新概念英語第四冊（美音版）The process of ageing

[ti:未知][by:https://www.lrc.com.cn][00:03.85]Lesson 37[00:05.60]The process of ageing[00:13.90]What is one of the most unpleasant discoveries we make about ourselves[00:18.71]as we get older?[00:23.42]At the age of twelve years,the human body is at its most vigorous.[00:29.01]It has yet to reach its full size and strength,[00:32.04]and its owner his or her full intelligence:[00:35.95]but at this age the likelihood of death is least.[00:40.71]Earlier,we were infants and young children,[00:43.80]and consequently more vulnerable;[00:47.21]later,we shall undergo a progressive loss of our vigour and resistance[00:51.78]which,though imperceptible at first[00:54.70]will finally become so steep that we can live no longer,[00:58.81]however well we look after ourselves,[01:00.85]and however well society,and our doctors,look after us.[01:05.59]This decline in vigour with the passing of time is called ageing.[01:11.59]It is one of the most unpleasant discoveries which we all make[01:15.71]that we must decline in this way,that if we escape wars,accidents and diseases[01:22.75]we shall eventually'die of old age',[01:26.44]and that this happens at a rate which differs little from person to person,[01:31.75]so that there are heavy odds in favour of our dying between the ages of 65 and 80.[01:38.82]Some of us will die sooner,a few will live longer--on into a ninth or tenth decade.[01:45.82]But the chances are against it,[01:47.77]and there is a virtual limit on how long we can hope to remain alive,[01:52.15]however lucky and robust we are.[01:55.63]Normal people tend to forget this process unless and until they are reminded of it.[02:01.81]We are so familiar with the fact that man ages,[02:04.58]that people have for years assumed that the process of losing vigour with time,[02:09.44]of becoming more likely to die the older we get,was something self-evident[02:14.53]like the cooling of a hot kettle or the wearing-out of a pair of shoes.[02:19.83]They have also assumed that all animals,[02:22.43]and probably other organisms such as trees,or even the universe itself,[02:27.92]must in the nature of things 'wear out'.[02:31.99]Most animals we commonly observe do in fact age as we do,[02:36.47]if given the chance to live long enough;[02:38.65]and mechanical systems like a wound watch,or the sun,[02:42.94]do in fact run out of energy in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics[02:49.03](whether the whole universe does so is a moot point at present)[02:53.60]But these are not analogous to what happens when man ages.[02:58.82]A run-down watch is still a watch and can be rewound.[03:03.16]An old watch,by contrast,[03:05.30]becomes so worn and unreliable that it eventually is not worth mending.[03:10.56]But a watch could never repair itself--[03:13.70]it does not consist of living parts,only of metal,which wears away by friction.[03:21.03]We could,at one time,repair ourselves--well enough,at least,[03:25.42]to overcome all but the most instantly fatal illnesses and accidents.[03:30.91]Between twelve and eighty years we gradually lose this power;[03:35.40]an illness which at 12 would knock us over,at 80 can knock us out,and into our grave.[03:43.50]If we could stay as vigorous as we are at twelve,[03:47.11]it would take about 700 years for half of us to die,[03:51.00]and another 700 for the survivors to be reduced by half again.

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