世界节假日博览 第142期:老年人日

 　　Senior Citizens Day is on August the 21st. It is a day to celebrate the world’s older people. Their number is increasing rapidly every year. In 1950 there were 200 million people over 60 years old. That number nearly tripled¹ to 600 million in 2000. Experts say that by 2025, there will be over 1 billion old folk. The day was started by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. He said there should be a day for us to show our gratitude² for what old people have achieved in their lives, and for their contributions to our communities and society. It is also a day on which we can focus on the rights of the aged³ all over the world. In today’s world where equality is so important, there are many issues surrounding ageism.There are many things we can do on Senior Citizens Day. Perhaps the first thing we should do is tell the older people in our lives how much we love them. We should thank them for all they have done for us. It is important to spend time with seniors, especially those who live alone, who may be lonely.Spending time with seniors shows them they are still appreciated. There are many things we can learn from them. They are full of wonderful stories of a different age. President Reagan said: “For all they have achieved throughout life and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks…We can best demonstrate⁴ our gratitude and esteem⁵ by making sure that our communities are good places in which to grow older.”

　　老年人日在8月21日。这一节日用于赞美世界上的老年人。老年人的数量每年都在急剧增长。1950年全世界60多岁的老年人是2亿人。老年人的数量到2000年增长了2倍，达到了6亿人。专家说到2025年，世界上将会有10亿老年人。老年人日是美国前总统罗纳德·里根提出的。里根说我们应该设立一天来感激老年人毕生的成就及他们对社区和社会做出的贡献。老年人日也是我们专注老年人权利的一天。当今世界平等如此重要，却仍存在着诸多歧视老年人的问题。我们能在老年人日做很多事。或许我们该做的第一件事就是告诉老人们我们多爱他们。我们应该感谢老人为我们所做的一切。陪伴老人很重要，特别是陪伴那些独居，可能感觉孤单的老人。陪伴老人证明他们仍值得感激。我们可以从他们身上学到很多事情。他们身上有着不同时代的精彩烙印。里根总统说，“我们对老年人毕生的成就和他们一直的追求欠一声感谢。我们应该好好展示我们的感激和尊敬，保证我们的社会适合年老时居住。”

1 tripled   

v.（使）增至三倍( triple的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The enemy tripled his strength. 敌军把兵力增加到原来的三倍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He tripled his income. 他使他的收入增加两倍[增至三倍]。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

3 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

4 demonstrate   

vt.论证，证明；示范；显示；vi.示威游行

参考例句：

• Let me demonstrate to you how this machine works.我给你演示一下这台机器的运转情况。
• How can I demonstrate to you that my story is true?我怎样才能向你证明我的话是真实的呢？

5 esteem   

n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。