英语学习论坛的“听力练习区”正式与大家见面啦。欢迎大家来这里练习听力，交流经验，共同进步。

本练习区的音频文件选自英语点津的“听中国日报”、“VOA常速”、“流行金曲”及“名人演讲”等栏目，题材丰富，难度各异，适合不同阶段的英语学习者。

英语点津会定期发布音频材料，大家可以在跟帖中贴出自己听写出的音频文字稿。每个音频材料的标准文字稿会在帖子发布两天后公布。

进入该文章的听写练习页面

Australians must become more productive or risk losing their famously relaxed lifestyle as the population ages and the workforce shrinks. That’s the warning from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

While Australians were urged in the past to "populate or perish", Rudd said the country now needs to boost productivity as the population becomes increasingly elderly and the tax revenue from workers falls.

"It is productivity growth that must play the central role in building Australia's future economic growth," Rudd said in Melbourne late on Monday.

It is estimated that Australia's population will grow from the current 22 million to 36 million by 2050, thanks to surging birth rates and rising immigration.

At the same time, increasing life expectancy means the proportion of those citizens aged 65 or over will jump to almost one in four by that time.

These demographics mean that public finances will be burdened with the increased costs of looking after the elderly, Rudd said.

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Renee Haines is an editor and broadcaster at China Daily. Renee has more than 15 years of experience as a newspaper editor, radio station anchor and news director, news-wire service reporter and bureau chief, magazine writer, book editor and website consultant. She came to China from the United States.