Today we have a lot more on what the U.S. Census Bureau calls "the primary political and administrative divisions of states."
今天我们来更多地谈一谈这个被美国人口普查局称为“国家主要政治和行政区划”的郡县。

There are more than 3,000 counties nationwide.
美国有3000多个郡县。

Most states use the word "county" to describe these subdivisions, or separate areas, within a larger territory. Naturally, there are exceptions to this definition. For example, the southern state of Louisiana is divided up into parishes.
大多数州使用“县”这个词来描述州内的这些分支地区。当然，这个定义也有例外。例如，南部的路易斯安那州被分为各个教区。

The Census Bureau reports that 1,653 counties lost population between 2010 and 2015. That is more than half of all counties nationwide. At the same time, the general population grew by about 4 percent.
美国人口普查局报告称，2010年到2015年期间，美国有1653个县的人口有所下降，这个数字超过了美国所有县总数的一半。与此同时，美国总人口增长了4%左右。

Delaware and Hawaii are the only two states that did not have a single county with a falling population number.
只有特拉华和夏威夷两个州所辖的县中，各县的人口都没有下降。

If not for new immigrants, 194 more U.S. counties would have lost population.
如果不是因为新移民，美国还有194个县的人口会下降。

More people are dying than are being born in more than one-third of all counties. Population experts call this "natural decrease." But that does not always mean their population is shrinking.
美国有三分之一的县的死亡率超过出生率，人口专家称之为“人口自然减少”。但是这并非总是意味着人口正在缩减。

A county's population can grow even when there are more deaths than births. The reason? People are moving there from other parts of the United States or from other countries.
即使一个县的死亡率超过出生率，人口也可能会增长。这是为什么呢？因为人们从美国其它地方或其它国家迁移到这里。

Some news stories have described counties that record more deaths than births as "dying counties." In 2009, the Census Bureau reported natural decrease in 880 counties. In 2012, the Census Bureau estimated natural decrease in 1,135 counties. Most were in rural areas.
一些新闻将死亡率高于出生率的县称之为“正在消失的县”。2009年，美国人口普查局报道称，美国有880个县存在人口自然减少问题。到了2012年，人口普查局预计1135个县存在人口自然减少问题。其中大多数县都在农村地区。

Kenneth Johnson is a professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire. He told the Associated Press that the number of counties with natural decrease is rising not only because there are fewer births than deaths in those areas. He said another reason is an increase in the number of deaths among "baby boomers." The term baby boomer is used to describe the 70 million Americans who were born between 1946 and 1964.
肯尼斯·约翰逊（Kenneth Johnson）是新罕布什尔大学的社会学教授。他对美联社表示，人口自然减少的县在不断增加，这不仅是因为出生人数少于死亡人数，还有一个原因是“婴儿潮一代”中的死亡人数的增加。“婴儿潮一代”这个术语用于描述1946年到1964年之间出生的7千万美国人。

Johnson said, "I expect natural decrease to remain high in the future. These counties are in a pretty steep downward spiral. The young people leave and the older adults stay in place and age."
约翰逊表示，“我预计人口自然减少未来仍然会很高。这些县处于一个相当陡峭的下降螺旋。年轻人都走了，只留下老年人不断老去。”

He adds, "that unless something major changes -- for instance, new development such as a meatpacking plant to attract young Hispanics -- these areas are likely to have more and more natural decrease."
他补充说，“除非有重大变化，例如新的发展，如肉类加工厂吸引西班牙裔年轻人过来。否则这些县的人口自然减少可能会越来越严重。”

About 46 percent of rural counties experienced natural decrease. That compares to 17 percent of counties in populated areas.
大约46%的农村县经历了人口自然减少。相比之下，人口稠密地区只有17%的县有此烦恼。

Experts say counties "die" because they have increasingly-older populations, a low birth rate and a poor economy. They say it is difficult for some areas to retain or attract younger people.
专家表示，县的消亡是因为该县的人口不断老龄化，出生率低和经济不景气。他们说一些地区很难留住或吸引年轻人。

Japan and many European countries have been experiencing natural decrease for many years.
日本和很多欧洲国家已经经历了多年的人口自然减少。

In the United States, the 10 largest counties are in the West, in states such as California, Arizona and Nevada. Some of the smallest counties are in eastern states.
美国最大的10个县都在西部，隶属加州、亚利桑那州和内华达州这些州。一些最小的县都在东部州。

The first counties were created in Virginia in the 1630s. Maryland and Massachusetts established counties a short time later.
美国第一个县于17世纪30年代在弗吉尼亚州建立。不久之后马里兰州和马萨诸塞州也建立了县。

The Census Bureau says there are 3,031 counties nationwide. But the National Association of Counties (NACo) says there are 3,069. Association officials told VOA they use the term "counties" for both county governments and county geographies with county governments.
美国人口普查局表示，全国范围内有3031个县。但是美国全国郡县协会说有3069个县。协会官员对美国之音表示，他们对县政府和县政府内的县级区域都称之为县。