BBC 6分钟英语学习 活100年的方式

6 min English from BBC learning english dot com.

Hello, this is Minute English from BBC Learning English.

I'm Neil, and I'm Beth. How old are you?

Beth? That's a very personal Questionnail Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude anyway.

At least you're not a centenarian, someone who has lived to be a hundred years old.

Are you saying, I look a hundred?

That's even ruder? Sorry, beth. No, it's just that with advances in modern medicine, people are a living longer and longer.

There was a time when living to 100 seemed impossible, but in 2021, the United Nations Population Division estimated there to be over half a million Centenarians worldwide, and that number is set to rise.

So how do you live to 100?

And what could life be like in your twilight years?

A phrase meaning your old age, or the last years of your life?

That's what we'll be discussing in this program, and of course, will be learning some useful new vocabulary to But 1st, I have a question for you, beth.

In 2022, the world's oldest certified person died, aged a hundred and 19.

But which country was she from?

Was it a Switzerland, b Italy, or c Japan?

I think the answer is Japan.

OK, beth, we'll find out the answer at the end of the program.

Of all the many factors for long life, such as diet, exercise and keeping active, human relationships are among the most important.

People who are more connected with others and have warmer relationships, live longer and stay healthier.

And according to psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, talking here with the BBC World Service Program, the Inquiry, those relationships don't necessarily have to be with humans.

Introverts actually find having a lot of people around stressful.

So they might only need one or two close people, and that's all they need, that's all they want, and that's just fine for them.

So one size doesn't fit all.

When it comes to how many relationships you need to have a healthy life, it doesn't have to be done with another human.

We know that pets provide us with a great deal of comfort and joy, and pets can calm us down.

Whether you're a shy introvert or noisy extrovert, what counts is friendship, be that with a human or a pet, different things work for different people.

So Doctor Waldinger says it's not one size fits all, a phrase meaning something which is suitable for everyone or every purpose.

So far, we've mentioned the importance of diet, exercise and friendship, but some people want more radical ways of defying death and staying young.

Doctor Near Barzali, director of the American Federation for Aging Research, has developed three scenarios in his work with centenarians in the US.

The 1st scenario, called Dorian Grey, after the fictional character who didn't age, involves delaying the aging process.

Here's Doctor Basilai explaining more to BBC World Service Program The Inquiry.

The 2nd scenario is what we call the Wolverine, or the Fountain of Youth, taking old people and make them young.

This is very, very hard. This will be the most complex things we can do.

And the 3rd scenario, and this is a very exciting scenario, and we have some evidence that it works, is the Peter Pan scenario.

Peter pandin grow old. The idea that you take people when they are 20 or 30, and give them a treatment every few months, or every year, and you'll basically erase their aging and let them age very, very slowly, which also will mean probably that it'll pass their hundred and 15 year maximum potential lifespan.

All Doctor barzalized treatments are aimed at extending lifespan, the length of time someone is normally expected to live.

His 2nd treatment, making someone who is old younger is called the Fountain of Youth, a legendary source of magical water that keeps anyone who drinks it young for ever.

Doctor barzali's 3rd treatments involves slowing down the aging process so much that people hardly age at all.

This treatment is called Peter Pan, after the fictional boy who never grew up and is connected to another idiom Peter Pan syndrome, which describes an immature person who has reached adulthood but refuses to take on adult responsibilities.

But which country was the certified oldest person in the world from?

That was your Questionnail And I guessed Japan.

But was I right? You were correct.

Canade Tanaka

was born on the Japanese island of Qusu.

She lived to 119, the oldest human ever recorded.

And her secret playing chess, eating chocolate and drinking coffee.

Okay, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned from this program about centenarians, people aged a hundred years or more.

Your twilight years are your old age.

The phrase One size fits all means suitable for everyone, for every purpose.

A lifespan is the length of time someone is normally expected to live.

The legendary fountain of Youth produces magical water so that anyone who drinks it lives forever.

And finally, the phrase Peter pan syndrome describes an adult who refuses to grow up.

Once again, our 6 min are up.

Join us again soon for more useful for vocabulary here at six minute English.

Goodbye for now by 6 min English from BBC Learning English dot com.

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