英语名篇名段背诵精华 39 The tragedy of old age

美国老年的悲剧

What is it like to be old in the United States ?

在美国，老年是个什么样子？

What will our own lives be like when we are old ?

当我们自己老了以后，生活会是什么样子？

Americans find it difficult to think about old age until they are propelled into the midst of it by their own aging and that of relatives and friends .

美国人感到在他们置身于自己的老年或亲朋好友的老年之中以前要考虑老年时的状况是很困难的。

Aging is the neglected stepchild of the human life cycle .

衰老过程是人类生命周期中被忽视的非亲生儿。

Though we have begun to examine the socially taboo(忌讳) subjects of dying and death , we have leaped over that that long period of time preceding death , we have leaped over that long period of time preceding death known as old age .

虽然我们已开始研究有关临终和死亡这个为社会所忌讳的题目，但是我们却跳过了死亡来临之前、称为老年的那一段漫长的时间。

In truth , it is easier to manage the problem of death than the problem of living as an old person .

其实对待死亡的问题比对待老年时生活的问题要更容易

Death is a dramatic one-time crisis while old age is a day-by –day and year –by –year confrontation with (对抗)powerful external and internal forces , a bittersweet coming to terms with one’s own personality and one’s life .。

死亡是富有戏剧性的一次性危机，而老年则一天天一年年都在与强大的内外力量抗争，是一种苦乐参半的逐渐适应自己的个性和生活的过程

Those of us who are not old barricade(阻止) ourselves from discussions of old age by declaring the subject morbid , boring or in poor taste .

我们之中那些未老的人阻挠我们讨论老龄问题，宣称这一话题是病态的、枯燥的、粗俗的。

Optimism (乐观)and euphemism(委婉) are other common devices .

其他常见的回避这个问题的方法有在谈论时用乐观的词语和委婉说法。

people will speak of looking forward to their “ retirement years “ . The elderly are described respectfully as “ senior citizens “ , “ golden agers “ , “ our elders “ , and one hears of old people who are considered inspirations and examples of how to “ age well “(不显老) or “ gracefully “ (老而庄重).

人们会说到期待“退休年龄”的到来，老人被尊称为“年长的公民”，“金龄人”，“我们的长者”，而且人们听说有的老人在怎样能“不显老”或“老而庄重”方面成为鼓舞力量和榜样。

There is the popularly accepted opinion that Social Security and pensions provide a comfortable and reliable flow of funds so the elderly have few financial worries .

还有一个人们普遍接受的看法，说社会福利和养老金源源不断地提供宽裕的可靠的收入，因此老人很少有经济上的担忧

Medicare has lulled(麻貔) the population into reassuring itself that the once terrible financial burdens of late-life illnesses are now eradicated .

对老人的国家医疗照顾制度诱使所有的人们放心地认为，晚年疾病造成的那一度可怕的经济负担已被连根消灭了。

Advertisements and travel folders show relaxed , happy , well-dressed older people enjoying recreation (消谴), travel and their grandchildren .

广告和折页旅行指南展示了轻松快乐、衣着考究的老人享受着娱乐、旅游和儿孙之乐

If they are no longer living in the old family home , they are pictured as delighted residents of retirement communities with names like Leisure World and Sun City , with lots of grass , clean air and fun .

。。假如他们不再住在原来的家里，他们就被描绘成退休老人社区的快活的居民，这些社区有着像悠闲世界、太阳城一类的名字，绿草如茵、空气清新、其乐无穷。

This is the American ideal of the “ golden years “ toward which millions of citizens are expectantly toiling through their workdays .

这就是千百万公民辛劳地度过他们的工作日时心中期待着要实现的那个美国“金色岁月”的理想。

But this is not the full story . A second theme runs through the popular view of old age .

但这并不是全部情况。在人们对老年的流行看法中还贯穿着另一个调子，

Our colloquialisms （口语）reveal(说明) a great deal : once you are old you are “ fading fast “很快枯荽 , “ over the hill “ 走下坡路, “ out to pasture “靠边站 , “ down the drain “徒劳无功 , “ finished “ 完蛋了, “ out of date “过时了 , an “ old crock “老废物, “ fogy “ 老古板, “ geezer “怪老头儿 , or “ biddy “ 长舌婆.

我们的口语用词很说明问题：你一旦老了，便“很快枯萎”，“走下坡路”，“靠边站”，”徒劳无功”，“完蛋了”，“过时了”，是个“老废物”，“老古板”，“怪老头儿”或“长舌婆”。

One hears children saying they are afraid to get old , middle-aged people declaring they want to die after they have passed their prime , and numbers of old people wishing they were dead .

人们听到孩子们说他们害怕变老，中年人声称他们愿意在壮年过后就死去，而许多老人但愿自己早已死去。

What can we possibly conclude from these discrepant差异性 points of view ?

从这些互相矛盾的看法中我们能够得出什么样的结论呢？

Our popular attitudes could be summed up as a combination of wishful thinking and stark terror .

可以把流行在我们之中的态度归纳为痴心妄想和赤裸裸的恐惧的结合。

We base our feelings on primitive fears , prejudice(偏见) and stereotypes(墨守成规) rather than on knowledge and insight .

我们将感情建筑在原始的恐惧、偏见和墨守成规上而不是建筑在知识和远见之上。

In reality , the way one experiences old age is contingent upon (与什么有关)physical health , personality 性格, earlier-life experiences早年经历 , the actual circumstances of late –life events 晚年生活具体情形( in what order they occur , how they occur , when they occur ) and the social supports one receives :

事实上，一个人老年经历如何是因下列因素而异的：身体健康状况、性格、早年经历、晚年事件的具体情形（这些事件发生之先后顺序、情形及具体时间）及他得到的社会支持；

adequate finances , shelter(住处), medical care , social roles , religious support , recreation文化如乐 .是否有足够的金钱，住处，医疗，社会任务，宗教支持，文化娱乐。

All of these are crucial 至关重要的and interconnected elements which together determine the quality of late life .

这一切至关重要而又相互关联的因素共同决定个人晚年生活的质量。

Old age is neither inherently miserable (痛苦的)nor inherently sublime(卓越的)---like every stage of life

老年既不是天生就是痛苦的，也不是天生就是美满的，正如生命中每一阶段一样，

it has problems , joys , fears , and potentials .

它有难题、欢乐、恐惧和潜力。

The process of aging and eventual death must ultimately be accepted as the natural progression of the life cycle , the old completing their prescribed life spans and making way for the young .

年老的过程及最后的死亡必须最终作为生命周期的自然进程被人们所接受，老人结束他们各自的寿数，为年轻人让路。

Much that is unique in old age in fact derives from the reality of aging and the imminence (迫近)of death .

事实上，老年独特之处多是由于衰老这一现实及死亡之逼近。

The old must clarify and find use for what they have attained in a lifetime of learning and adapting ;

老人必须分清并加以利用自己毕生学习和适应的收获，

they must conserve strength and resources where necessary and adjust creatively to those changes and losses that occur a part of the aging experience .

他们必须在必要时，保持精力和物力，并创造性地加以调整，使自己适应于衰老过程中必定会经历的变化与损失。

The elderly have the potential for qualities of human reflection and observation which can only come form having lived an entire life span .

老人有着人类更好地进行回顾与观察的潜在能力，而这是只有在度过整整一生之后才能得到的。

There is a lifetime accumulation of personality and experience which is available to be used and enjoyed .

在一生中所积累形成的品格与经验可以从中受益匪浅。

But what are an individual’s chances for a “ good “ old age in America , with satisfying final years and a dignified death ?

但是在美国，个人能有“美好”的老年，度过令人满意的生命的最后岁月并庄严地死去，这个可能性究竟有多大?

Unfortunately , none too good .

不幸的是，不大。

For many elderly Americans old age is a tragedy悲剧 , a period of quiet despair 绝望, deprivation (剥夺), desolation(凄凉孤寂) and muted rage .

对许多美国老年人来说，老年是个悲剧，是沉默绝望，各方面被剥夺、凄凉孤寂、无言的愤怒的时期，

This can be a consequence of the kind of life a person has led in younger years and the problems in his or her relationships with others .

这种情况可能是一个人过去某种生活和他或她人际关系上存在的问题造成的后果，

There are also inevitable personal and physical losses to be sustained , some of which can become overwhelming压抑and unbearable无法忍受的 .

同时还要承受无法避免的失去亲人或丧失身体机能的痛苦，有些可能会使人难以自拔，无法忍受。

All of this is the individual factor , the existential element .

这些都是个人的因素，人的生活的一个部分。

But old age is frequently a tragedy even when the early years have been fulfilling and people seemingly have everything going for them .

但即使在早年，生活非常充实而日似乎一帆风顺的人，晚年也常常是个悲剧。

Herein lies what I consider to be the genuine tragedy of old age in America

这里就存在着我们认为的美国老年的真正悲剧

–we have shaped a society which is extremely harsh to live in when one is old .

——我们制造了一个老人极难在其中生活的社会。

The tragedy of old age is not the fact that each of us must grow old and die but that the process of doing so has been made unnecessarily and at times excruciatingly painful痛苦 , humiliating 屈辱, debilitating (虚弱)and isolating(孤独) through insensitivity(冷漠) , ignorance愚昧 and poverty .

老龄的悲剧并不是在于我们每个人正常变老和死亡，而是在于这过程被冷漠、愚昧和贫困搞得充满了不必要的，有时是难忍的痛苦屈辱、虚弱与孤独。

The potentials for satisfactions and even triumphs in late life are real and vastly underexplored

晚年生活中取得满足甚至成功的可能性是确实存在的，而且还远远没有发掘出来。

For the most part the elderly struggle to exist in an inhospitable world .

老人大都为生存在一个冷澹的世界上挣扎着。