健康生活:长生不老不是梦

 　　Hong Kong was the staging point for a conference described as Asia's first "transhumanism" event, in late 2011.

　　2011年底，香港举办了据说是亚洲第一个“超人类主义”（transhumanism）活动。

　　(Note: don't bother to check the English-Chinese dictionary. This word is not there. The closest is "transhumance" which is the seasonal¹ moving of livestock² — e.g. sheep — from one place to another.)

　　（注：别费心查英汉字典了，里面根本没有这个词。和它拼写最相近的字是transhumance，意思是牲畜的季节性迁徙，比如羊。）

　　The two-day event, "Humanity + @ Hong Kong", was the first in a series of three conferences convened³ in Hong Kong which were designed to explore the human condition, with "out-of-the-box" thinking. The second in the series was TEDx Hong Kong, and the final one, The Asia Consciousness Festival.

　　这个为期两天的活动以“Humanity + @ Hong Kong”为主题，是在香港举办的三个专场会议的第一场，旨在以另类思维探索人类状况。第二场的主题是TEDx香港（TED是英文technology- 技术、entertainment-环境、design-设计三个单词首字母的缩写——译注），最后一场则是亚洲意识节（The Asia Consciousness Festival）。

　　The vice-chairman of the organizing committee was quoted in one local newspaper as saying: "Ultimately one of the things humanity is about is going beyond the legacy⁴ condition of humanity and becoming more than what nature has given us."

　　当地一家报纸援引组委会副主席的话说：“归根结底，人类的根本问题之一就是要超越人类代代相传的资质，超越自然的赋予。”

　　It's OK for you to re-read that statement, in case, like me, you didn't understand it the first time. This is not a translation issue. Either he was misquoted, or is a master of making obtuse⁵ statements. Statements like that are perhaps better suited to sheep in flocks.

　　如果你需要再读一遍这句话才能看懂，没关系，因为我第一次读的时候也没有看懂。这不是翻译的问题，要么是因为他的发言被媒体错误引述，要么是由于他太擅长模棱两可的表述。也许这种话还是对羊说比较合适吧。

　　Among the keynote speakers at the events was gerontologist Aubrey De Grey. (What an apt name for an expert on aging: "Grey") In his view, there is a 50-50 chance that within 25 years we'll be able to extend people's lifespans by 30 years. Furthermore, aging is just an ailment⁶, for which a cure will be found; and the first person to live forever may already be among us. "There is absolutely no reason why there should be any limit on how long people live" he said.

　　活动的主旨演讲嘉宾包括老年医学专家奥布里·德·格雷（Aubrey De Grey，这名字对研究衰老真是再合适不过，因为Grey本身就有头发花白之意）。格雷认为人类不出25年就有50%的机会可以把寿命延长30年。不仅如此，他还认为衰老只是一种慢性病，可以找到治愈的办法，第一个有望长生不老的人也许就活在我们中间。他说：“绝对不存在任何理由可以限制人类的寿命。”

　　If De Grey is right, then Hong Kong's motto could be extended: "No change for 500 years."

　　假如格雷是正确的，那香港的口号就该改成“500年不变”了。

　　Think of the personal income tax implications of this coming new lifespan situation! The tax authorities will be delighted, not to mention issuers of life insurance policies.

　　试想一下新寿命对个人所得税的影响！税务机关肯定会高兴坏了，更不用说那些寿险承保人。

　　Another speaker, at the TEDx event in the series, was Patri Freeman, the 35-year old grandson of famous free-market economist⁷, Milton Friedman. Like his grandpa, Patri is a great fan of Hong Kong. He told attendees he'd spent the last 10 years thinking about how we can have more places like it.

　　TEDx活动的另一位演讲嘉宾是著名的自由市场经济学家米尔顿·弗里德曼的孙子、现年35岁的帕特里·弗里德曼。和爷爷一样，帕特里也情迷香港。他对与会者说，过去十年他一直在思考如何才能打造更多像香港一样的地方。

　　This lead him to establish, in 2008, an NGO called the Seasteading Institute, which envisions new sea-borne communities called "seasteads". At first these will be based on small boats, and gradually be increased in size to whole floating communities, each one an independent, self-ruled state with minimal⁸ government.

　　这种想法促使他于2008年成立了非政府组织——“海上家园研究院”（the Seasteading Institute），构思创立新的海上社区“海上家园”。这个家园最初是以小艇为基础，未来会逐渐扩大规模，形成漂浮的海上社区。每个社区自成一体，由小型的政府实行自治管理。

　　I am a big fan of thinking out of the box. In this case, however, Patri seems to be thinking out of the boat.

　　我对不落俗套的思维举双手赞成。但在这个问题上，帕特里似乎也太过天马行空了。

　　It is true that we need visionaries to stretch the limits of us ordinary folks' thought processes, to challenge our assumptions and narrow-minded approaches. The challenge is to find bold new ideas which can be still be rooted in practical reality.

　　我们的确需要远见卓识去拓宽普通人的思考极限，去挑战想当然的观点和短视的行为。但难就难在既要开发出全新的理念，又要扎根于现实基础，使其具备一定的可操作性。

　　Longer lifespans are already here. No doubt they will continue to get longer, at least among relatively⁹ affluent¹⁰ people. That may be a mixed blessing¹¹ for our already overcrowded planet, but…

　　延年益寿已成事实，无疑还会继续延长，至少对富裕人群将是如此。这对我们业已十分拥挤的星球来说真是好坏参半，但是……

　　As for new floating communities, I am a big water sports fan; but, like most people, I prefer to be based on dry land most of the time.

　　说起漂浮的海上社区，我虽然超爱水上运动，但也和大多数人一样，宁愿大部分时间都呆在干燥的陆地上。

　　Still, it's good to see that Hong Kong remains¹² a vibrant¹³ staging point for the exchange of a wide spectrum¹⁴ of ideas, even some which may seem a bit wacky.

　　尽管如此，看到香港能继续成为各种思潮、甚至是奇谈怪论的交汇之地，我还是颇感欣慰。

1 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

2 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

3 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

4 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

5 obtuse   

adj.钝的；愚钝的

参考例句：

• You were too obtuse to take the hint.你太迟钝了，没有理解这种暗示。
• "Sometimes it looks more like an obtuse triangle,"Winter said.“有时候它看起来更像一个钝角三角形。”温特说。

6 ailment   

n.疾病，小病

参考例句：

• I don't have even the slightest ailment.我什么毛病也没有。
• He got timely treatment for his ailment.他的病得到了及时治疗。

7 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

8 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

11 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

14 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。