新概念英语第四册笔记 lesson 11 how to grow old

Lesson 11 How to grow old

如何安度晚年

First listen and then answer the following question.

听录音，然后回答以下问题。

What, according to the author, is the best way to overcome the fear of death as you get older?

Some old people are oppressed by the fear of death. In the young there is a justification for this feeling. Y oung men who have reason to fear that they will be killed in battle may justifiably feel bitter in the thought that they have cheated of the best things that life has to offer. But in an old man who has known human joys and sorrows, and has achieved whatever work it was in him to do, the fear of death is somewhat abject and ignoble. The best way to overcome it -- so at least it seems to me -- is to make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal, until bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly merged in the universal life. An individual human existence should be like a river -- small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past boulders and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being. The man who, in old age, can see his life in this way, will not suffer from the fear of death, since the things he cares for will continue. And if, with the decay of vitality, weariness increases, the thought of rest will be not unwelcome. I should wish to die while still at work, knowing that others will carry on what I can no longer do, and content in the thought that what was possible has been done.

BERTRAND RUSSELL How to grow old from Portraits from Memory

New words and expression 生词和短语

oppress vt. 忧郁，压抑

depressed

in low spirits / in high spirits

I am a little down.

Feel blue

Justification n. 正当理由（强调正义性，顺理成章）

Reason – why 不强调顺理成章，只回答why (强调原因，自然推导)

Y ou have the justification to beat him. Y ou have the justification to beat back.

Justifiable adv. 无可非议地

同义词Reasonable Questionable Unquestionable Mistakable Unmistakable Explicable

Cheat vt. 欺骗

Cheat sb. out of money

cheat in test 作弊

deceive 欺骗情感（抽象词）I was deceive. 我上当了

hoax: play trick (小孩做游戏)骗，玩

abject a. 可怜的(人稍微有点下贱的)

pathetic a 可怜的（有点同情）

noble 高雅

ignoble a. 不体面的，可耻的（程度最深）

程度相当于shameful disgraceful infamous

impersonal a 超脱个人感情影响的

impersonal interest 广泛的爱好

impersonal verb. 无主动词it is raining hard. raining 是无主动词

ego n. 自我

egoism 个人主义

altruism 利他主义

ego- trip 利已行为

egocentric 自我为主he is a egocentric.

recede vi. 退去（抽象词）the economy recedes

retreat 撤退

bit by bit , little by little 渐渐地

increasingly adv. 日益，不断

I am increasingly rich / wealthy 小词rich 大词wealthy

merge vi. 融合

I’d better merge myself into the mass. 我要融合到大家里

merger n. 兼并(两个公司)

the beams merge into darkness. 太阳的光线融入到黑暗中（天快黑了）

passionately adv. 激昂的（非常强烈的感情）

passionate with learning / dancing / singing

dispassionate adj. 没有激情的

fervent ardent 狂热的

visible adj. 易觉察的vision 视觉, visual 视觉的

visible to the naked eyes 肉眼能看见

invisible 隐形的invisible man 隐形人invisible plane 隐形飞机visibility 能见度

painlessly adv. 毫无痛苦地

do sth. painlessly 不费吹灰之力