高考英语外刊阅读理解训练：印度人口即将超过中国，这意味着什么
本文节选自：The New York Times（纽约时报）
发布时间：2023.4.21
作者：ALEX TRAVELLI, WEIYI CAItromso
原文标题：Will This Be the ‘Indian Century’? Four Key Questions
India is on the cusp of passing C-hina in population, according to the latest U.N. estimates. At 1.428 billion people, I-ndia has already edged past Mainland of China, the data show, and it will soon surpass the Mainland of China and Hong Kong combined. With China’s population declining, the margin between the two countries will only grow as India becomes the most populous country in history. What had long been the world’s largest democracy is now, simply, the world’s largest everything.
The gentle slope of the demographic curve propelling India into first place looks enviable to
the many developed nations that are rapidly aging. Indians are living longer, and the number of babies being born each year has barely budged. Unlike China, India faces no steep drop-off and accompanying economic and social dangers. It has a young and expanding work force as China’s grays and contracts. In some of India’s regions, the population is still growing too fast for their economies, producing many more able-bodied young people than there are jobs to occupy them.
Having a fast-expanding young work force could be a big opportunity — or a disaster. India is a country primed to work. More than two-thirds of all Indians are between the ages of 15 and 59. The country’s ratio of children and retirees to working-age adults is remarkably low. But this opportunity comes with huge challenges. That “demographic dividend” could instead become something like a disaster. In some recent years, India has squeaked past China to claim the title of fastest-growing major economy. But it has never expanded fast enough to produce sufficient formal employment for everyone. The country needs about nine million new jobs every year just to keep pace; the annual shortfall helps relegate many to India’s old standby, agricultural work.
Most people in India lack the means to be “unemployed” – in the work force but without a job. Underemployment is the more discreet danger. Wages have been stagnant for eight years, according to an analysis by Jean Drèze, an economist at Delhi University. Economic growth without an equivalent increa in jobs makes India’s massively unequal society even more so, raising the potential for unrest.
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Women work outside the home at lower rates in India than almost any other country, a huge roadblock for economic expansion. India has one of the world’s lowest rates of formal employment for women: about one in five. China’s is almost double that rate, higher than the United States’ and the world average. An economy cannot meet its potential when it draws on the contributions of so few women.
andy parker阅读理解：
1. What is the current population of India?
医院会计制度A. 1.428 billion people
B. 1.4 billion people
C. 1.3 billion people
D. 2 billion people
popo是什么2. What is the demographic curve of India like?
A. It is gently sloping.
B. It is steeply sloping.
C. It is flat.
D. It is unpredictable.
3. What is the ratio of children and retirees to working-age adults in India?
A. High
B. Low
C. Average
D. Unknown
4. What is a major challenge for India's fast-expanding young workforce?
A. Not having enough jobs available.
B. Being overpaid which will lead to inflation.
C. Being underqualified for many jobs.
D. Not being interested in formal employment.
5. What is one of the roadblocks for India's economic expansion?
A. The country's young and expanding workforce.
B. Underemployment.
C. The high rate of formal employment for women.
D. Women working outside the home at lower rates.
答案：AABAD
熟词复习：
1. Cusp: 界限，转折点；
2. Population: 人口；
3. U.N. (United Nations): 联合国；
4. Estimates: 估计数据；
5. Mainland: 大陆；
6. China: 中国；
7. Data: 数据；
8. Surpass: 超过；
9. Hong Kong: 香港；
10. Combined: 合计；
英国大学排名2014
据有11. Margin: 差距；
12. Populous: 人口众多的；
13. Democracy: 民主；
14. Developed: 发达的；
15. Aging: 老龄化；
16. Babies: 婴儿；
17. Budged: 移动；
18. Drop-off: 下滑；
19. Accompanying: 伴随的；
20. Economic: 经济的；
21. Social: 社会的；
22. Dangers: 危险；
23. Workforce: 劳动力；
24. Grays: 变老；
25. Contracts: 收缩；
26. Regions: 地区；
27. Economies: 经济体系；
28. Able-bodied: 有劳动力的；
29. Opportunities: 机会；
30. Disaster: 灾难；
初中生英语作文
31. Primed: 准备好的；
32. Ratio: 比率；
33. Retirees: 退休人员；
34. Working-age: 适龄劳动人口的；
35. Remarkably: 显著地；
36. Low: 低的；
37. Dividend: 红利；
38. Squeaked past: 勉强超过；
39. Fastest-growing: 增长最快的；
40. Major: 主要的；
41. Economy: 经济；
42. Sufficient: 充分的；
43. Formal: 正式的；kuno
44. Employment: 就业；
45. Underemployment: 低收入就业；
46. Stagnant: 停滞不前的；
47. Massively: 极大地；
48. Unequal: 不平等的；
49. Rates: 比率；
50. Roadblock: 障碍
新词积累：
1.squeakpavement英/ skwiːk /美/ skwiːk /
v.吱吱叫，嘎吱作响；紧张（或激动）得尖声说；<非正式>勉强通过，侥幸成功；<非正式>告密，告发
n.吱吱声，短促的尖叫声；只言片语；<非正式>机会
2.relegate英/ ˈrelɪɡeɪt /美/ ˈrelɪɡeɪt /
v.贬低，使降级；<英>把（球队）降级；<正式>托付，交付
3.roadblock英/ ˈrəʊdblɒk /美/ ˈroʊdblɑːk /
n.路障；障碍物
vi.设置路障
◆词组搭配
1.on the cusp 在交点上；在尖端上
2.keep pace 并驾齐驱；齐步并进
写作句总结
