整理这种外刊笔记真的太累了，除了导读和正文，有颜色的部分基本都是一个字一个字自己敲的。而且b站的编辑系统太鸡肋，我在b站还需要重新把颜色一个个附着上去。啊啊啊真的希望小伙伴们可以点点赞，我也有动力接着整理下去，太耗时间了。

今日导读：赵钱孙李、周吴郑王……作为世界四大文明古国之一，我国的姓氏文化源远流长。据有关文献记载，在历史的长河中，中国总共出现过两万多个姓氏。光看这个数字，你可能觉得中国人的姓还挺丰富，但和欧美一些国家动辄数十、甚至数百万的姓氏一比，你会发现，中国姓氏的数量实在是太少了。不仅如此，随着时间的推进，如今，中国的姓氏只剩下 6000 多个，而这一数字目前仍在不断下降中。究竟是什么原因导致了中国姓氏的精和少？Eein 老师今天带来的文章就从多个角度分析了这个问题。【本课程首次发布于 2021 年 2 月 3 日】

带着问题听讲解：短语 at play 在文中是什么意思？为什么中国人的姓氏比美国的少？为了防止中国姓氏的进一步减少，专家们采取了什么方法？

正文：（Jan.08 · 2023）Why 1.2 billion people share the same 100 surnames in China

If you stop a random person on the street in China, there's a pretty good chance their surname would be either Wang, Li, Zhang, Liu or Chen.

That's because those are the five most common surnames in China — shared by 30% of the population. And the vast majority of the population share just 100 of those surnames. To put that in perspective, the United States reported 6.3 million surnames in its 2010 census.

There are a few reasons for this: China is less racially diverse than countries such as the US, where a wealth of minority groups increase surname diversity. It also has to do with language; you can't just add a random stroke to a Chinese character and create a new surname.

But there's also another factor at play: technology.

With China roaring into the digital age, nearly everything has moved online — from making appointments to buying train tickets.

The main problem is that not all Chinese characters have been coded into computer systems. That meant a world of trouble if you happened to have a rare character in your name. As of 2017, up to 60 million Chinese citizens faced this predicament, according to Xinhua.

People with rare characters in their names, which aren't compatible with existing computer systems, can get left behind — pushing many to change their names for the sake of convenience, even if it means abandoning centuries of heritage and language.

To try to address this, experts have increased the database from 32, 000 characters to 70, 000 characters, according to the government. They're still working to expand it to include more than 90, 000 characters, said Chen Jiawei, an associate professor at Beijing Normal University.

解析：

Why 1.2 billion people share the same 100 surnames（姓氏=last name，sur-在上,first name是名） in China

为什么 12 亿中国人共用 100 个姓？

If you stop a random（任意的；随机的【the research looked at a random sample of 100 families该研究随机抽取了100个家庭样本进行研究】） person on the street in China, there's a pretty good（adv.很 adj.大（数量，面积，范围等））chance their surname would be either Wang, Li, Zhang, Liu or Chen.

如果你在中国街头随便拦住一个人，那么他们很有可能姓王、李、张、刘或者陈。

That's because those are the five most common surnames in China — shared by 30% of the population. And the vast majority（adj.巨大的 n.大多数） of the population share just 100 of those surnames. To put that in perspective（相较而言perspective n.角度，观点【托福常用转折语total sales for this year reached 10million dollars,and to put this in perspective sales for last year was only 5 million dollars.今年的总销售额达到了1000万美元，而相比之下，去年的总销售额只有500万美元】）, the United States reported 6.3 million surnames in its 2010 census（n.官方的调查，统计）.

这是因为它们是中国最常见的五个姓氏——有 30% 的中国人都以此为姓。而绝大多数中国人使用的姓氏也只有 100 个。相较之下，美国在其 2010 年的人口普查中，统计出了 630 万个姓氏。

There are a few reasons for this: China is less racially diverse（adv.种族上 racial discrimination种族歧视【词义辨析：race 指的是“人种”，一般以体貌特征进行区分；而 nationality 指的则是“民族”，按照文化、习俗进行区分。】，adj.差异的【different 更侧重于两者之间的对比；various 则强调事物的种类繁多；而 diverse 的语气最强，通常用来描述性质完全不同的、差异显著的各类人和物。例句：Emily is completely different from her sister.例句：We had various problems on our journey.搭配短语：people from diverse cultures】） than countries such as the US, where a wealth of（很多的，丰富的=a lot of，【a wealth of information/choices大量的信息，丰富的选择】） minority groups（少数群体，minority n.少数派，majority n.多数派） increase surname diversity（多样性）. It also has to do with（有关。【His mental problems have largely to do with his family.他的心理问题和他的家庭有很大的关系】无关：have noting to do with） language; you can't just add a random stroke（中风；一笔一划【用寥寥数笔就画出了马的轮廓A few strokes form the basic shape of the horse.】） to a Chinese （character文字） and create a new surname.

这其中的差别由几个原因造成：和美国这样的国家相比，中国的种族多元化程度比较低。在美国，大量的少数族裔人群增加了姓氏的多样性。此外，这个差别也和语言有关：你不能随便在汉字上加上一笔，然后创建一个新的姓氏。

But there's also another factor at play（起作用，play作用，影响。the play of market forces 市场的调节作用【影响汽油价格的因素有好几个Several issues are at play in determining the price of gasoline.】at play =come into play 【一个人过去的工作经历影响着他目前的情况Her early work experience came into play in her new situation.】）: technology.

但是，还有另外一个因素也在影响着（中国姓氏的数量）：科技。

With China roaring（吼叫，呼啸而过【一辆警车呼啸而过A police car roared past.】） into the digital age, nearly everything has moved online — from making appointments（预约） to buying train tickets.

随着中国迅速进入数字时代，几乎所有事情都变成了线上办理——从进行预约到购买火车票。

The main problem is that not all Chinese characters have been coded into（编码）computer systems. That meant a world of（大量，许多，后面只能加不可数名词=a wealth of【呼吸一点新鲜空气对我们大有好处A bit of fresh air will do us a world of good.】） trouble if you happened to（happen to 碰巧【当我去逛街时碰巧碰到了前男友I happened to see my ex when I went shopping.】） have a rare character in your name***. As of（美式英语，从何时开始，用现在或者将来时；从何时为止，过去时【从现在起不再有加班费了As of now, there will be no more paid overtime.】） 2017, up to 60 million Chinese citizens faced this predicament（正式，困境，窘境，尴尬的事情【英文释义：a difficult or unpleasant situation

搭配短语：经济困境economic predicament】）, according to Xinhua.

主要的问题是，并不是所有的汉字都被编入了计算机系统中。这意味着，如果你的名字中碰巧有一个生僻字，那就麻烦了。据新华社报道，截至 2017 年，多达 6000 万中国公民面临这一困境。

People with rare characters in their names, which aren't compatible（adj.兼容的，be not compatible不合适不兼容【996的工作结构是无法兼顾家庭的This career structure is not compatible with having a family.形容人：我们并不合适It's a pity we're not compatible.】） with existing（实际上有的）computer systems, can get left behind — pushing many to change their names for the sake of（为了，后面加名词【为了健康他在退休后移居到海滨城市He moved to the seaside for the sake of his health after retirement.】） convenience, even if（即使） it means abandoning centuries of heritage（遗产，传统，literary heritage文学遗产） and language.

对于那些名字中有生僻字的人来说，因为这些字和现有的计算机系统不兼容，所以他们被时代抛下了。为了方便起见，许多人被迫改变了他们的名字，即使这意味着放弃几个世纪以来的家族传统和语言文字。

To try to address（设法解决【solve 更强调“（已经）解决了（某个问题）”，而 address 则强调正在解决的过程中。相关官员举行一个会议去解决市民关心的问题The officials held a meeting to address the residents' concerns.】） this, experts have increased the database from 32,000 characters to 70,000 characters, according to the government. They're still working to expand it to include more than 90,000 characters, said Chen Jiawei, an associate（副职） professor（副教授，an associate research fellow 副研究员） at Beijing Normal（正式的，正规的，规范的；正常的） University（北京师范大学【“师范大学”这个说法最早来自法语，normal 来自法语中的 normale，表示“规范”。师范学校是培养学生成为教师的地方，它的目的正是建立教学的标准和规范。】）.

政府表示，为了解决这个问题，专家们已经将数据库中的汉字从 32000 个增加到了 70000 个。而根据北京师范大学副教授陈佳伟（音）的说法，专家们还在努力将其扩充到超过 90000 个汉字。