# 第四册 Lesson 37 The process of ageing 衰老过程

## 一、课文原文

At the age of twelve years, the human body is at its most vigorous. It has yet to reach its full size and strength, and its owner his or her full intelligence; but at this age the likelihood of death is least. Earlier, we were infants and young children, and consequently more vulnerable; later, we shall undergo a progressive loss of our vigour and resistance which, though imperceptible at first, will finally become so steep that we can live no longer, however well we look after ourselves, and however well society, and our doctors, look after us. This decline in vigour with the passing of time is called ageing. It is one of the most unpleasant discoveries which we all make that we must decline in this way, that if we escape wars, accidents and diseases we shall eventually 'die of old age', and that this happens at a rate which differs little from person to person, so that there are heavy odds in favour of our dying between the ages of 65 and 80. Some of us will die sooner, a few will live longer — on into a ninth or tenth decade. But the chances are against it, and there is a virtual limit on how long we can hope to remain alive, however lucky and robust we are.

Normal people tend to forget this process unless and until they are reminded of it. We are so familiar with the fact that man ages, that people have for years assumed that the process of losing vigour with time, of becoming more likely to die the older we get, was something self-evident, like the cooling of a hot kettle or the wearing-out of a pair of shoes. They have also assumed that all animals, and probably other organisms such as trees, or even the universe itself, must in the nature of things 'wear out'. Most animals we commonly observe do in fact age as we do, if given the chance to live long enough; and mechanical systems like a wound watch, or the sun, do in fact run out of energy in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics (whether the whole universe does so is a moot point at present). But these are not analogous to what happens when man ages. A run-down watch is still a watch and can be rewound. An old watch, by contrast, becomes so worn and unreliable that it eventually is not worth mending. But a watch could never repair itself — it does not consist of living parts, only of metal, which wears away by friction. We could, at one time, repair ourselves — well enough, at least, to overcome all but the most instantly fatal illnesses and accidents. Between 12 and 80 years we gradually lose this power; an illness which at 12 would knock us over, at 80 can knock us out, and into our grave. If we could stay as vigorous as we are at 12, it would take about 700 years for half of us to die, and another 700 for the survivors to be reduced by half again.

— ALEX COMPORT

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| vigorous | /ˈvɪɡərəs/ | adj. | 精力充沛的 | at its most vigorous 处于最旺盛期 |
| vulnerable | /ˈvʌlnərəbl/ | adj. | 脆弱的，易受伤害的 | more vulnerable 更脆弱 |
| imperceptible | /ˌɪmpəˈseptəbl/ | adj. | 察觉不到的 | im- 否定 + perceptible 可察觉的 |
| steep | /stiːp/ | adj. | 陡峭的 | become so steep 变得如此急剧 |
| decline | /dɪˈklaɪn/ | n./v. | 衰退，下降 | decline in vigour 精力衰退 |
| odds | /ɒdz/ | n. | 可能性，几率 | heavy odds in favour of 很有可能 |
| robust | /rəʊˈbʌst/ | adj. | 健壮的 | however lucky and robust 无论多么幸运和健壮 |
| self-evident | /ˌselfˈevɪdənt/ | adj. | 不言自明的 | self-evident truth 不证自明的真理 |
| organism | /ˈɔːɡənɪzəm/ | n. | 生物，有机体 | living organism 活的有机体 |
| thermodynamics | /ˌθɜːməʊdaɪˈnæmɪks/ | n. | 热力学 | second law of thermodynamics 热力学第二定律 |
| moot | /muːt/ | adj. | 有争议的，未决的 | a moot point 争议点 |
| analogous | /əˈnæləɡəs/ | adj. | 类似的 | analogous to 与……类似 |
| friction | /ˈfrɪkʃn/ | n. | 摩擦 | wears away by friction 因摩擦而磨损 |

**固定搭配：**
- **heavy odds in favour of**：很有可能
- **in the nature of things**：理所当然地
- **wear out**：磨损，耗尽
- **knock out**：击倒

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. however + adj./adv. 让步状语从句

> **however well** we look after ourselves...**however well** society...look after us

however = no matter how，引导让步状语从句，置于句中或句首。

### 2. so...that... 结果状语从句

> will finally become **so steep that** we can live no longer

so + adj./adv. + that 引导结果状语从句。

### 3. It is...that... 主语从句

> **It is** one of the most unpleasant discoveries which we all make **that** we must decline in this way

It 为形式主语，that 从句为真正主语。三个 that 从句并列。

### 4. 虚拟语气

> **If we could stay** as vigorous as we are at 12, **it would take** about 700 years

与现在事实相反的虚拟条件句。

## 四、重点句型分析

### 句型1：长难句——三重 that 从句

> It is one of the most unpleasant discoveries...**that** we must decline in this way, **that** if we escape wars...we shall eventually die of old age, and **that** this happens at a rate which differs little from person to person

- 三个 that 从句并列，均为 discoveries 的同位语从句
- 第二个 that 从句中嵌套 if 条件句

### 句型2：类比与反类比

> A run-down watch is still a watch and can be rewound. An old watch, by contrast, becomes so worn and unreliable that it eventually is not worth mending. But a watch could never repair itself

- run-down watch（能量耗尽）vs old watch（磨损老化）
- 共同点：都不能自我修复
- 区别于人的衰老：人曾经能自我修复

### 句型3：虚拟推测

> If we could stay as vigorous as we are at 12, it would take about 700 years for half of us to die

- 用虚拟语气说明12岁时的生命力之强
- 反衬衰老的残酷

## 五、课文翻译

在12岁时，人体处于最旺盛的时期。它还没有达到最大的体型和力量，其主人也没有达到最高的智力；但在这个年龄，死亡的可能性最小。更早些时候，我们是婴儿和幼儿，因此更脆弱；以后，我们将经历精力和抵抗力的逐渐丧失——虽然起初察觉不到，但最终会变得如此急剧，以至于无论我们多么精心照料自己，也无论社会和医生多么精心照料我们，我们都无法继续活下去。这种随时间流逝而精力衰退的现象叫做衰老。我们所有人的最不愉快的发现之一就是：我们必须以这种方式衰退，如果我们逃避了战争、事故和疾病，最终也会"老死"，而且这种情况发生的速率人与人之间差别很小，因此我们有很大可能死于65至80岁之间。我们中有些人会死得早一些，少数人活得长一些——活到第九或第十个十年。但这种可能性很小，无论我们多么幸运和健壮，我们能期望活多久都有一个实际上的极限。

正常人倾向于忘记这个过程，除非被提醒。我们对人会衰老这一事实如此熟悉，以至于人们多年来一直认为，随时间失去精力、年龄越大越可能死去的过程是不言自明的，就像热壶冷却或鞋子磨损一样。他们还认为，所有动物，也许还有其他有机体如树木，甚至宇宙本身，都必然"磨损"。我们通常观察到的大多数动物，如果能活得足够长，确实像我们一样衰老；机械系统如上紧发条的手表或太阳，确实按照热力学第二定律耗尽能量（整个宇宙是否如此目前尚有争议）。但这些与人类衰老时发生的情况并不类似。停了的表仍然是表，可以重新上发条。而旧表则磨损到不可靠，最终不值得修理。但表永远不能自我修复——它不由活的部件组成，只有金属，会因摩擦而磨损。我们曾经能够自我修复——至少足以克服除最致命的疾病和事故之外的一切。在12岁到80岁之间，我们逐渐丧失这种能力；一种在12岁时只会把我们击倒的病，在80岁时就能把我们击毙，送入坟墓。如果我们能保持12岁时的旺盛精力，大约需要700年才会有一半人死亡，再用700年幸存者才会再减少一半。

## 六、语言点精讲

### 1. 写作手法：类比论证与反驳

- 先提出类比（热壶冷却、鞋子磨损、手表耗能）
- 再逐一反驳，指出人的衰老有独特之处——曾经能自我修复

### 2. 逻辑结构

| 段落 | 主题 | 论证方式 |
|------|------|----------|
| 第一段 | 衰老的定义与特征 | 数据+逻辑推论 |
| 第二段 | 衰老不是简单的"磨损" | 类比→反驳→虚拟推测 |

### 3. 文化背景

- 热力学第二定律：孤立系统的熵总是增大的
- 人的自我修复能力（immune system）是区别于机械系统的关键
- 12岁的死亡率最低，是医学统计的常识

### 4. 修辞分析

- "die of old age"加引号——表示这个说法并不精确
- "knock us over" vs "knock us out"——巧妙的文字游戏
- 虚拟推测（700年）——以极端数据反衬现实

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **词汇练习**：掌握 vigorous、vulnerable、imperceptible、thermodynamics、friction 等核心词
2. **语法练习**：however 让步从句；so...that... 结果从句；虚拟条件句
3. **翻译练习**：注意三重 that 从句的翻译；虚拟语气的处理
4. **写作练习**：模仿类比论证法，讨论人与机器的区别

## 八、本课小结

本课探讨衰老的本质。核心观点：**衰老不是简单的"磨损"，人的衰老独特之处在于曾经具有自我修复能力，但这种能力随时间逐渐丧失**。作者用热壶、鞋子、手表等类比，再逐一反驳，最后以虚拟推测（700年）强化论点。语法重点为 however 让步从句、三重 that 从句和虚拟条件句。