本文音频及原文摘自杂志The Economist《经济学人》2016年第8期，China版块。

Left-behind children

The government recognises a huge problem. Now it must tackle it

Feb 20th 2016 | BEIJING

AROUND 270m people have left China’s countryside to work in urban areas, many of them entrusting their children to the care of a lone parent[=single parent], grandparents, relatives or other guardians. By 2010 there were 61m of these “left-behind children[1]”, according to the All-China Women’s Federation[2]. In a directive[3] released on February 14th, the government has at last shown that it recognises the problems caused by the splintering of so many families. The document[4] acknowledges that there has been a “strong reaction” from the public to the plight of affected children. It describes improving their lot[5] as “urgent”.

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[1]留守儿童

[2]中华全国妇女联合会(全国妇联)

[3](权威性的)指示;指令,命令;指导

[4]=上文directive

[5]n. 份额;许多;命运;阄

▷splinter ['splɪntə]

to  into ,  

裂成碎片The  of the   had  and splintered.塑料罩子的边缘裂成了碎片。

an  ,  a ,  or one困境，窘境the plight of the /穷人／无家可归者的困难处境Few of us can be  by the plight of the  .我们几乎无一不被罗马尼亚孤儿的困难处境所触动。

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That is clearly right. There have been numerous stories in recent years revealing the horrors some of these children endure. Last year four siblings left alone in the south-western province of Guizhou apparently committed suicide[1] by drinking pesticide. Numerous sex-abuse cases[2] involving left-behind children have come to light[3].

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[1]four siblings(who are)left alone

committed suicide作谓语

[2]性侵事件

[3](be revealed or disclosed)暴露;真相大白;众所周知

▷pesticide ['pestɪsaɪd]

a   used to   , ,  , and other  :杀虫剂

The pesticides that   on    , but they can also  people's .

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The new proposals look sensible[1] enough: minors[2] may not be abandoned entirely; local institutions such as schools and hospitals[3] must do more to notify the authorities of cases of abuse or neglect; social workers should monitor the welfare of left-behind children. Sadly, however, the government’s suggested remedies will achieve little. They largely replicate[4] recent laws and policies designed to protect children (not just left-behind ones), which have been almost universally unenforced[5]. It is already illegal to allow minors to live alone, for example. There is no indication that the new recommendations will be made law or implemented any more rigorously[6].

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[2]n. 未成年人；小调；副修科目

[3]当地学校、医院等机构

[4](to make or do something again in exactly the same way)使复现;重复;复制

[5]普遍都没有执行/实施

[6]严厉地;残酷地

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The new scheme mentions the importance of giving migrants urban hukou, or household-registration certificates[1], which are needed to gain access to public services such as education and health care. Most migrants leave their children in the countryside because they do not have such papers[2]. In December the government announced plans to make it easier for migrants to gain urban hukou privileges. But few casual labourers[3] are likely to fulfil the still-onerous conditions that must be met to qualify.

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[1]城市户口，户籍证明

[2]官方文件;身份证;船证,船照;证书

[3]临时劳工;散工;零工

▷onerous ['əʊn(ə)rəs; 'ɒn-]

 to do or  a lot of 繁重的；麻烦的；艰巨的the onerous  of  a  寻找和平解决方案的艰巨任务the onerous  of 为人母的繁重职责

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A study published last year by researchers at Stanford University found that among more than 140,000 children assessed[1] in areas such as education, health and nutrition, left-behind ones performed as well as or better than those living in the countryside with both parents. But both kinds of children lagged far[2] behind those who grow up in cities.

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[1]评估;评定;估价

[2]落后于;拖欠;掉队

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以上言论不代表本人立场。

摘自《经济学人》杂志，仅外语学习之用。

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