為什麼會老化？我們應該永遠終結老化嗎？：英語精讀講義

If you had to choose right now, 文法

如果現在必須做出選擇，

how long would you want to live?

你想活多久？

80 years?

80年？

90?

90年？

120?

120年？

Longer?

更久？

And do you think you'll change your mind once you reach that age? 片語搭配

你認為等你到了那個年紀，會改變主意嗎？

50,000 years ago,

5萬年前，

most humans died very young.

大多數人類都在很年輕時就死去了。

As we learned how to use the resources around us to treat ourselves,

隨著我們學會利用周圍的資源來治療自己，

this got better and better.

這種情況變得越來越好。

Today,

如今，

humans are living longer and healthier lives than ever before. 文法

人類的壽命比以往任何時候都要長，也更健康。

But this has an unforeseen consequence.

但這也帶來了一個意想不到的後果。

We spend an ever-increasing part of our lives being sick and in need of care. 片語搭配

我們生命中越來越多時間都是在生病和需要照顧中度過。

Most of us will die in a hospital bed,

我們中的大多數人都會在醫院的病床上死去，

which is depressing enough by itself,

這本身就夠令人沮喪了，

but we also have to witness the same happening to our loved ones.

但我們還要目睹同樣的悲劇發生在親人身上。

Except,

除非，

maybe,

也許，

we can stop this forever.

我們可以永遠阻止這一切。

The most effective way to treat a disease is to prevent it. 文法

治療疾病最有效的方法就是預防。

It saves many more lives if you stop a million people from smoking 文法

阻止一百萬人吸菸所拯救的生命，

than coming up with better chemotherapies. 片語動詞

遠比研發更好的化療方法要多得多。

So, why not put a halt to the cause of all disease, 片語搭配

那麼，為什麼不直接阻止所有疾病的根源——

the process of aging?

衰老的過程呢？

In a nutshell, 片語搭配

簡而言之，

aging is caused by physics and not biology.

衰老是由物理原因引起的，而非生物學。

Think of cars. 表達脈絡

想想汽車。

Parts wear down from rubbing and grinding. 片語動詞

零件會因摩擦和碾磨而磨損。

Metal rusts,

金屬生鏽，

filters get plugged,

過濾器堵塞，

rubber cracks.

橡膠老化開裂。

Our bodies are worn down by trillions of tiny physical processes.

我們的身體也是被數以兆計的微小物理過程消耗殆盡的。

Oxygen, radiation from the sun,

氧氣、太陽輻射、

our metabolism.

我們的新陳代謝。

Our bodies have many mechanisms to repair this damage,

我們的身體有許多機制來修復這種損傷，

but over time they become less effective.

但隨著時間推移，它們的效率會降低。

So, our bones and muscles weaken,

因此，我們的骨骼和肌肉變得虛弱，

our skin wrinkles,

皮膚起皺，

our immune system gets weaker.

免疫系統變弱。

We lose our memory and our senses diminish.

我們失去記憶，感官衰退。

There's no such thing as dying of old age. 片語搭配

根本不存在所謂的「老死」。

We all die because one of our important parts breaks.

我們都會死，是因為我們某個重要部件壞了。

The older we get, 文法

我們越老，

the more damaged and fragile we become

就受損越嚴重、越脆弱，

until one or multiple diseases take over and kill us. 片語動詞

直到一種或多種疾病接管並殺死我們。

Unnoticed by most of us, 文法

在我們大多數人沒注意到的情況下，

longevity research has made some unprecedented advances in the last few years. 片語搭配

過去幾年裡，長壽研究已經取得了前所未有的進展。

For the first time,

有史以來第一次，

we're starting to understand the mechanisms behind aging and how to manipulate them.

我們開始理解衰老背後的機制，以及如何操縱它們。

Aging is neither mystical nor inevitable, 文法

衰老既不神秘也非不可避免，

and we might be able to stop or delay it during your lifetime.

並且在你我有生之年，我們或許能夠阻止或延緩它。

We'll discuss the science behind it and how scientists are trying to stop it in another video.

我們將在另一段影片中討論這背後的科學，以及科學家們正如何嘗試阻止它。

But first,

但首先，

if we could, 文法

如果我們能做到，

should we end aging?

我們應該終結衰老嗎？

Is this a good idea?

這是一個好主意嗎？

The end of aging or life extension makes many people uncomfortable.

終結衰老或延長壽命讓很多人感到不適。

We're born,

我們出生、

are young,

年輕、

become older,

變老，

and then we die.

然後死去。

This has been the natural order for literally all of human history,

這簡直就是整個人類歷史上理所當然的自然規律，

and getting old is a good thing,

而且變老是件好事，

right?

對吧？

We celebrate the idea of living long enough to experience old age.

我們慶祝人們能活得足夠長久去體驗老年時光的觀念。

We even call them the golden years. 慣用語

我們甚至稱其為黃金歲月。

But the reality is that everybody wants to become old, 表達脈絡

但現實是，人人都想活到老，

but nobody wants to be old.

但沒人想要變老。

Think of the Greek myth of Tithonus, 文化背景

比如，想想希臘神話中提托諾斯的故事，

for example.

舉個例子。

Tithonus was the lover of the goddess Eos and probably an amazing dude

提托諾斯是女神厄俄斯的情人，可能也是個非常有魅力的人，

because she begged Zeus to grant him immortality so they could spend eternity together.

因為她乞求宙斯賜予他永生，這樣他們就能永遠在一起。

But she forgot to specifically ask for eternal youth. 文法

但她忘了具體要求永保青春。

Tithonus was granted eternal life,

提托諾斯獲得了永生，

but he kept aging,

但他卻不斷老去，

unable to die.

求死不能。

After a few hundred years,

幾百年後，

he was reduced to the size of a grape,

他縮減成了葡萄般大小，

babbling on senselessly forever.

永遠毫無知覺地嘟囔著。

Thousands of years ago,

幾千年前，

humans already feared never-ending old age.

人類就已經害怕無休止的衰老了。

But ending aging does not mean getting weaker and weaker. 文法

但終結衰老並不意味著變得越來越虛弱。

If you become too old,

如果你變得太老，

it's too late.

那就太晚了。

A 90-year-old who stopped aging would die anyway after a few years.

一個停止衰老的90歲老人幾年後無論如何都會死去。

Too much damage has been done to his internal machinery.

他的內部機能已經受到了太多的損傷。

There are already too many surfaces for disease to attack.

疾病已經有太多的入侵面可以攻擊。

Instead,

相反，

the concept of life extension promises to end diseases

延長壽命的概念承諾終結疾病，

and with them the end of a fixed maximum age.

隨之而來的是固定最高壽命上限的終結。

We don't know how much we could prolong our lives. 文法

我們不知道到底能把壽命延長多久。

We might make every human healthy to the currently accepted maximum age of around 120

我們可能會讓每個人都健康地活到目前公認的120歲左右的最高壽命，

or we might stop biological aging and disease indefinitely.

或者我們可能會無限期地停止生物衰老和疾病。

Nobody knows at this point what's possible.

目前沒人知道這有多大的可能性。

Okay,

好吧，

but even if we could achieve that, 文法

但即使我們能做到，

should we?

我們應該這麼做嗎？

Well,

那麼，

life extension is really just another phrase for medicine.

延長壽命其實只是醫學的另一種說法。

All the doctors are doing is trying to prolong life and minimize suffering. 文法

所有的醫生在做的，無非是試圖延長壽命和減輕痛苦。

The vast majority of healthcare resources are spent on the consequences of aging.

絕大多數的醫療資源都花在了衰老的後果上。

Nearly half of your lifetime healthcare costs will be spent during your senior years 片語搭配

你一生中近一半的醫療費用將花在你的晚年，

and another third during middle age.

另外三分之一花在中年。

We are actually already trying to prolong life with our current medicine.

實際上，我們已經在用現有的醫學來嘗試延長壽命了。

We're just doing it very inefficiently.

只是我們做得效率很低。

Trying to stop aging from happening is not less natural than transplanting a heart, 文法

試圖阻止衰老的發生，並不比移植心臟、

treating cancer with chemotherapy,

用化療治療癌症、

using antibiotics or vaccines.

使用抗生素或疫苗更不自然。

Nothing humans do nowadays is purely natural anymore,

如今人類所做的一切都已不再是純天然的了，

and we enjoy the highest standard of living ever as a consequence of that. 片語搭配

作為結果，我們享受著有史以來最高的生活水準。

What we're doing right now is waiting until it's too late and the machine is failing. 慣用語

我們現在所做的就是等到一切都太晚了，機器開始出現故障。

And then we use the vast majority of our resources trying to fix it as well as we can

然後，我們耗費絕大多數資源試圖盡可能地修復它，

while it breaks down even further.

而它卻在進一步崩潰。

But life extension still feels hubristic. 用詞

但延長壽命仍然感覺很傲慢。

Most people assume that they will want to die once they reach a certain age,

大多數人認為到了特定年齡，他們就會想死，

and this might still be true.

這或許仍然是對的。

The idea of avoiding death entirely is off-putting for many. 用詞

完全避免死亡的想法讓很多人反感。

The end of biological aging would not mean the end of death in any way.

終結生物學意義上的衰老，並不意味著在任何意義上終結死亡。

It's more like a summer evening when you were a kid 表達脈絡

它更像是在你小時候的一個夏日傍晚，

and your mom called you inside.

你媽媽喊你回屋。

You just wanted to keep playing,

你只想繼續玩，

have a little more fun during sunset

在日落時分多享受一點樂趣，

before you went to sleep.

然後再去睡覺。

It's not about playing outside forever,

並不是要永遠在外面玩，

just a little longer until we feel tired.

只是想稍微再玩一會兒，直到我們感到疲倦。

If you imagine a world without disease 文法

如果你想像一個沒有疾病的世界，

where you and your loved ones could live in good health for another 100 or 200 years,

在那裡，你和你愛的人可以健康地多活100或200年，

how would this change us?

這將如何改變我們？

Would we take better care of our planet 片語搭配

如果我們知道自己會活得更久，

if we knew we would be around longer? 用詞

我們會更好地照顧我們的星球嗎？

If we could work for 150 years,

如果我們可以工作150年，

how much time would we spend figuring out what we're good at? 片語動詞

我們會花多少時間去探索自己擅長什麼？

How much more time would we spend learning?

我們會多花多少時間去學習？

Would the intense feeling of pressure and stress many of us are feeling right now

我們中許多人現在感受到的那種強烈的壓力和壓迫感，

go away or get worse?

是會消失還是會變得更糟？

So,

所以，

asking again,

再次提問，

if you could choose how long to live right now,

如果你現在可以選擇活多久，

in good health and with your friends and family,

健康地和你的親朋好友在一起，

what's your personal answer?

你個人的答案是什麼？

What would you like your future to look like? 文法

你希望你的未來是什麼樣子的？

But maybe you are still unconvinced.

但也許你仍然沒有被說服。

Some nagging feeling remains. 慣用語

內心仍有一絲不安。

That is the Reaper whispering into your brain.

那是死神在你的腦海中低語。

Watch my video to hear what he says

去看我的影片聽聽他說了什麼，

and why you shouldn't listen.

以及為什麼你不應該聽他的。

Your eternal future may depend on it.

你永恆的未來可能取決於此。

Go watch the other part over at CGP Grey's channel.

去 CGP Grey 的頻道看另一部分吧。

And if you're not already subscribed,

如果你還沒有訂閱，

subscribe.

請訂閱。