2017考研英語閱讀精選：獨生子女政策終結晚婚假取消

考研英語來源：The Straits Times 2016-01-07　

China officially ends one-child policy, married couples allowed 2 children from Jan 1

獨生子女政策終結，晚婚假取消

BEIJING (AFP)-China officially ended its one-child policy on Sunday (Dec 27) with the signing into law of a Bill allowing all married couples to have a second child as it attempts to cope with an ageing population and shrinking workforce.

法新社北京12月27日消息：周日，中國取消獨生子女政策的法案正式通過，允許已婚夫妻生育第二個孩子，以應對人口老齡化和勞動力短缺。

The change, which was announced in October by the ruling Communist Party, takes effect from Jan 1, the Xinhua news agency reported.

據新華社報道，這一轉變在今年10月份由執政的共產黨提出，并于來年1月1日生效。

All married couples will be allowed to have a second child, but the legislation maintains limits on additional births.

所有已婚夫妻都將允許生育第二胎，但該法案仍然限制二胎之外的計劃外生育。

The "one-child policy", instituted in the late 1970s, restricted most couples to only a single offspring and for years authorities argued that it was a key contributor to China’s economic boom and had prevented 400 million births.

獨生子女政策在上世紀70年代開始推行，限制大多數夫妻只能生育一胎，多年來政府宣稱這一政策是中國經濟繁榮發展的關鍵，并減少了4億新增人口。

It has been enforced by a dedicated national commission with a system of fines for violators and often forced abortions, leading to heartrending tales of loss for would-be parents.

該政策由專門的委員會執行，并對違反者采取罰款制度和強制墮胎，導致許多準父母悲慘的境遇。

The policy led to sex-selective abortions or infanticide targeting girls, because of a centuries-old social preference for boys.

這一政策還導致了選擇性墮胎和殺女嬰行為，這源于千百年來重男輕女的社會形態。

Rural families were already allowed two children if the first was a girl, while ethnic minorities were allowed an extra offspring, leading some to dub it a "one-and-a-half child" policy.

在農村的家庭中，已經允許頭胎是女孩的情況下生育第二胎，少數民族也允許計劃外生育，一些人稱之為“半計劃生育”政策。

As a result China’s population - the world’s largest at 1.37 billion - is now ageing rapidly, gender imbalances are severe, and its workforce is shrinking.

中國擁有13.7億人口，居世界首位，由于人口老齡化開始加速，導致性別嚴重失衡，勞動力也在萎縮。

These concerns led to limited reforms in 2013, including allowing couples to have two children if either of them was an only child, but relatively few have taken up the opportunity due to limited income and higher perceived opportunity costs.

這些因素導致2013年進行了一些有限的改革，其中允許均為獨生子女的夫妻生育二胎，但由于有限的收入和過高預期的機會成本，只有少數人借此機會進行生育。

Experts say that the shift to a two-child policy is likely too little, too late to address China’s looming population crisis and that the government is unlikely to dismantle enforcement mechanisms for reproductive control due to deeply entrenched bureaucratic interests.

專家稱，二胎政策的轉變對于解決中國迫在眉睫的人口危機來說，可能太微小也太遲了，由于根深蒂固的官僚利益，政府不愿意廢除對于生育控制的強制機制。