评论
打印
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 expectancy 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：
vaccines, antibiotics, sanitation 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 helping to extend our factory warranties 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 contemplate 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 asceticism, practicing a sort of existential bartering.
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 gene variant 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 disorder than people who carried the gene but faced aging with more pessimism 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 longevity 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 psychology 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。
