2020-2021学年度第41期总第833期
Nation by numbers  
山西省灵石县第一中学
任立琴
 I. Warm-up
 
Q1. When did the seventh national census begin?
   A. In January        B. In July 
   C. In November     D. In December
 
Q2.  How many staff are involved in the seventh national census?
A. Around 7 million    B. Around 17 million
C. Around 70 million  D. Around 70 billion
Q3. What information is not included in the census?
A. Education     B. Profession
C. Salary            D. Marital status
 
Q4. Who is not included in the census?
A. Persons in China 
B. Chinese living in foreign countries
C. Foreigners in China for a short stay   
D. Foreigners working or living in China 
 
II. Read for general information
Predict: What topics will be talked about in the article?

Nation by numbers 
第七次全国人口普查结果出炉 
Who did the census?
When?
How?
Why?
What were the results?
 Read the article and check your prediction.
When? para 1
Why? para 2 
What were the results? para 3-8
Writing style:
 Narrative          Exposition           Argumentation
TIP 1: Exposition is a type of writing to inform or explain information about an issue, subject, method or idea.
 

Main idea: ___________________
_________________________
The data from the seventh national census showed that many things changed, while some things remained unchanged.
III. Read for details
1. List the results of the seventh national census. 

    China’s population on the mainland has grown steadily (para 3).
    The low fertility rate (生育率) has drawn attention (para 4).
    There are concerns about an aging society (para 5).
    China has made achievements in improving the education level (para 6).
    The country also made steady progress in promoting new urbanization (城市化) (para 7).
    The 2020 male-to-female ratio (比率) was the most balanced since the first census in 1953 (para 7).
    China remains the most populous country on the planet (para 8).

TIP 2: A topic sentence is a sentence that states or suggests the main idea or topic of a paragraph. Often a topic sentence comes at the beginning of a paragraph. Sometimes it appears in the middle or at the end.

2. How does the writer organize the information?
 
TIP 3: By using discourse markers, the writer can not only organize sentences into a passage, but also show a link to the previous sentences.
3. What does the national census do?
    Show the demographic (人口的) changes and trends of the country.
    Help the government make policies and offer strong statistical (统计学的) support for the country’s development.

4. Compare the changes.
 
 
 
TIP 4: In an exposition, the writer can develop the passage by using numbers, comparison or classification.

IV. Post-reading
Discussion
How could we deal with the problems caused by the aging scoiety?
deepen healthcare reform;
reform insurance system;
raise the retirement age;
improve and expand the social security system;
accelerate the construction of community service

V. Language focus
Find the following expressions in the article.
    全世界
    发生
    吸引某人的注意
    下一个十年
    导致
    作为回应
    致力于
    与……有关
    生孩子
    across the world
    take place
    draw one's attention
    in the next decade
    result in
    in response
    work on
    be related to
    give birth

     老龄化社会
     缺少
     照顾
     年长的亲属
     ……的数量
     取得成就
     下降到
     取得进步
     组成
    an aging society
    a lack of
    take care of
    elderly relatives
    the number of 
    make achievements
    decline to 
    make progress
    make up

make up
1. 编造
eg. I think it's very unkind of you to make up stories about him.
2. 弥补
eg. After all the delays, we were anxious to make up for lost time.
3. 组成
eg. This made up 15 percent of their total income.
4. 和好
eg. He and his wife usually make up after a fight on the same day.

即学即用
翻译
       
      根据第7次全国人口普查，中国很多方面都发生了改变。比如愿意生孩子的夫妻减少了。即使是在下一个10年，新生儿的数量依然会下降，这一点引起了全世界的关注。同时，老龄化的社会将造成劳动力的缺失和因照顾年长亲属带来的负担。作为回应，中国政府已经采取了相应的措施，致力于减少生孩子和赡养老人带来的压力。

sample:       
According to the seventh national census, great changes have taken place in many respects.
    For example, less couples are willing to give birth to babies. Even in the next decade, the number of newborns will be declining, which has drawn attention. Meanwhile, the aging society may lead to a lack of labor, as well as a heavy burden placed on others to take care of elderly relatives. In response, the Chinese government has taken some related measures to work on reducing pressure related to giving birth and supporting seniors.

V. Language focus
 concern   
一词多义
n. 忧虑，担心；关爱，关心
vt. 担忧；涉及，关系到
词形变化
concerned (adj.) 有关的，担忧的
concerning (prep.) 关于
词块积累
show/express concern about/for
be concerned with 与……有牵连
be concerned about  关心，挂念
as far as I am concerned

即学即用
翻译：
   Our parents are more concerned about our health in the future. As far as I am concerned, we should talk with our parents and tell them our concerns.

我们的父母更关心我们以后的健康。在我看来，我们应该和父母谈谈，告诉他们我们目前的担忧。
VI. Further information