时代周刊 人生长寿而精彩的秘诀(2)

Most of us would like a little bit of that Calment magic, and we’ve made at least some progress.

我们大多数人都想要点儿长寿魔法，在这方面我们也取得了一些成绩。

Life expectancy¹ in the U.S. exceeds the global average, clocking in at just under 79 years.

如今美国人的平均寿命已经超出了全球平均水平，差一点点79岁。

In 1900, it was just over 47 years.

而1900年，美国人的平均寿命才47岁多一点。

The extra decades came courtesy of just the things you’d expect:

多出来的这几十岁恰好得益于大家也能想到的一些东西：

vaccines², antibiotics³, sanitation⁴ and improved detection and treatment of a range of diseases.

疫苗，抗生素，卫生以及不断提高的诊断和治疗各种疾病的水平。

Advances in genetics and in our understanding of dementia are helping⁶ to extend our factory warranties⁷ still further.

遗传学的进步和我们对痴呆症的理解进一步延长了我们的保修日期。

None of that, however, changes the way we contemplate⁸ the end of life—

然而，这一点并没有改变我们对生命终点的思考方式

often with anxiety and asceticism⁹, practicing a sort of existential bartering¹⁰.

也就是通常都会带有焦虑、禁欲主义，实行某种寿命交易等味道的思考方式。

We can narrow our experiences and give up indulgences in exchange for a more guardedly lived life that might run a little longer.

为了活得稍微久一点，更谨慎一点，我们愿意局限我们的生活体验，放弃我们的嗜好

But what if we could take off some of that bubble wrap? What about living longer and actually having some fun?

然而，要是我们能够取出点儿这种泡沫会怎样呢？要是我们能够活得更久还能活出趣味会怎样？

A Yale University study just this month found that in a group of 4,765 people with an average age of 72,

耶鲁大学本月的一项研究发现，一群4,765人，平均年龄72岁的调查对象中间，

those who carried a gene⁵ variant¹¹ linked to dementia—but also had positive attitudes about aging—

那些携带与痴呆症相关的基因变异但对老龄化持积极态度的人 -

were 50% less likely to develop the disorder¹² than people who carried the gene but faced aging with more pessimism¹³ or fear.

患这种疾病的可能性比携带这种基因但对衰老持悲观或恐惧心态的人要小50%。

There may be something to be said then for aging less timidly—

这样一来，我们就要说说不那么胆怯地面对老去

as a sort of happy contrarian, arguing when you feel like arguing, playing when you feel like playing.

做一个快乐的背道而驰者，想说就说，想玩就玩。

Maybe you want to pass up the quiet of the country for the churn of a city.

也许你想放弃乡村的宁静，选择城市的喧嚣。

Maybe you want to drink a little, eat a rich meal, have some sex.

也许你想喝两口，吃顿大餐，再为爱鼓个掌。

The most important advice we offer people about longevity¹⁴ is, ‘Throw away your lists,’

关于长寿，我们想给大家的最重要的建议就是，“丢掉你的清单，”

says Howard Friedman, professor of psychology¹⁵ at the University of California, Riverside, and co-author of The Longevity Project.

加州大学河滨分校心理学教授，《长寿工程》联名作者霍华德·弗里德曼如是说到。

"We live in a self-help society full of lists: ‘lose weight, hit the gym.’

“我们生活在一个充斥着各种清单的自助社会里：‘减肥，健身……’

So why aren’t we all healthy?

那为什么我们还是有人不健康呢？

People who live a long time can work hard and play hard."

长寿的人既会拼命工作，也会肆意享受生活。”

Under the right circumstances, it increasingly seems, so could all of us.

在适当的条件下，我们所有人都能长寿这种趋势似乎已经越来越明显。

1 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

2 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

3 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

4 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

5 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 warranties   

n.保证书，保单( warranty的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I read and compare warranties before purchasing. 我在购买前阅读和比较保修单。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• One way of ensuring reliability is insisting on guarantees and warranties. 要确保产品可靠性的一个方法，就是坚持制定产品的品质保证条款。 来自互联网

8 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

9 asceticism   

n.禁欲主义

参考例句：

• I am not speaking here about asceticism or abstinence.我说的并不是苦行主义或禁欲主义。
• Chaucer affirmed man's rights to pursue earthly happiness and epposed asceticism.乔叟强调人权，尤其是追求今生今世幸福快乐的权力，反对神权与禁欲主义。

10 bartering   

v.作物物交换，以货换货( barter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Parliament would be touchy about bartering British soil for ships. 用英国国土换取舰只，议会感到为难。 来自辞典例句
• In former times trade was based on bartering--goods were exchanged for other goods. 以前，贸易是以易货（即货物交换）的方式进行的。 来自辞典例句

11 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

12 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

13 pessimism   

n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者

参考例句：

• He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
• There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。

14 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

15 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。