我们的口语用词很说明问题：你一旦老了，便“很快枯萎”，“走下坡路”，“靠边站”，”徒劳无功”，“完蛋了”，“过时了”，是个“老废物”，“老古板”，“怪老头儿”或“长舌婆”。 One hears children saying they are afraid to get old , middle-aged people declaring they want to die after they have passed their prime , and numbers of old people wishing they were dead .

人们听到孩子们说他们害怕变老，中年人声称他们愿意在壮年过后就死去，而许多老人但愿自己早已死去。

What can we possibly conclude from these discrepant差異性 points of view ?

从这些互相矛盾的看法中我们能够得出什么样的结论呢？ Our popular attitudes could be summed up as a combination of wishful thinking and stark terror .

可以把流行在我们之中的态度归纳为痴心妄想和赤裸裸的恐惧的结合。

We base our feelings on primitive fears , prejudice(偏見) and stereotypes(墨守成規) rather than on knowledge and insight . 我们将感情建筑在原始的恐惧、偏见和墨守成规上而不是建筑在知识和远见之上。

In reality , the way one experiences old age is contingent upon (與什麼有關)physical health , personality 性格, earlier-life experiences早年經歷 , the actual circumstances of late –life

events 晚年生活具體情形( in what order they occur , how they occur , when they occur ) and the social supports one receives : 事实上，一个人老年经历如何是因下列因素而异的：身体健康状况、性格、早年经历、晚年事件的具体情形（这些事件发生之先后顺序、情形及具体时间）及他得到的社会支持； adequate finances , shelter(住處), medical care , social roles , religious support , recreation文化如樂 .是否有足够的金钱，住处，医疗，社会任务，宗教支持，文化娱乐。

All of these are crucial 至關重要的and interconnected elements which together determine the quality of late life .

这一切至关重要而又相互关联的因素共同决定个人晚年生活的质量。

Old age is neither inherently miserable (痛苦的)nor inherently sublime(卓越的)---like every stage of life

老年既不是天生就是痛苦的，也不是天生就是美满的，正如生命中每一阶段一样，

it has problems , joys , fears , and potentials . 它有难题、欢乐、恐惧和潜力。

The process of aging and eventual death must ultimately be accepted as the natural progression of the life cycle , the old completing their prescribed life spans and making way for the young .

年老的过程及最后的死亡必须最终作为生命周期的自然进程被人们所接受，老人结束他们各自的寿数，为年轻人让路。 Much that is unique in old age in fact derives from the reality of aging and the imminence (迫近)of death .

事实上，老年独特之处多是由于衰老这一现实及死亡之逼近。 The old must clarify and find use for what they have attained in a lifetime of learning and adapting ;

老人必须分清并加以利用自己毕生学习和适应的收获， they must conserve strength and resources where necessary and adjust creatively to those changes and losses that occur a part of the aging experience .

他们必须在必要时，保持精力和物力，并创造性地加以调整，使自己适应于衰老过程中必定会经历的变化与损失。

The elderly have the potential for qualities of human reflection and observation which can only come form having lived an entire life span .

老人有着人类更好地进行回顾与观察的潜在能力，而这是只有在度过整整一生之后才能得到的。

There is a lifetime accumulation of personality and experience which is available to be used and enjoyed .

在一生中所积累形成的品格与经验可以从中受益匪浅。 But what are an individual’s chances for a “ good “ old age in

America , with satisfying final years and a dignified death ? 但是在美国，个人能有“美好”的老年，度过令人满意的生命的最后岁月并庄严地死去，这个可能性究竟有多大? Unfortunately , none too good . 不幸的是，不大。

For many elderly Americans old age is a tragedy悲劇 , a period of quiet despair 絕望, deprivation (剝奪), desolation(凄涼孤寂) and muted rage .

对许多美国老年人来说，老年是个悲剧，是沉默绝望，各方面被剥夺、凄凉孤寂、无言的愤怒的时期，

This can be a consequence of the kind of life a person has led in younger years and the problems in his or her relationships with others .

这种情况可能是一个人过去某种生活和他或她人际关系上存在的问题造成的后果，

There are also inevitable personal and physical losses to be sustained , some of which can become overwhelming壓抑and unbearable無法忍受的 .

同时还要承受无法避免的失去亲人或丧失身体机能的痛苦，有些可能会使人难以自拔，无法忍受。

All of this is the individual factor , the existential element . 这些都是个人的因素，人的生活的一个部分。