2022年职称英语考试综合类课堂笔记一百零四1

2022年职称英语考试综合类课堂笔记一百零四1Whowantstoliveforever?

Ifyourdoctorcouldgiveyouadrugthatwouldletyouhaveahealthylifefortwiceaslong，wouldyoutakeit?

Thegoodnewsisthatwemaybedrawingneartothatdate．Scientistshavealreadyextendedthelivesofflies，wormsandmiceinlaboratories．Manynowthinkthatusinggenetictreatmentswewillsoonbeabletoextendhumanlifetoatleast140years.

Thisseemsagreatidea．Thinkofhowmuchmoretimewecouldspendchasingourdreams，spendingtimewithourlovedones，watchingourfamiliesgrowandhavefamiliesoftheirown．

“Longerlifewouldgiveusachancetorecoverfromourmistakesandpromotelongtermthinking，”saysDrGregoryStockoftheUniversityofCaliforniaSchoolofPublicHealth.“Itwouldalsoraiseproductivitybyaddingtotheyearwecanwork．”

Longerlivesdon’tjustaffectthepeoplewholivethem．Theyalsoaffectsocietyasawhole．“Wehavewarpoverty,allsonsofissuesaround，andIdon’tthinkanyofthemwouldbeatallhelpedbyhavingpeoplelivelonger,”saysUSbioethicistDanielCallahan．“Thequestionis‘Whatwillwegetasasociety?’Isuspectitwon’tbeabettersociety．”

Itwouldcertainlybeaverydifferentsociety．Peoplearealreadyfindingitmoredifficulttostaymarried．Divorceratesarerising．Whatwouldtomarriageinasocietywherepeoplelivedfor140years?Andwhatwouldhappentofamilylifeifnineor10generationsofthesamefamilywereallaliveatthesametime?

Researchintoageingmayenablewomentoremainfertileforlonger.Andthatraisestheprospectofhaving100-year-oldparents，orbrothersandsistersborn50yearsapart1．Wethinkofaneldersiblingassomeonewhocanprotectusandofferhelpandadvice．Thatwouldbehardtodoifthatsiblingcamefromacompletelydifferentgeneration．

Workinglifewouldalsobeaffected，especiallyiftheretirementagewaslifted．Morepeoplewouldstayinworkforlonger.Thatwouldgiveusthebenefitsofage-skill，wisdomandgoodjudgement．

Ontheotherhand，morepeopleworkingforlongerwouldcreategreatercompetitionforjobs．Itwouldmakeitmoredifficultforyoungerpeopletofindajob．Toppostswouldbedominatedbythesamefewindividuals，makingcareerprogressmoredifficult．Andhoweasilywoulda25-year-oldemployeebeabletocommunicatewitha125-year-oldboss?

Youngpeoplewouldbeasmallerpartofasocietyinwhichpeoplelivedto140．Itmaybethatsuchasocietywouldplacelessimportanceonguidingandeducatingyoungpeople，andmoreonmakinglifecomfortablefortheold．

Andsocietywouldfeelverydifferentifmoreofitsmemberswereolder.Therewouldbemorewisdom，butlessenergyYoungpeopleliketomoveabout．oldpeopleliketositstill．Youngpeopletendtoactwithoutthinking．oldpeopletendtothinkwithoutacting．Youngpeoplearecuriousandliketoexperiencedifferentthings．Oldpeoplearelessenthusiasticaboutchange.Infact，theyarelessenthusiasticabouteverything．

Theeffectofanti-ageingtechnologyisdeeperthanwemightthink．Butasthescienceadvances，weneedtothinkaboutthesechangesnow．

“Ifthiscould