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Recording Two
录音二
As the American population grows, so does the number of American moms.
随着美国人口的增长，美国妈妈的数量也在增加。
But more than a century after Mother’s Day became an official holiday, even as that number increases, the share of the American population who are mothers is at the lowest point in a quarter century.
但在母亲节成为官方假日的100多年后，妈妈的数量在增加，妈妈在美国人口中的比例却达到了25年来的最低点。
It's frequently noted that fertility rates are falling sharply in richer countries.
人们常会看到有消息说，更富裕的国家的生育率正在急剧下降。
But the less observed consequence of this trend is that a decline in births can also mean a decline in motherhood in general.
但这个趋势背后不太容易被看见的影响是，出生率的下降也可能意味着母亲这个群体的人口整体在减少。
According to my analysis of data from the Census Bureau, the decline of American motherhood is real, occurring very quickly, and may continue for some time yet.
根据我对人口普查局数据的分析，美国母亲这一群体人口的减少是真实存在的，而且发生得非常快，并且可能还会持续一段时间。
Not only are moms making up less of the population, but their characteristics are changing too and in a way that might be linked to their proportional decline.
妈妈们不仅在人口中所占的比例减少了，她们的特征也在变化，并且可能与她们整个群体人口比例的下降有关。
Moms today tend to be older than in the past.
如今的妈妈通常比过去年纪大。
Just looking at recent years, the change in age-specific birth rates has been drastic.
就拿最近几年来说，特定年龄段的出生率发生了剧烈变化。
In just the past few years, the peak childbearing age range for American women has advanced from that of 25~29 to that of 30~34.
就在过去几年中，美国女性的生育高峰年龄范围已经从25~29岁后移到30~34 岁。
Meanwhile, childbearing among women under 20 has fallen by half or more, while childbearing among women 35 and older is rising.
与此同时，20岁以下女性的生育率下降了一半以上，而35岁及以上女性的生育率则在上升。
One positive consequence of this age shift is that a larger proportion of new mothers are economically prepared to raise children.
这种生育年龄后移的一个积极影响是，在经济上准备好要抚养孩子的新手妈妈的比例有所上升。
Less positively, however, many women find that, as they age, they can't have as many kids as they would like.
然而，另一个相对而言不那么积极的后果是，许多女性发现，随着年龄的增长，她们能生育的孩子数量低于预期。
Plus, having children later in life can increase the risk of health complications.
此外，晚育可能会增加健康并发症的风险。
These finer points aside, one major consequence of the older mom's trend is that fewer years of a woman's life are spent as a mother.
撇开这些细微之处不谈，女性生育年龄后移带来的一个主要后果是，女性生命中作为母亲的时间减少了。
This means that, at any given time, a larger share of women and thus of the whole population, will report not having children in government surveys.
这意味着在任何给定时间，更多的女性，也即整个人口中更多的群体，会在政府调查中报告说没有孩子。
In other words, later motherhood means less motherhood.
换句话说，晚育意味着母亲群体数量减少。
Even as motherhood rates decline, Mother's Day, of course, will endure.
当然，即使母亲群体的比例下降，母亲节仍会持续存在。
In fact, despite the demographic shift, retail spending on the holiday appears to be rising.
事实上，尽管人口结构发生了变化，但该节日期间的零售支出似乎在增加。
It is hard to say if Mother’s Day spending is rising more than one would expect, given that the American population keeps growing.
很难说母亲节相关的花费增长是否超过了人们的预期，毕竟美国人口还在不断增长。
But one factor might be that the proportion of women who are the mothers of adult children is rising and those adult children may spend more generously when it comes to celebrating the moms they no longer live with.
但一个可能的因素是，有成年子女的母亲比例正在上升，这些成年子女在为不再同住的母亲庆祝时，可能会更加慷慨地消费。
Question 19.What does the speaker conclude from her analysis of the Census Bureau's data?
讲话者从她对人口普查局数据的分析中得出了什么结论?
Question 20.What does the speaker say is a positive consequence of the age shift in childbearing?
讲话者说生育年龄变化的一个积极影响是什么?
Question 21.What might be one explanation for the rise in retail spending on Mother's Day?
母亲节期间零售支出增加的一个可能的原因是什么?
