我们到底能活到多少岁？：英语精读讲义

Hey,

嘿，

Vsauce.

这里是 Vsauce。

Michael here,

我是 Michael，

and today we are going to talk about time.

今天我们来聊聊时间。

Specifically,

具体来说，

how much time we have. 語法

我们拥有多少时间。

What's the oldest a person can ever be? 語法

人究竟最多能活到多少岁？

Well, the world record for the world's longest living person 短語搭配

世界上最长寿者的纪录

belongs to Jeanne Calment,

属于 Jeanne Calment，

a French woman who lived to be 122. 短語搭配

这位法国女性活到了 122 岁。

Right now,

就在现在，

at this very moment, 短語搭配

就在这一刻，

there are only 37 people alive

世上还活着的人中，只有 37 位

who were born in the 1800s.

出生于 19 世纪。

Those 37 people have lived in three different centuries.

这 37 个人都跨越了三个不同的世纪。

But as medical knowledge expands,

但随着医学知识不断拓展，

and our understanding of biology improves,

我们对生物学的理解日益深入，

people are living longer and longer. 語法

人类也活得越来越久。

In fact,

事实上，

scientists believe that based on statistics,

科学家根据统计数据认为，

the first person who will ever live to be 150

史上第一个能活到 150 岁的人

has already been born. 語法

已经出生了。

It could be one of you.

可能就是你们中的一个。

But according to the math, 短語搭配

但从数学上看，

it's probably someone who was born last year.

这个人很可能是去年出生的。

Here's the thing. 表達脈絡

事情是这样的。

As humans get older, 語法

人类年纪越大，

the likelihood of them dying increases.

死亡的可能性就越高。

But there are some types of animals

但有些动物

that have what is called negligible senescence, 用詞

具有所谓的“可忽略衰老”，

also known as biological immortality.

也就是“生物学永生”。

And these types of animals

而这些动物

have never been observed to actually age. 語法

从未被观察到真正衰老。

Animals like the hydra

像水螅这样的动物

can only die because of accidents,

只会死于意外、

disease, or predators.

疾病或捕食者。

The world's oldest living individual tree

世界上现存最古老的单株树木

has clocked in at more than 4,600 years old. 短語動詞

树龄已经超过 4600 年。

It's called the Methuselah tree, 文化背景

它叫“玛土撒拉树”，

and it exists somewhere in this forest.

就生长在这片森林里的某个地方。

Government officials won't actually release its exact location

政府官员不会公布它的确切位置

to protect it from vandalism,

以免它遭到人为破坏，

but it's out there.

但它确实就在那里。

The lifespan of an organism can be even longer than that

生物的寿命甚至可以比这更长，

if you include clonal colonies. 用詞

前提是把克隆群落也算进去。

For instance,

比如，

these quaking pines all look like individual trees, 表達脈絡

这些颤杨看起来都是一棵棵独立的树，

but they're actually all clones

但其实它们全都是克隆体，

of one genetic code.

拥有同一套遗传密码。

They all share a root system,

它们共用一个根系，

and the root system continues to make more trees,

这个根系还在不断长出更多树木，

meaning that these trees are all part of the same organism.

也就是说，这些树全都属于同一个生物体。

And experts have calculated based on the root system

专家根据这个根系推算，

that this one male quaking pine has been around for at least 短語搭配

这株雄性颤杨至少已经存在了

80,000 years.

8 万年。

But let's get back to humans. 短語動詞

不过，我们还是回到人类身上。

And rather than talking about how time is, 表達脈絡

与其谈论时间是什么，

let's talk about how time feels.

不如来谈谈时间给人的感觉。

Intense moments of your life are remembered as lasting much longer 語法

回忆起来，人生中的紧张强烈时刻似乎持续得更久，

than times that were relatively dull.

远超那些相对平淡的时光。

Psychologists say that the reason for this is that our brains 語法

心理学家说，原因在于我们的大脑

take deeper and richer memories

会形成更深刻、更丰富的记忆，

of events that are novel,

尤其是对那些新奇的事件，

or events that are intense,

或是强烈的事件，

than ones that aren't.

而不是那些平淡无奇的事件。

When your experiences are intense and novel,

当你的经历既强烈又新奇时，

you're not remembering more things about it, 語法

你并不是记住了更多内容，

but you are making more copies.

而是多存了几份记忆副本。

Rather than just making normal memories,

大脑不只是形成普通记忆，

during stress the amygdala gets involved and also remembers things. 短語搭配

在压力下，杏仁核也会参与进来并记录事情。

And many people believe that is why

很多人认为，这就是为什么

intense moments are remembered as lasting longer.

强烈的时刻在记忆中显得持续更久。

This phenomenon becomes quite mind-blowing on a macro scale. 講解

从宏观尺度看，这种现象相当令人震撼。

Think of it this way. 表達脈絡

可以这样想。

When you are a 1-year-old baby,

当你还是个 1 岁的宝宝时，

1 year represents 100% of your life.

1 年就代表你人生的 100%。

But when you turn 2 years old, 短語搭配

但当你满 2 岁时，

that second year was only half your life.

第二年只占你人生的一半。

And the next year you live through is only a third of your life. 短語動詞

而你接下来度过的一年，只占人生的三分之一。

And by the time you turn 80, 語法

等你到了 80 岁，

1 year only represents an 80th of your life.

1 年只占你人生的八十分之一。

Those percentages are important

这些百分比很重要，

because they may explain why your childhood feels like it took so long. 語法

因为它们或许能解释，为什么童年感觉那么漫长。

But as you get older,

但随着年龄增长，

the years seem to fly by. 短語動詞

岁月似乎飞逝而过。

You have more novel experiences when you're young. 用詞

年轻时，你会经历更多新鲜事物。

You first learn a language. 表達脈絡

你第一次学会一门语言。

You first see your mother.

你第一次见到母亲。

You first learn to walk.

你第一次学会走路。

You have your first kiss.

你经历初吻。

These are all deeply and richly remembered by your brain.

你的大脑会对这些经历留下深刻而丰富的记忆。

And so later on,

所以到了后来，

it feels as if they took longer to happen. 語法

你会觉得这些事仿佛经历了更长时间。

Now,

现在，

here's what's really mind-blowing.

真正让人震撼的来了。

Let's look at a graphical representation of the percentage of your life

我们用图表来看看每一年

that each successive year is.

分别占你人生的百分之几。

The first year is 100%.

第一年是 100%。

The second year is only half.

第二年只有一半。

The third year is a third.

第三年是三分之一。

And so on,

依此类推，

we'll go all the way out to 80. 短語搭配

一直画到 80 岁。

Now,

现在，

using this representation,

按照这张图，

under this model, 短語搭配

在这个模型下，

when you turn 80 years old and look back at your life, 短語動詞

当你 80 岁时回望一生，

the point that feels like the middle 表達脈絡

感觉上位于人生中点的

isn't your 40s,

并不是 40 多岁，

it's your early 20s.

而是 20 岁出头。

The good news here is that 表達脈絡

好消息是，

the more novel things you do and things you see 語法

你做的新鲜事、看到的新事物越多，

and places you visit and people you meet,

去过的地方、认识的人越多，

the slower time feels

时间感觉就越慢，

and the more rich it feels.

也会显得越充实。

So go out there and do something cool.

所以，走出去做点酷事吧。

Do something weird.

做点怪事。

Do something new.

做点新鲜事。

Subscribe to Vsauce if you haven't already.

如果还没订阅 Vsauce，记得订阅。

And as always,

一如既往，

thanks for watching.

感谢观看。