VOA常速英语2007-Baby Boomers Make Plans for Retirement

By Priscilla Huff
Washington
02 October 2007
 

The United States is well-known for its youth-obsessed culture, but in reality there is a huge generation of so-called baby boomers -- Americans born after World War Two. They number some 80 million people and they are beginning to retire and re-define how U.S. citizens grow old. What many want to do is to live at home, age-in-place, and that is prompting the development of innovative¹ problems to help them.  Priscilla Huff takes a look at one such program in Washington, D.C.

Mike and Judy Canning are now retired², after careers in government and raising a family. Mike Canning hopes he and his wife have many healthy years ahead of them. "You're of a certain age -- in my case, I'm 66," he tells us. "And with other people thinking about the same things, about your future or eventual³ demise⁴ -- one must. We love our house. We've been there many years. We don't want to move."

Some older Americans choose communities aimed solely⁵ at people aged⁶ 55 and up. They buy homes in complexes only for adults that provide lots of social activities. The U.S. Census⁷ Bureau estimates that, within 20 years, one in five Americans will be aged 65 or older.

William Daroff is with United Jewish Communities. "More and more of us are having to deal with our retirement⁸ and that of our parents and our grandparents, so as a society we need to start dealing⁹ with these issues of so many people aging at the same time."

Traditionally, retirement communities and nursing homes have been the destination of senior citizens.  But more and more older Americans, like the Cannings, want to grow old in familiar surroundings. "Yes, the focus is staying in our own homes, but we want to do that because we want to remain living in our own community that we live in where we have neighbors who have babies or school age children"

It is a trend called aging-in-place. But, the Cannings recognize, to remain in their home as long as possible, they are going to need some help. So, they have joined a group called the Capitol Hill Village. 

It is a fee-based organization aimed primarily at senior citizens. Its executive director, Gail Kohn, organizes volunteers to help members, and if they need additional services, she manages a referral list of reliable contractors¹⁰. "We have a vendor¹¹ and that vendor is going to provide a service and then we arrange with the vendor to call our member," she explains.

Kohn coordinates¹² volunteers and finds reliable plumbers¹³, electricians and other repairmen for her senior citizen members. "By helping¹⁴ them do what needs to be done in order for them to live as comfortably as possible, so it could be as simple as getting involved to make the house work well."

Mike Canning says he does not need much help now, but he says he is already thinking how the Capitol Hill Village could help him in the years ahead. "That could mean something as simple as activities in my house that I'm getting too old for, such as cleaning the gutters¹⁵ or cutting the grass or doing the gardening."

Capitol Hill Village is just one model of innovative programs designed to achieve that goal, allowing senior citizens to remain in their homes and part of their communities.

William Daroff of United Jewish Communities says,"Our older Americans can be seen as a great resource.  If you look back at how we dealt with folks who were aging 20, 30 years ago, it wasn't very creative, not very innovative. But today's 70 year old is more like yesterday's 50 year old. "

The U.S. Census Bureau projects that over the next 40 years, the number of people aged 65 and older will double, both in the United States and around the world.

That is nearly one billion people who will probably need a little extra help.

1 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

2 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。

3 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

4 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

5 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

6 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。

7 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

8 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。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

12 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 plumbers   

n.管子工，水暖工( plumber的名词复数 )；[美][口]（防止泄密的）堵漏人员

参考例句：

• Plumbers charge by the hour for their work. 水管工人的工作是以小时收费的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Plumbers, carpenters, and other workmen finished the new house quickly. 管道工、木工及其他工匠很快完成了这幢新房子。 来自辞典例句

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 gutters   

（路边）排水沟( gutter的名词复数 )； 阴沟； （屋顶的）天沟； 贫贱的境地

参考例句：

• Gutters lead the water into the ditch. 排水沟把水排到这条水沟里。
• They were born, they grew up in the gutters. 他们生了下来，以后就在街头长大。