But old age is frequently a tragedy even when the early years have been fulfilling and people seemingly have everything going for them .

但即使在早年，生活非常充实而日似乎一帆风顺的人，晚年也常常是个悲剧。

Herein lies what I consider to be the genuine tragedy of old age in America

这里就存在着我们认为的美国老年的真正悲剧

–we have shaped a society which is extremely harsh to live in when one is old .

——我们制造了一个老人极难在其中生活的社会。 The tragedy of old age is not the fact that each of us must grow old and die but that the process of doing so has been made unnecessarily and at times excruciatingly painful痛苦 , humiliating 屈辱, debilitating (虛弱)and isolating(孤獨) through insensitivity(冷漠) , ignorance愚昧 and poverty .

老龄的悲剧并不是在于我们每个人正常变老和死亡，而是在于这过程被冷漠、愚昧和贫困搞得充满了不必要的，有时是难忍的痛苦屈辱、虚弱与孤独。

The potentials for satisfactions and even triumphs in late life are real and vastly underexplored

晚年生活中取得满足甚至成功的可能性是确实存在的，而且

还远远没有发掘出来。

For the most part the elderly struggle to exist in an inhospitable world .

老人大都为生存在一个冷淡的世界上挣扎着。

Are things really that bad ? Let’s begin by looking at the basic daily requirements for survival .

事情确实如此糟糕？让我们首先看一看生存必须的基本日常需求吧。

Poverty or drastically lowered income收入大幅度下降 and old age go hand in hand .

贫困或收入的大幅度下降与老年携手而至，

People who are poor all their lives remain poor as they grow old . Most of us realize this .

一生贫困的人们老后仍然贫困，我们大多数人都认识到这一点。

What we do not realize is that these poor are joined by multitudes of people who become poor only after growing older .

我们没有认识的是穷困者的队伍中加入了大批仅仅在进入老年后才变穷的人。

When Social Security becomes the sole(唯一) or primary（主要）income , it means subsistence –level styles for many , and recent increases do not keep up with soaring 高漲的costs of living .

当社会福利成为仅有的、主要的收入时，这对许多人就意味着仅能勉强维持生活，而且新增加的福利金赶不上高涨的生活费用。`

Private pension plans often do not pay off , and pension payments that do come in are not tied to inflationary彌補 decreases in buying power.

各种非官方的养老金制度经常不能支付全部应付金额，而得到的养老金数 目又不能弥补由于通货膨胀而造成的购买力下降。

Savings can be wiped out by a single unexpected catastrophe .(大災難)

只要一个意想不到的灾祸就可以将积蓄化为乌有。 In January , 1971, half of the elderly , or over 10 million people , lived on less than $75a week , or $10 per day . Most lived on far less .

在1971年1月，有半数即1000万以上的老人每周靠不到75美元即每天10美元生活，多数人的钱比这还要少得多。 Even the relatively well –off are not assured of an income that will support them .

即使是相对宽裕一些的人也不能保证得到能维持他们生活的收入。

It has been estimated that at least 30per cent of the elderly live in

substandard housing .

估计至少有30％的老人住在不合法定标准的房屋中， Many more must deprive themselves of essentials to keep their homes in repair .

更多的人为了保持房子适于居住进行维修而不得不牺牲一些必需品。

The American dream promised older people that if they worked hard enough all their lives , things would turn out well for them . 美国梦给老人这样的期望，只要他们一生努力工作，一切终会好的。

Today’s elderly were brought up to believe in pride , self-reliance and independence .

今天的老人在成长过程中受到的教育是信奉自尊、自立、自主。

Many are tough , determined individuals who manage to survive against adversity . But even the tough ones reach a point where help should be available to them .

许多都是能在逆境中生存下来的坚韧不拔而又有主见的人物，但即使是坚韧不拔的人们也会需要得到帮助。

Age discrimination in employment is unrestrained , with arbitrary retirement practices and bias against hiring older people for available jobs .