情景英语口语100主题 001age年龄

Beginner
A: how old is Keith?
B: he’s 21. how old is James？
A: he’s a year older than Keith, but he looks younger.
B: how’s your father?
A: he’s fine. He retired¹ last week. It’s a turning point in his life. Now he can relax and enjoy his retirement².
B: he can spend more time with his grandchilden.
A: oh, I don’t think he wants to. He wants to travel to several different countries around the world.
B: so, he wants to have a more active retirement. Good idea!
A: how do you want to spend your old age?
B: in the same way, probably.

Intermediate³
A: what’s the life expectancy⁴ in your country?
B: I’m not sure, but probably about 75 years. How about in your country?
A: about 70, I think. This newspaper article talks about the problems of an aging population. It’s a problem that will soon affect most of the world.
B: I heard that the government might need to increase the retirement age, because otherwise there will not be enough workers to support the young and the elderly⁵.
A: perhaps we need to have more babies! Tina gave birth to a baby boy yesterday.
B: did she? That’s great. However, if we have too many children, that will have a bad effect on the enviroment.
A: how’s your son these days?
B: oh, he’s fine. Kids seem to grow up very quickly nowadays.
A: he’ll be a teenager before you know it! Teenagers are often rebellious⁶! When do you mine it is a good age to have a child?
B: I had mine when I was 24. that’s a little young. I’d suggest you wait until you are in your late twenties., or even in your early thirties if you have a good career.
A: yes, I think you’re right. I’m thinking about having a child, but not just yet.
B: is there a big generation gap⁷ between parents and their children in you country?
A; Yes, there is. Teenagers do not want to live traditonal lives. They want to go out, have fun, and explore the world. They want to develop their own view of life. Parents usually try to discourage⁸ them, but they don’t often succeed.
B:parents usually give their children more freedom in my country. Sometimes they give them too much freedom.
A: it’s almost impossible to get the right balance. If you are too strict, kids might ignore you. If you are too lenient⁹, they might go wild.

Words
Young old middle-aged elderly childhood adulthood teenager
Generation retire early-twenties mid-thirties late-forties baby toddler
Adolescent kid life expectancy 21 years old look(older) turning-point mature
Child youth life middle old age pension

Phrases
Grow up have a child become an adult leave school get married be born become pregnant give birth

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

3 intermediate   

adj.中间的，居间的，中级的；n.中间体，媒介物

参考例句：

• This country is now at an intermediate stage of development.这个国家目前正处于发展的中间阶段。
• Gray is intermediate between black and white.灰色介于黑色和白色之间。

4 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

5 elderly   

adj.年老的；年龄相当大的

参考例句：

• He is getting elderly.他逐渐变老了。
• The elderly man is quite energetic.这位上了年纪的老人仍精力充沛。

6 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

7 gap   

n.缺口；间隔；差距；不足，缺陷

参考例句：

• We must see that there is no gap in our defence.我们必须确保我们的防御没有漏洞。
• There is a gap of five miles between towns.镇与镇之间相隔五英里。

8 discourage   

vt.使泄气，使沮丧；阻拦，劝阻

参考例句：

• Don't let one failure discourage you.勿因一次失败而气馁。
• We discourage smoking in this school.在这所学校里我们劝阻吸烟。

9 lenient   

adj.宽大的，仁慈的

参考例句：

• The judge was lenient with him.法官对他很宽大。
• It's a question of finding the means between too lenient treatment and too severe punishment.问题是要找出处理过宽和处罚过严的折中办法。