VOA慢速英语2017 Asian Americans Are a Fast-Growing, Diverse Group

The Asian American population is growing faster than any other major ethnic 1 or racial group.

美国亚裔人口的增长速度比其它任何主要种族都要更快。

From 2010 to 2016, 42 percent of the 8.1 million people who came to the United States from a foreign country were from Asia. Thirty-eight percent came from Latin America, 8.6 percent from Europe, and 8 percent from Africa.

从2010年到2016年，从外国来到美国的810万人口之中，有42%来自亚洲。38%来自拉丁美洲，8.6%来自欧洲，还有8%来自非洲。

This information comes from a new U.S. Census 2 Bureau report.

这一信息出自美国人口普查局一份新的报告。

Asian Americans lead in income and education

美国亚裔在收入和教育方面领先

For 2016, the U.S. Census Bureau said Asian Americans had the highest median annual income of all ethnic and racial groups. The median income for Asians was $81,431, about the same as 2015.

美国人口普查局表示，2016年美国亚裔的年度平均收入在所有种族中是最高的。亚裔的平均收入为81431美元，与2015年相当。

That compared to a median income of $59,039 for all Americans.

与此相比，全体美国人的平均收入为59039美元。

Pew said the U.S. Asian population is also better educated.

皮尤调查机构表示，美国亚裔人口同样受到了较好的教育。

About half of Asians 25 and older have a college degree. That compares to 30 percent among all Americans over age 25, Pew said.

皮尤表示，大约有一半年龄不小于25岁的亚裔拥有大学学历。相比之下，年龄25岁以上的全体美国人只有30%（拥有大学学历）。

Along with education, the Pew study also noted 3 a high level of English language skill among Asians.

除了教育，皮尤的调查还指出，亚裔的英语水平很高。

Seven of 10 Asians in the United States, ages 5 and up, speak English proficiently 4, the study said. U.S.-born Asian Americans are more likely to speak English well than foreign-born Asians.

研究表示，美国70%年龄在5岁及以上的亚裔人口熟练掌握英语。美国出生的亚裔人口比国外出生的亚裔人口英语更好。

Stephanie Wong is chapter and membership associate with OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates.

史蒂芬妮·王（Stephanie Wong）是美华协会—美国亚太裔倡导组织（OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates）的地方分会和成员资格助理。

She said the information from the Census Bureau is somewhat misleading because it puts Asian Americans from many different backgrounds into one group.

她表示，美国人口普查局的信息有点误导，因为它将各种背景的美国亚裔分为一组。

“The Asian American population is very diverse,” Wong said. She suspects some Asian Americans do not receive public or private assistance because of the mistaken belief all Asian Americans are doing well economically.

王女士表示，“美国亚裔人口非常多样化。”她怀疑一些美国亚裔没有得到公共和私人援助是因为所有美国亚裔在经济上都表现很好的这种误解。

To point out the diverse economic backgrounds of Asian Americans, the Pew Research Center looked at income levels for people from different Asian countries.

为了说明美国亚裔多样化的经济背景，皮尤研究中心考察了来自不同亚洲国家的群体的收入水平。

In 2015, it said that Indian American households had a median income of $100,000, the highest among Asian Americans. For Filipino-Americans, the median household income was $80,000.

皮尤表示，2015年美国印度裔家庭的年均收入为10万美元，是美国亚裔中最高的。而美国菲律宾裔的家庭年均收入为8万美元。

But the Pew report said eight of the 19 Asian groups it examined had higher poverty rates than the U.S. average. They included the Hmong, Bhutanese and Burmese.

但是皮尤中心报告称，他们调查的19类亚裔群体中，有9类群体的贫困率高于美国平均水平，其中包括苗族人、不丹人和缅甸人。

Twenty-one million and growing

亚裔人口达2100万并继续增长

The Asian American population now stands just short of 21 million people, the Census Bureau reported. That represents just over 6 percent of the American population.

美国人口普查局表示，美国亚裔人口目前略低于2100万人，所占比例略高于美国人口的6%。

In a recent report, the Pew Research Center said Asian Americans likely will become the largest immigrant group in the United States.

皮尤研究中心在最新一份报告中指出，美国亚裔可能将会成为美国最大的移民群体。

In 50 years, Asians should make up 38 percent of all U.S. immigrants, overtaking the current largest immigrant group, Hispanics, the Pew Center said.

50年来，亚裔可能占到了美国所有移民的38%，超过了目前最大的移民群体—西班牙裔美国人。

William Frey researches urban populations, immigration and other issues for the Brookings Institution, a research center based in Washington D.C. He said immigration policies that support educated immigrants are likely to help Asians.

威廉·弗雷（William Frey）在总部位于华盛顿特区的布鲁金斯学会研究城市人口、移民和其它问题。他说，鼓励受过教育的移民的移民政策可能帮助了亚洲人。

But he said changes in American immigration policy could affect immigration from Asia, as well as other parts of the world.

但是他表示，美国移民政策改革可能会影响到亚洲和世界其它地区的移民。

President Donald Trump 5 and some Republicans in Congress have proposed a bill calling on America to reduce the number of legal immigrants admitted into the U.S. each year. They also want to give a preference to well-educated immigrants and/or those with job offers.

川普总统和国会中一些共和党人已经提出了一项法案，呼吁美国减少每年入境美国的合法移民人数。他们还希望优先接受受过良好教育的移民或者拿到雇佣信的移民。

Asian Americans come from 20 nations

美国亚裔来自20个国家

Asian American people come from more than 20 countries in East and Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Each has its own history, language and culture.

美国亚裔来自东亚、东南亚以及印度次大陆的20多个国家。每个国家都有自己的历史、语言和文化。

Some of the biggest growth came from Bhutan, Nepal and Burma, the Pew center reported.

皮尤研究中心表示，不丹、尼泊尔和缅甸（的移民人数）增长最快。

But China continues to be the largest country of origin for Asian Americans. Chinese Americans numbered 4.9 million in 2015, or 24 percent of Asian Americans, Pew reported.

但是中国仍然是美国亚裔最大的原籍国。皮尤表示，2015年美国华裔达到了490万，占到了美国亚裔的24%。

Pew said that India is number two, with nearly 4 million people listing it as their country of origin. The other leading countries of origin for Asian Americans are the Philippines, 3.9 million; Vietnam, nearly 2 million; Korea, 1.8 million; Japan, 1.4 million; and Pakistan, 519,000.

皮尤表示，印度排名第二，大约有4百万人将印度列为他们的原籍国。其它美国亚裔排名靠前的原籍国包括人数为390万的菲律宾，近200万的越南，180万的韩国、140万的日本以及51.9万的巴基斯坦。

I’m Bruce Alpert.

And I'm Jill Robbins.

Words in This Story

census - n. the official process of counting the number of people in a country, city, or town and collecting information about them

median annual income - n. the middle value from a series of yearly earnings 6 from smallest to largest over one year

misleading - adj. not necessarily true

diverse - adj. including many different groups

preference - n. having an advantage

origin - n. where someone came from

proficiently – adv. good at doing something

chapter - n. ?the people in a certain area who make up one section of a large organization?

associate - n.? a member of a group or organization who is at a level that is below the highest level