跟讀練習: Why China's population is shrinking - 通過影片學習英語口語

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This chart shows

China's birth and death rate over the last 60 years.

For most of it, births are high.

But in 2022, China had more deaths than births, causing its population to decrease for the first time in six decades.

To get why this is such a big deal, consider this.

China is the world's manufacturing superpower, and that's in large part because of its huge population.

Nearly 30 % of the country's economic output comes from manufacturing.

Now here's China's population over the last 60 years.

Even after losing almost a million people in 2022, its population is still about as big as it's ever been — 1 .4 billion people.

But that's projected to shrink by nearly half by the end of the century.

Over the years, China's growth and policies have contributed to its population decline.

Today, it's looking to reverse course, to keep its population steady.

The problem is, it might be too late.

In the 50s under Mao, China experienced one of the most gruesome famines on record.

30 million people died.

If we look at that on the birth and death rates chart, you'll see a big spike in deaths.

At the same time, the birth rate dropped, causing the population to shrink.

But as often happens with wars, famines and other major crises, immediately after, there was a baby boom.

Combined with global medical advances that decreased infant mortality rates, China's average family now had six children.

The birth rate had skyrocketed, which the government saw as a big problem.

The Chinese leadership realized the population was growing too fast and something needs to be done.

The government came out with a policy.

They called it later, longer, fewer.

Later marriages, longer birth intervals, and fewer births.

As a result, China's birth rate started trending down.

But it wasn't low enough for China's leaders.

And in 1980, they implemented the extreme one -child policy, which limited most families to one child.

That policy was also backed up by very harsh measures.

There were campaigns of sterilization, IOD insertion, and induced abortions.

And while these campaigns began during the later longer -fewer era, they were at their worst under the one -child policy,

when China sterilized 20 million men and women and induced nearly 15 million abortions in a single year.

But China had accomplished its goal.

Population growth was under control.

Except, as China would soon realize, these restrictive policies worked a little too well.

In order for any population to stay the same size in the long run, each couple needs to have, on average, 2 .1 children.

This is called the replacement rate.

The idea is that one child replaces one parent, and that 0 .1 makes up for children who die before they become adults.

But China has had a fertility rate that's far below two for over three decades.

To bring that up, in 2016, China finally ended the one -child policy.

And after briefly trying out a three -child policy, in 2021, they finally let families have as many children as they'd like.

But it hasn't worked.

One big reason is the unique family structure produced by the one -child policy.

We're looking at what's called a 4 -to -1 family structure with a couple having four parents above them

and one child below.

Most countries have diverse family structures, some with three kids, others with none.

But with China's 4 -to -1 model, millions of only children are under increasing pressure to care for their aging parents and elderly grandparents.

And this can make having multiple children even harder, especially as the cost of living keeps rising.

A recent survey revealed

that more than 50 % of young people don't want more than one child because of financial and work pressures.

We've seen cash subsidies for additional birth, longer maternal leaves, subsidizes for kindergarten,

and all sorts of monetary support.

Well, the thing is, almost none of them has worked because having a child is exceedingly expensive and it's a lifelong commitment.

And so it's not — it's really actually hard to put a price on this.

But China's population crisis isn't just about babies.

It's also about the balance between young and old.

If we look at population pyramids that show distribution by age, we see that countries like Kenya, with rapid population growth, look like this.

Wide at the bottom, representing a lot of new young people, and narrow at the top.

Countries experiencing slower growth, like the Philippines, are still triangular, but the difference between top and bottom is less pronounced.

Now take a look at China and notice the narrow bottom, so fewer babies, and the heavy top, a larger number of elderly people.

Which is happy.

outcome of our improvement in health and in standard of living,

but combined with sustained low fertility and that just produces sustained population aging.

In 2050, that pyramid is projected to look like this.

And that will further drive down

China's population, shrink its labor force, and put the whole country in a uniquely difficult position.

In the 80s, China became a hotspot for foreign investment, cheap manufacturing and exports.

A generation later, it was shooting up the ranks and becoming one of the world's leading and fastest growing economies by GDP.

But not only did that economic modernization drive birth rates down further, it also didn't translate to an equally strong economy for everyone.

If we look at the GDP per capita, the best indicator we have for standard of living, China is much lower than these high -income countries.

China became a major world economy nearly overnight, but it's still a middle -income country.

Many, especially in rural areas, haven't benefited much from China's economic boom.

And China has yet to develop the necessary safety nets to support its aging population.

To build the social infrastructure,

like the social programs in health care and in pension, It takes time.

And that's getting actually tougher with the economy that's slowing down.

And a slower economy will inevitably redefine

China's role in the world as a manufacturing superpower.

What this means for China,

for the world, is that the resource constraints from within would also constrain the Chinese ambition and its global reach.

In some ways, China isn't alone.

A lot of Asian and European countries are experiencing population declines, too.

What makes China different is how fast this all has happened.

It was only 40 years ago that

China started leveraging its booming population to become an economic superpower, all while still trying to stem population growth.

Now that China's population growth is officially over, China may have to rethink its future, not just as a global superpower,

but for its citizens at home, too.

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本課的詞彙與口語要點

這節口語課以影片“Why China's population is shrinking”為素材。影片中反覆出現的詞有：population, China, birth, rate, policy。這段影片共有 87 個句子、1091 個單詞可供跟讀。講話部分時長為 7:22。說話人語速平穩，每分鐘約 148 個詞，很適合跟讀。 85% 的單詞屬於英語最常用的 3,000 詞，其餘的詞建議在練習前先學一下。

影片中的重點詞彙

影片中 15 個值得學習的單詞，附發音和釋義：

單詞	發音	釋義
fewer	/ˈfjuː.ɚ/	較少 /較少, 更少
chart 名詞	/t͡ʃɑɹt/	圖表 /圖表
decline 動詞	/dɪˈklaɪn/	惡化 /惡化
narrow 形容詞	/ˈnæɹəʊ/	窄
abortion 名詞	/əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/	流產 /流產, 人工流產 /人工流產
decrease 動詞	/dɪˈkɹiːs/	減少 /減少, 下降
elderly 形容詞	/ˈɛldɚli/	老
combine 動詞	/kəmˈbaɪn/	結合 /結合, 組合 /組合
sustain 動詞	/səˈsteɪn/	維持
fertility 名詞	/fɝˈtɪləti/	肥沃, 繁殖力
pyramid 名詞	/ˈpɪɹ.ə.mɪd/	金字塔
famine 名詞	/ˈfæm.ɪn/	饑荒 /饑荒
subsidy 名詞	/ˈsʌbsɪdi/	津貼 /津貼, 補貼 /補貼
infrastructure 名詞	/ˈɪnfɹəˌstɹʌkt͡ʃə/	基礎設施 /基礎設施
commitment 名詞	/kəˈmɪtmənt/	承諾 /承諾

影片中出現的短語動詞

單詞	釋義
slow down 動詞	減速 /減速, 放慢
try out 動詞	試用 /試用

影片中的語法

說話人最常用的結構，並附上影片中的原話：

結構	影片中的用法
現在完成時 have/has + 過去分詞 — 過去發生但與現在仍有關聯的事	it's ever been · have contributed · has had
被動語態 be + 過去分詞 — 強調發生了什麼，而不是誰做的	be done · was also backed · is called

需要注意的發音

說話人用了 10 次縮略和弱讀形式，例如 isn't, didn't, don't。請按聽到的簡短形式來說。

“sh” 和 “zh” 音: abortion /əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/, pension /ˈpɛnʃən/, harsh /ˈhɑɹʃ/, accomplish /əˈkɑm.plɪʃ/, ambition /æmˈbɪʃ.ən/
長單詞——注意重音位置: fertility /fɝˈtɪləti/, infrastructure /ˈɪnfɹəˌstɹʌkt͡ʃə/, monetary /ˈmʌnɪtəɹi/, indicator /ˈɪn.dɪˌkeɪ.tə(ɹ)/, inevitably /ɪˈnɛvɪtəbli/

中文母語者容易讀錯的音：

/v/ — 不要讀成 /w/，上齒輕觸下唇: reveal /ɹɪˈviːl/, reverse /ɹɪˈvɝs/, diverse /daɪˈvɜːs/, overnight /əʊvə(ɹ)ˈnaɪt/, inevitably /ɪˈnɛvɪtəbli/
詞尾子音 — 要讀清楚，後面不要加母音: chart /t͡ʃɑɹt/, decrease /dɪˈkɹiːs/, pyramid /ˈpɪɹ.ə.mɪd/, induce /ɪnˈduːs/, rank /ˈɹæŋk/
/r/ 和 /l/ 的區別: replacement /ɹɪˈpleɪsmənt/, reveal /ɹɪˈviːl/, briefly /ˈbɹiːfli/, translate /tɹænzˈleɪt/, mortality /mɔɹˈtælɪti/

如何用這段影片練習

先完整聽一遍影片，不要開口，記下不認識的單詞。
用正常速度逐句跟讀，每句重複到你的節奏與說話人一致為止。
錄下自己的聲音並與原聲對比，特別注意 fewer, chart, decline 這類單詞。

什麼是跟讀法？

跟讀法 (Shadowing) 是一種有科學依據的語言學習技巧，最初開發用於專業口譯員的培訓，並由多語言者Alexander Arguelles博士普及。這個方法簡單而強大：您在聽英語母語原聲的同時立即大聲重複——就像是一個延遲1-2秒緊跟說話者的影子。與被動聽力或語法練習不同，跟讀法強迫您的大腦和口腔肌肉同時處理並模模擬實的講話模式。研究表明它能顯著提高發音準確性，語調，節奏，連讀，聽力理解和口語流利度——使其成為雅思口語備考和真實英語交流最有效的方法之一。

影子跟讀法: 閱讀完整分步指南 →

跟讀練習: Why China's population is shrinking - 通過影片學習英語口語

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