英語名篇名段背誦精華 39 The tragedy of old age

美國老年的悲劇

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

在美國，老年是個什么樣子？

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

當我們自己老了以后，生活會是什么樣子？

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 .

美國人感到在他們置身于自己的老年或親朋好友的老年之中以前要考慮老年時的狀況是很困難的。

Aging is the neglected stepchild of the human life cycle .

衰老過程是人類生命周期中被忽視的非親生兒。

Though we have begun to examine the socially taboo(忌諱) 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 .

雖然我們已開始研究有關(guān)臨終和死亡這個為社會所忌諱的題目，但是我們卻跳過了死亡來臨之前、稱為老年的那一段漫長的時間。

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

其實對待死亡的問題比對待老年時生活的問題要更容易

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

死亡是富有戲劇性的一次性危機，而老年則一天天一年年都在與強大的內(nèi)外力量抗爭，是一種苦樂參半的逐漸適應自己的個性和生活的過程

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 .

我們之中那些未老的人阻撓我們討論老齡問題，宣稱這一話題是病態(tài)的、枯燥的、粗俗的。

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

其他常見的回避這個問題的方法有在談論時用樂觀的詞語和委婉說法。

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 “(不顯老) or “ gracefully “ (老而莊重).

人們會說到期待“退休年齡”的到來，老人被尊稱為“年長的公民”，“金齡人”，“我們的長者”，而且人們聽說有的老人在怎樣能“不顯老”或“老而莊重”方面成為鼓舞力量和榜樣。

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 .

還有一個人們普遍接受的看法，說社會福利和養(yǎng)老金源源不斷地提供寬裕的可靠的收入，因此老人很少有經(jīng)濟上的擔憂

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

對老人的國家醫(yī)療照顧制度誘使所有的人們放心地認為，晚年疾病造成的那一度可怕的經(jīng)濟負擔已被連根消滅了。

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

廣告和折頁旅行指南展示了輕松快樂、衣著考究的老人享受著娛樂、旅游和兒孫之樂

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 .

。。假如他們不再住在原來的家里，他們就被描繪成退休老人社區(qū)的快活的居民，這些社區(qū)有著像悠閑世界、太陽城一類的名字，綠草如茵、空氣清新、其樂無窮。

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

這就是千百萬公民辛勞地度過他們的工作日時心中期待著要實現(xiàn)的那個美國“金色歲月”的理想。

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

但這并不是全部情況。在人們對老年的流行看法中還貫穿著另一個調(diào)子，

Our colloquialisms （口語）reveal(說明) 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 “靠邊站 , “ down the drain “徒勞無功 , “ finished “ 完蛋了, “ out of date “過時了 , an “ old crock “老廢物, “ fogy “ 老古板, “ geezer “怪老頭兒 , or “ biddy “ 長舌婆.

我們的口語用詞很說明問題：你一旦老了，便“很快枯萎”，“走下坡路”，“靠邊站”，”徒勞無功”，“完蛋了”，“過時了”，是個“老廢物”，“老古板”，“怪老頭兒”或“長舌婆”。

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 .

人們聽到孩子們說他們害怕變老，中年人聲稱他們愿意在壯年過后就死去，而許多老人但愿自己早已死去。

What can we possibly conclude from these discrepant差異性 points of view ?

從這些互相矛盾的看法中我們能夠得出什么樣的結(jié)論呢？

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

可以把流行在我們之中的態(tài)度歸納為癡心妄想和赤裸裸的恐懼的結(jié)合。

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

我們將感情建筑在原始的恐懼、偏見和墨守成規(guī)上而不是建筑在知識和遠見之上。

In reality , the way one experiences old age is contingent upon (與什么有關(guān))physical health , personality 性格, earlier-life experiences早年經(jīng)歷 , the actual circumstances of late –life events 晚年生活具體情形( in what order they occur , how they occur , when they occur ) and the social supports one receives :

事實上，一個人老年經(jīng)歷如何是因下列因素而異的：身體健康狀況、性格、早年經(jīng)歷、晚年事件的具體情形（這些事件發(fā)生之先后順序、情形及具體時間）及他得到的社會支持；

adequate finances , shelter(住處), medical care , social roles , religious support , recreation文化如樂 .是否有足夠的金錢，住處，醫(yī)療，社會任務，宗教支持，文化娛樂。

All of these are crucial 至關(guān)重要的and interconnected elements which together determine the quality of late life .

這一切至關(guān)重要而又相互關(guān)聯(lián)的因素共同決定個人晚年生活的質(zhì)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，也不是天生就是美滿的，正如生命中每一階段一樣，

it has problems , joys , fears , and potentials .

它有難題、歡樂、恐懼和潛力。

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 .

年老的過程及最后的死亡必須最終作為生命周期的自然進程被人們所接受，老人結(jié)束他們各自的壽數(shù)，為年輕人讓路。

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

事實上，老年獨特之處多是由于衰老這一現(xiàn)實及死亡之逼近。

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

老人必須分清并加以利用自己畢生學習和適應的收獲，

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

他們必須在必要時，保持精力和物力，并創(chuàng)造性地加以調(diào)整，使自己適應于衰老過程中必定會經(jīng)歷的變化與損失。

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

老人有著人類更好地進行回顧與觀察的潛在能力，而這是只有在度過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 .

在一生中所積累形成的品格與經(jīng)驗可以從中受益匪淺。

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

但是在美國，個人能有“美好”的老年，度過令人滿意的生命的最后歲月并莊嚴地死去，這個可能性究竟有多大?

Unfortunately , none too good .

不幸的是，不大。

For many elderly Americans old age is a tragedy悲劇 , a period of quiet despair 絕望, deprivation (剝奪), desolation(凄涼孤寂) and muted rage .

對許多美國老年人來說，老年是個悲劇，是沉默絕望，各方面被剝奪、凄涼孤寂、無言的憤怒的時期，

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 .

這種情況可能是一個人過去某種生活和他或她人際關(guān)系上存在的問題造成的后果，

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

同時還要承受無法避免的失去親人或喪失身體機能的痛苦，有些可能會使人難以自拔，無法忍受。

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

這些都是個人的因素，人的生活的一個部分。

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，生活非常充實而日似乎一帆風順的人，晚年也常常是個悲劇。

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

這里就存在著我們認為的美國老年的真正悲劇

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

——我們制造了一個老人極難在其中生活的社會。

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 (虛弱)and isolating(孤獨) through insensitivity(冷漠) , ignorance愚昧 and poverty .

老齡的悲劇并不是在于我們每個人正常變老和死亡，而是在于這過程被冷漠、愚昧和貧困搞得充滿了不必要的，有時是難忍的痛苦屈辱、虛弱與孤獨。

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

晚年生活中取得滿足甚至成功的可能性是確實存在的，而且還遠遠沒有發(fā)掘出來。

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

老人大都為生存在一個冷澹的世界上掙扎著。