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How old is “old”? The answer has changed over the years. Two hundred years ago, you were old at 35. That was the average life expectancy (平均寿命) then. At the turn of the 20th century, as medical knowledge advanced, the average life span increased to 45. In 1950, 70-year-olds were really old. Today, a healthy 70-year-old is looking forward to many more active years.
So, how old is “old”? The answer is one you've heard many times, from all sorts of people. “You are as old (or young) as you feel. The calendar simply tells you how many years you have lived. Your body tells you how well you've lived.”
“Youth,” wrote an unknown author, “is not a time of life—it is a state of mind. Nobody grows old by living a number of years; people grow old by deserting their ideals.”
Old is a point of view. Alice Brophy, when she was with the New York City Commission for the Aging, said, “It annoys (让人心烦) me when people say, ‘Gee, you look young for your age.’ What does that mean? Is there some model that you ought to look a certain way at 65 and 75 and 85? You know you can die old at 30 and live young at 80.”
Gray Myths (荒诞的说法)
There are many myths about aging. These myths stereotype (使……有成见) people on the basis of age. Here are some of the more common myths and the facts.
Myth: Most older people are in poor health.
Fact: Not so. There are neither biological nor physiological reasons to connect poor health with growing older. Older people are more likely to be affected with illness and physical disabilities than you are, but old age itself is not a disease. It is possible to remain physically fit throughout your life.
Myth: When you get old, you become senile (衰老).
Fact: Older minds can be as bright as young minds. Senility is a sign of disease; it is not part of the normal aging process. In a 1985 study of men ages 20; 40; 60 and 80 years, no evidence was found to indicate that aging was connected with an avoidable drop in intellectual (智力的) performance in generally healthy people.
Myth: Older people are rigid, unable to change?
Fact: Older people are as different in their life-styles and action as are young and middle-aged people. Despite the large pressure they deal with—death of loved ones or job, financial, and family problems—they deal with very well. Older people give up smoking and break other bad habits just as successfully as younger people.
Title: Standards about __________ Age
The average life span has _________ as medical knowledge has been _________. |
time |
the ________ life span |
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200 years ago |
35 years old |
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in 1900 |
_________ years old |
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in 1950 |
70 years old |
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today |
_________ 70 years old |
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Gray Myths and _________ |
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Myths |
Facts |
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When you get old, you will ________ poor health. |
Older people are more likely to be affected with illness than younger people. |
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When you get old, you become senile. |
Senility is a sign of disease, which might happen in different sorts of ________. |
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Older people are rigid, unable to change. |
Older people can deal with the large ______very well and break bad habits just as successfully as younger people. |
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