Does the Secret of Longevity Exist？ 真的有長壽秘訣嗎？

張默妍

If theres one thing that most kids tend to have in common， its this： They want to be older. Even though their parents tell them not to wish away their youth2， they look forward to the day when theyll be bigger and older and finally be able to do this or that.

如果有一件事情是大多數(shù)孩子們都能夠達成共識的，那一定是：他們都想成為大人。即使他們的父母會勸誡他們：“你可別盼著青春轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝啦！”他們還是會無比期待著他們長大成人的日子。到那時，他們就能做他們想做的事了。

Its hard for most kids to imagine what it will be like to be 20 or 30， let alone 60 or 80. With improvements in nutrition3， medicine， and health care， people live longer today than they did many years ago. As people live longer and longer lives， many are crazy about the ideas of longevity and life expectancy4 . Unluckily， the fountain5 of youth doesnt exist. However， there are many things we can do to help us look young， including lotions6， potions7， and going to the gym， etc. But the things that have a big influence on actually living long go beyond our look.

A key to living long is to live well. Pointers8 for helping us live well include：

1. Stay active and safe；

2. Get enough sleep；

3. Follow healthy habits；

4. Eat well；

5. Be happy.

大多數(shù)孩子很難想象他們20歲或30歲時是什么樣子，更不用說60歲或80歲了。隨著營養(yǎng)、藥物和醫(yī)療保健的改善，人們的壽命比幾十年前更長。隨著人們的壽命越來越長，許多人對長壽和預期壽命這些概念非常癡迷。不幸的是，令人長生不老的青春之泉并不存在。然而，我們還是可以做許多事情來讓我們看起來顯得更年輕，包括用護膚品、保健品和塑身計劃。但真正能對長壽起到大作用的是遠超出對外表下的這些功夫的。

長壽的關(guān)鍵在于好好生活。有助于我們健康生活的指南有以下幾點：

1. 保持活躍與平安；

2. 保證充足的睡眠；

3. 遵從健康習慣；

4. 對吃的有講究；

5. 保持心情愉快。

As more people live longer， certain groups， such as Guinness World Records， keep track of who holds the latest record as the oldest man or woman in the world. Only people whose age can be verified9 are eligible10 to hold the world record. Today， the oldest living person of Japan named Nabi Tajima is 117-year-old！Life expectancy has risen steadily over the years， thanks to improve-ments in health care and nutrition. Today， men in the United States can expect to live to around 75， while women can expect to live to around 80.

隨著長壽的人越來越多，某些組織——如吉尼斯世界紀錄，記錄了世界上最長壽的男人或女人的最新記錄。只有那些年齡經(jīng)核實合格的人才能保持世界記錄。如今，世界上最長壽的人是來自日本的117歲的田島鍋。由于醫(yī)療保健和營養(yǎng)方面的改善，預期壽命在過去幾年里一直在穩(wěn)步增長。如今，美國男性的預期壽命為75歲左右，而女性可以活到80歲左右。

Notes：

1. longevity n. 長壽 2. youth n. 青春；年輕；青少年時期

3. nutrition n. 營養(yǎng) 4. expectancy n. 期待

5. fountain n. 噴泉 6. lotion n. 護膚露

7. potion n. 藥劑；保健品 8. pointer n. 指標

9. verify v. 核實；證明 10. eligible adj. 合格的