雙語(yǔ)閱讀：香港人去內(nèi)地養(yǎng)老.

　　進(jìn)行雙語(yǔ)閱讀是提高英語(yǔ)閱讀能力的好方法，但是選擇英語(yǔ)閱讀材料的時(shí)候，也要多加注意，選擇一些近期比較熱門(mén)的材料，不但能夠提高閱讀能力，而且還能為寫(xiě)作積累素材。下面這段英語(yǔ)小短文講述的是香港人去內(nèi)地養(yǎng)老的情況介紹，以及它的利弊，希望大家看了之后都能有所了解。

　　Hong Kong exports its elderly to mainland

　　Hong Kong has come up with a novel way to deal with the rising costs of an ageing population and a shortage of land: export some of its elderly across the border to mainland China.

　　香港設(shè)計(jì)出了一個(gè)應(yīng)對(duì)老齡人口相關(guān)費(fèi)用日益上漲以及土地短缺問(wèn)題的新方法：將部分老齡人口輸出到邊境線另一邊的中國(guó)內(nèi)地。

　　The Chinese territory is not alone in looking at ways to deal with a problem that is taxing governments across Asia from Japan to Singapore, South Korea and mainland China itself.

　　作為中國(guó)領(lǐng)土一部分的香港并不是唯一正在尋求老齡化應(yīng)對(duì)之策的地區(qū)，老齡化給日本、新加坡、韓國(guó)以及中國(guó)內(nèi)地等亞洲地區(qū)的各國(guó)政府都造成了沉重負(fù)擔(dān)。

　　But its partial solution comes against a backdrop of growing hostility between the people of Hong Kong and their close neighbours.

　　但香港的局部解決方案產(chǎn)生的背景是，香港民眾與他們內(nèi)地近鄰之間的關(guān)系愈發(fā)緊張。

　　In recent years Hong Kong campaigners have denounced “mainland mothers” for occupying maternity beds, when they cross the border to give birth and ensure their children have Hong Kong residency. They have also turned their ire against tourists from the mainland for using up local resources, despite the fact that visitors pour huge amounts of money into the territory. This trend even prompted local lawmakers to consider amending anti-discrimination laws so that calling mainlanders “l(fā)ocusts” would be a racist offence.

　　近年來(lái)，香港的社會(huì)活動(dòng)人士公開(kāi)指責(zé)“內(nèi)地產(chǎn)婦”占用了產(chǎn)房病床，這類(lèi)產(chǎn)婦過(guò)境來(lái)到香港分娩，以確保她們的孩子擁有香港居留權(quán)。香港活動(dòng)人士還把怒火指向了內(nèi)地游客，指責(zé)他們耗盡了香港當(dāng)?shù)刭Y源，雖然他們也給香港帶來(lái)了大規(guī)模資金流入。這一趨勢(shì)甚至促使香港立法當(dāng)局考慮修訂反歧視法規(guī)，稱(chēng)內(nèi)地客為“蝗蟲(chóng)”將被視作一種種族主義違法行為。

　　But now the Hong Kong government, under pressure to provide homes for almost 30,000 elderly people on the waiting list for subsidised residential care, is looking to neighbouring Guangdong province to provide the space, and a partial solution, for its demographic problem.

　　但香港政府目前面臨著巨大壓力，需要向等候名單上的約3萬(wàn)名老年人提供有補(bǔ)貼的院舍護(hù)理服務(wù)。香港政府將希望寄托在了毗鄰的廣東省身上，希望廣東能夠提供土地，并給香港的人口結(jié)構(gòu)問(wèn)題提供一個(gè)局部解決方案。

　　The elderly population, dined as those aged over 65, is set to make up more than a third of the population by 2050. Hong Kong also has one of the highest elderly poverty rates in the developed world.

　　到了2050年，老齡人口——按定義是指年齡超過(guò)65歲的群體——在香港總?cè)丝谥兴急壤A(yù)計(jì)將超過(guò)三分之一。香港同時(shí)也是老年人貧困率最高的發(fā)達(dá)經(jīng)濟(jì)體之一。

　　The scheme will initially be limited to a maximum of 400 places but the need is acute. The average wait of 20-30 months for a place in a residential home means thousands of elderly people die bore they ever get one.

　　新計(jì)劃最初限定于至多400個(gè)宿位，但其所反映的需求非常急迫。養(yǎng)老服務(wù)院舍一個(gè)宿位的平均等待時(shí)長(zhǎng)為20至30個(gè)月，這意味著數(shù)以千計(jì)的老人還沒(méi)等到宿位，就已離世了。

　　Ng Ping Yiu took up a place at a care home across the border bore the new scheme was unveiled. But now that it is due to start in earnest, the 71-year-old has begun recommending the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation’s home in the manufacturing centre of Shenzhen to his friends.

　　吳平耀(Ng Ping Yiu，音譯)早在新計(jì)劃公布以前，就在邊境另一邊的一家護(hù)理中心占了一個(gè)宿位?，F(xiàn)在新計(jì)劃將要真正啟動(dòng)了，這位現(xiàn)年71歲的老人開(kāi)始向朋友們推薦香港康復(fù)會(huì)(Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation)在深圳設(shè)立的護(hù)理中心。深圳是一座制造業(yè)中心城市。

　　“Here, there are mountains, greenery and flowers .?.?. For visiting, it’s not as convenient as Hong Kong, but there’s not that much difference,” says Mr Ng.

　　吳平耀說(shuō)：“這里有山，有綠葉植物和鮮花。。。在來(lái)人探訪方面，這里不像香港那么方便，但也沒(méi)有太大的區(qū)別?！?/p>

　　The shortage of care home places that has taken Mr Ng across the Chinese border is not unique to Hong Kong. Indeed, mainland China will have to consider how it cares for its own elderly, who are set to grow to almost a quarter of the population by 2050.

　　護(hù)理中心宿位短缺促使吳平耀穿過(guò)了中國(guó)邊境，但這一問(wèn)題并非香港所獨(dú)有。正相反，中國(guó)內(nèi)地也需要思考如何為本土老人提供護(hù)理服務(wù);到2050年，老年人占中國(guó)內(nèi)地總?cè)丝诘谋壤龑⑸仙良s四分之一。

　　But Hong Kong’s struggle to house its old people is exacerbated by a shortage of land that has meant its property prices are among the highest in the world. And yet the take-up of mainland residential places by Hong Kong residents has so far been relatively low.

　　但香港為老年群體提供住所的困難因土地供給短缺而進(jìn)一步加大，而土地供給短缺又使香港成為了全球房地產(chǎn)價(jià)格最高的地區(qū)之一。但到目前為止，香港居民入住內(nèi)地護(hù)理院舍宿位的比例一直相對(duì)較低。

　　Shuffling around his home in the Kowloon area while his wife sleeps, 87-year-old Ng Shui Wing could certainly do with more space. The flat, made up of one main room with a kitchen and bathroom attached, has barely enough space to contain their belongings, let alone his wife’s wheelchairs – one of which doubles as a chair because of the lack of room.

　　現(xiàn)年87歲的吳水永(Ng Shui Wing，音譯)在位于香港九龍地區(qū)的家中拖著腳四處走動(dòng)，此時(shí)他的妻子正在睡覺(jué)。毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)，他當(dāng)然希望有更大的空間。這間由一個(gè)主臥、一個(gè)廚房和一個(gè)衛(wèi)生間組成的公寓幾乎沒(méi)有足夠的空間來(lái)放下他們的所有物品，在放下他妻子的輪椅后就更是局促——因?yàn)榭臻g不夠，這副輪椅也承擔(dān)了椅子的雙重作用。

　　Mr Ng has been waiting for a subsidised place in a care home for four years but has no wish to go to Guangdong. “If I went, how would I go at my age? How would I go so far?”

　　過(guò)去四年來(lái)，吳水永一直在等候一個(gè)政府補(bǔ)貼的護(hù)理中心宿位，但他從未產(chǎn)生過(guò)去廣東的念頭?！叭绻乙V東，在我這把年紀(jì)能怎么過(guò)去?我怎么去得了那么遠(yuǎn)的地方?”

　　He is also worried about being separated from his wife, who has had a stroke: “I care for her, I feed her?.?.?.?When I’m at home to look after her it’s better – to have a loved one there.”

　　他還擔(dān)心和自己的妻子分開(kāi)，妻子此前患上了中風(fēng)?！拔艺疹櫵?，喂她吃飯……我在家里照料她的時(shí)候，身邊有一個(gè)相愛(ài)的人，會(huì)更好一點(diǎn)。”

　　Advocates of the scheme – the first applications will be processed in July – believe the government will need to provide incentives, including reassurances about healthcare, for the likes of Mr Ng. In the past, people who retired to the mainland have often travelled back to Hong Kong to receive medical treatment because they cannot afford to pay for it in China.

　　新計(jì)劃的支持者們相信，政府有必要向吳水永這樣的老人提供激勵(lì)機(jī)制，包括向他們就醫(yī)療保健服務(wù)做出保證。過(guò)去，退休之后定居內(nèi)地的老人常常會(huì)返回香港接受治療，因?yàn)樗麄兂袚?dān)不起在內(nèi)地接受治療的費(fèi)用。新計(jì)劃將于今年7月處理首批申請(qǐng)。

　　he Elderly Commission, which was set up to advise the territory’s authorities and first suggested the cross-border housing scheme, has also been -lobbying the Hong Kong government to do more closer to home and make facilities for the -elderly a requirement when it sells land to private developers.

　　香港安老事務(wù)委員會(huì)(Elderly Commission)一直在游說(shuō)香港政府在更靠近香港本土的地方采取更多舉措，并在出售土地給私營(yíng)開(kāi)發(fā)商的時(shí)候，把為老年人提供服務(wù)設(shè)施作為必要條件。

　　該委員會(huì)的宗旨是為香港當(dāng)局提供建議，跨境住房供給計(jì)劃就是其首先提出的。

　　Alfred Chan, a gerontologist who is the commission chairman, says the government “has made the guarantee that the same services planned for everyone should remain the same”.

　　老年學(xué)家陳章明(Alfred Chan)是安老事務(wù)委員會(huì)主席。他表示，香港政府“已經(jīng)做出保證，計(jì)劃向每一個(gè)人提供的同等服務(wù)將保持不變?！?/p>

　　Most agree that the -elderly would prer to grow old closer to home or with family.

　　大多數(shù)人都一致認(rèn)為，老年人會(huì)傾向于在離家更近的地方或者和家人一起度過(guò)晚年。

　　“It’s the culture to look after the elderly,” says -Cheung Moon-wah, general manager of elderly services at the Housing Society, a Hong Kong non-governmental organisation. “We don’t want premature institutionalisation.”

　　非政府組織香港房屋協(xié)會(huì)(Housing Society)負(fù)責(zé)長(zhǎng)者服務(wù)的總經(jīng)理張滿(mǎn)華(-Cheung Moon-wah)表示：“照顧老年人是我們文化的一部分。我們不想要過(guò)于早熟的體制化?！?/p>

　　Meanwhile, the waiting lists for residential care places in Hong Kong grows and the prospects remain stark. “We’re not forcing the elderly to go to Guangdong or the mainland to grow old,” says Ng Hang-sau, chi executive of the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation, which helps the disabled, chronically ill and aged. “This [scheme] just gives one more option to Hong Kong residents.

　　與此同時(shí)，香港養(yǎng)老院舍宿位的等候入住名單卻越來(lái)越長(zhǎng)，未來(lái)的前景依然嚴(yán)峻。香港康復(fù)會(huì)首席執(zhí)行官伍杏修(Ng Hang-sau)表示：“我們并不是在強(qiáng)迫老年人去廣東或者內(nèi)地養(yǎng)老。這一計(jì)劃僅僅是向香港居民提供了一個(gè)新的選擇。”香港康復(fù)會(huì)主要向殘疾人、慢性病患者以及老年群體提供幫助。

　　“[But] if they are number 50 on the waiting list and they choose to come to the mainland, they can get a place quite quickly. If they choose not to, they continue to be number 50 on the list.”

　　“但如果他們目前在等候名單上排在第50位，而他們選擇前往內(nèi)地，就能很快得到一個(gè)護(hù)理宿位。否則，他們?nèi)詫⒅皇敲麊紊系牡?0位?！?/p>

　　以上的英語(yǔ)小短文，詳細(xì)的介紹了香港人去內(nèi)地養(yǎng)老的情況，以及某些人對(duì)于這一政策的看法，相信大家都能很了解了吧。選擇合適的英語(yǔ)閱讀材料，才能更加有效的提高英語(yǔ)水平，希望這篇文章能夠?qū)Υ蠹矣兴鶐椭?/p>