

14、詞及詞組構(gòu)成的近義詞場完成。句引用老年人比例世界排名結(jié)果， 引出話題：日本老齡化問題。前半句正面介紹日本為最年長的國家之 一，其中限定范圍用詞為planet而非更為常見的world，凸顯日本老 齡化的嚴(yán)重程度。后半句則從反面說明日本老年人比重僅次于摩納 哥，居世界第二，其中tiny點(diǎn)出摩納哥之小，暗示老齡化問題對于大 得多的日本來說是更大的挑戰(zhàn)。句從正反兩方面介紹了老齡化 的影響，兩句由but，also銜接表轉(zhuǎn)折并列，重點(diǎn)強(qiáng)調(diào)老齡化帶來的 問題，為下文探究應(yīng)對措施做鋪墊。句說明老齡化對于過著充實(shí) 退休生活的老人來說是好事。leading full lives動名詞作后置定語修飾 retiree

15、s （句中elderly的下義詞），暗示對其他老人來說不一定是 好事。句轉(zhuǎn)而（But）指出老齡化帶來的嚴(yán)重問題：老年癡呆患者 人數(shù)激增。句則借老齡化問題專家之口順而提出問題：誰應(yīng)該為 日益龐大的癡呆老人群體負(fù)責(zé)？引出下文對于老齡化問題的現(xiàn)狀及 其應(yīng)對措施的論述。people unable.與上句中 suffering from dementia 同義。7m will need care, the health ministry predicts.Most live at home, putting a strain on relatives.A new survey says three-qu

16、arters of people looking after elderly family members are at their wits end , and many have considered suicide, or worse: last year police recorded 44 cases of murder or attempted murder in such homes.翻譯：日本現(xiàn)有500多萬老人罹患癡呆。衛(wèi)生部預(yù)測，到2025年， 將有大約700萬人需要護(hù)理。多數(shù)患者住在家中，成為家人的沉重負(fù) 擔(dān)。一項(xiàng)新的研究顯示照料家中老人的人中，四分之三感到無能為力。 很多

17、人考慮過自殺，甚至出現(xiàn)更糟的結(jié)果：去年警方記錄類似家庭發(fā) 生謀殺與殺人未遂案件共44起。點(diǎn)評：第II段說明老年癡呆問題嚴(yán)重，甚至引發(fā)犯罪。承接上 文，引用數(shù)據(jù)說明老年癡呆患者人數(shù)眾多，且呈增長趨勢。句介 紹目前癡呆老人超過500萬，句引用衛(wèi)生部權(quán)威數(shù)據(jù)說明2025年 這一數(shù)字將增至700萬。直接引用數(shù)據(jù)直觀且有說服力。兩句由時間 狀語by 2025銜接。句介紹了圍繞老年癡呆出現(xiàn)的問題。句 前半句點(diǎn)明前提：多數(shù)癡呆老人住在家中。Most回指上文中提到的 癡呆患者。Putting a strain on動名詞表結(jié)果，說明老年癡呆患者成為 家人的負(fù)擔(dān)。句引用調(diào)查結(jié)果，進(jìn)一步表明老年癡呆帶來的社會 問

18、題，不僅把看護(hù)的家人逼到無路可走，甚至引發(fā)謀殺或殺人未遂等 犯罪案件。Many 指代 people looking after.， such homes 指代有老年 癡呆患者的家庭。putting a strain，at their wits end，suicide， murder or attempted murder由輕到重遞進(jìn)展示了單就老年癡呆疾病帶來的 負(fù)面影響；而 most, three-quarters, many, 44 cases則表明人數(shù)之多， 問題之嚴(yán)重。從患病人數(shù)及疾病的影響兩個方面強(qiáng)調(diào)了老年癡呆的嚴(yán) 重性，為下文轉(zhuǎn)入應(yīng)對措施的討論做鋪墊。Japan has made s

19、trides in coping with the problems of a population with ever fewer young people.The retirement age has been pushed back, and it is not unusual for 70-year-olds to be driving taxis, working as watchmen on building sites and serving in supermarkets.Many elderly say they are keen to keep on working for

20、 as long as they are fit. As for dealing with senility, some approaches have been innovative. Convenience stores, everywhere in Japan, offer themselves as safe havens for wandering pensioners.Phone and car companies have made products with simpler, more intuitive functions.翻譯：日本在應(yīng)對人口老齡化和少子化問題方面已經(jīng)取得了

21、很大進(jìn) 步。退休年齡延遲，70多歲的出租車司機(jī)、建筑工地守門人、超市 工作人員并不少見。很多老年人表示只要身體條件允許，他們很樂意 繼續(xù)工作。日本在應(yīng)對老年人問題方面也有一些創(chuàng)新性舉措。日本隨 處可見的便利店主動為走失的患者提供庇護(hù)所。手機(jī)和汽車公司也生 產(chǎn)了操作更簡單、功能更人性化的產(chǎn)品。點(diǎn)評:第III、IV段從正反兩方面探討日本政府應(yīng)對老齡化問題的措施。 第III段肯定日本政府在應(yīng)對老齡化問題的長足進(jìn)步。句為段落主 旨句，直接點(diǎn)明日本在解決人口問題方面采取了很多有效措施。Stride（大跨步）形象地說明日本取得了很大的成就。with ever fewer young people修飾pop

22、ulation,說明日本面臨的人口問題除了老齡化之外還 有少子化，但是本文重點(diǎn)是老齡化，這里提到少子化是為了進(jìn)一步說 明人口問題的嚴(yán)重性，從而凸顯日本在解決人口問題方面取得成就的 不易。至句具體介紹日本采取的措施，包括延遲退休年齡（）等比較常見的措施，以及創(chuàng)造性的措施（），如便利店 為走失的患者提供安全庇護(hù)（），手機(jī)和汽車公司為患者生產(chǎn)更方 便更人性化的產(chǎn)品（）。句中not unusual說明延長退休年齡這 一措施已經(jīng)得到比較普遍的實(shí)施；句介紹老年人繼續(xù)工作的意愿， 但條件從句從句as long as they are fit（只要還健康）讓人不禁隱隱擔(dān) 憂，畢竟上文提到老年人健康問題堪憂，暗

23、示這些措施還不足以解決 人口問題。句中some approaches也暗示部分措施不那么有效，為 下文日本政府的不足之處做鋪墊。Policy and spending lag, however.Public funding for long -term care for the elderly was the equivalent of just 1.2% of GDP in 2010versus 3.7% in the Netherlands, according to the most recent OECD comparison.One reason is that relatives

24、are still the main caregivers in Japan, says Miharu Nakanishi of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science.Family members often quit work and burn through savings to look after senile parents.翻譯：但是，政策與資金卻有所滯后。經(jīng)合組織最新報告顯示，2010年日本在老人長期護(hù)理方面投入的公共資金僅占國內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值的1.2%,而荷蘭為3.7%。東京都醫(yī)學(xué)綜合研究所的Miharu Nakani

25、shi表 示，原因之一在于日本護(hù)理老人主要依靠家人。家庭成員常為照顧年 老的父母辭掉工作，花光積蓄。點(diǎn)評：第IV段指出日本政府的不足之處。句為段落主旨句，指出 日本政府問題所在。However實(shí)現(xiàn)段落之間的轉(zhuǎn)折銜接，放在句末， 且不加多余修飾，突出強(qiáng)調(diào)policy和spending兩大問題，直擊主題， 簡明扼要。句至論證句。句再次列數(shù)據(jù)，與荷蘭對比， 說明日本在老年人長期護(hù)理方面的公共資金投入過少，just強(qiáng)調(diào)少。 句引用權(quán)威人士觀點(diǎn)一方面說明句的原因，同時也是政策方面 不足的表現(xiàn)：老人護(hù)理過分依賴家人。句補(bǔ)充說明句，指出為 了照顧年邁的父母付出的沉重代價：辭職和花錢。其中burn throu

26、gh 形象地呈現(xiàn)了花錢如流水的景象，說明家人負(fù)擔(dān)重，進(jìn)而直指日本政 府的不足之處。Undaunted, the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, promises that Japan will become an example to the world in dealing with senility. Among his promises is better funding for research into Alzheimers disease and more money to train 60,000 doctors in its early diagnosis.But much more should be done, including lowering the immigration barriers that keep out foreign care workers (which Mr Abe shows little sign of doing).Ms Nakanishi says the entire national strategy for dealing with dementia is fragmented.Above all, she says, the government has f