外國人最想和你聊的時事話題：老齡化社會

     Jack: There seem to be a lot of healthy, active elderly people in China. Every day, you can see them exercising in the public parks and caring for children on the playgrounds.
     杰克：中國好像有很多健康且充滿活力的老年人，我們每天都能看到他們在公園里鍛煉身體或者在操場上照看孩子。
     Tom: It is true, but the aging society that caused by the growth of the elderly population also has profound economic implications for Chinese society.
     湯姆：沒錯。但是由于老年人口增多而形成的"老齡化社會"將為中國社會帶來嚴重的經(jīng)濟問題。
     Jack: What are the negative effects of this?
     杰克："老齡化社會"會造成什么樣的不良后果？
     Tom: One problem is that there are fewer people in the active labor force to support those who have retired. Often, pension funds are not enough for seniors to make ends meet and they have to rely on others for support.
     湯姆：其中一個問題就是沒有足夠的勞動力來贍養(yǎng)那些退休的老人。養(yǎng)老金不足以保障老年人的生活，他們不得不依靠其他人來贍養(yǎng)。
     Jack: I've heard that aging parents in China still typically live with their adult children. But, just as in other countries, economic and social changes might upset this traditional system of caring for the old.
     杰克：我聽說在中國，父母到了老年通常都和他們的成年子女在一起生活。但是，正如其他國家那樣，隨著經(jīng)濟與社會的不斷發(fā)展變化，這種傳統(tǒng)的照顧老人的方式也可能被改變。
     Tom: Old people are not likely to become completely dependent on social services. But they may begin to increasingly rely on supplemental community-based services.
     湯姆：老年人不可能完全依靠社會福利事業(yè)，但他們很可能要越來越多地依靠輔助性的社區(qū)服務(wù)。
     Jack: Since senior citizens stop saving and instead begin to spend their savings, this has a serious effect on the macro economy, too.
     杰克：由于老齡人群的儲蓄不再增加，反而開始花費他們的積蓄，這對宏觀經(jīng)濟來說也會產(chǎn)生重大影響。
     Tom: Yes. In an aging society, capital accumulation tends to slow down or even reverse.
     湯姆：是的。在老齡化社會中，資本積累會放慢甚至出現(xiàn)減少的情況。
     Jack: How can societies bring their policies in line with the changing realities of their population structure?
     杰克：社會應(yīng)該如何制定切合結(jié)構(gòu)變化的政策？
     Tom: We need to take appropriate countermeasures now. We must strengthen the social attitude of respect and care for the elderly. People should remember that seniors can still make useful contribution to society.
     湯姆：我們現(xiàn)在就要采取正確的防范措施。我們必須加強尊老愛老的社會意識，我們應(yīng)該記住老年人還是可以為社會做出貢獻的。
     Jack: What about protecting their economic security?
     杰克：我們應(yīng)該怎樣維護老年人的經(jīng)濟保障？
     Tom: The pension system also needs to be protected against corruption and mismanagement. In addition, a growing economy in general will exert a positive and far-reaching impact on our ability to care for the old.
     湯姆：養(yǎng)老金制度也應(yīng)當(dāng)受到保護，要防止出現(xiàn)腐敗以及管理不善的現(xiàn)象。另外，經(jīng)濟的總體發(fā)展也對我們贍養(yǎng)老人的能力產(chǎn)生積極而深遠的影響。