Lesson 11 How to grow old
新概念英语第四册最具代表性的经典必背五星级文章
About the author: Bertrand Russell
Some old people are oppressed by the fear of death.
be oppressed by / with
be oppressed by the fear of sth.
In the young there is a justification for this feeling.
in
The fault lies in you.
It is in me to help you.
What is it in me to do?
I have achieved what it is in me to do.
I have achieved whatever work it is in me to do.
Young men who have reason to fear that they will be killed in battle may justifiably feel bitter in the thought that they have been cheated of the best things that life has to offer.
in the thought that
at the thought / idea of
John decided to quit in the thought that he had no chance of winning this task.
Their most savage combative instincts are aroused on the football field at the thought of the disgrace if they lose.
in the hope that
in the belief that
cheat of 剥夺
=rob of;
=divest of,
=deprive sb of sth.
the best things (that life has ) to offer.
But in an old man who has known human joys and sorrows, and has achieved whatever work it was in him to do, the fear of death is somewhat abject and ignoble.
joys and sorrows
ups and downs
thick and thin
wax and wane
rise and fall
ins and outs
hither and thither
pace up and down
walk back and forth
in sb to do; 生来会¡¡，在（性格/能力）中
The best way to overcome it- so at least it seems to me----is to make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal, until bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly merged in the universal life.
bit by bit
little by little
by degrees
gradually
increasingly
at least it seems so to me.
An individual human existence should be like a river--small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past boulders and over waterfalls.
small at first: childhood
narrowly contained within its banks:
Surroundings / restrictions
rushing: youth
boulders: difficulty; frustrations and obstacles
waterfalls: ups and downs of life
Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being.
river grows wider: broader vision; richer experience
flow more quietly: Still water run deep.
painlessly lose their individual being: death
The man who, in old age, can see his life in this way, will not suffer from the fear of death, since the things he cares for will continue.
¡°指穷于为薪，火传也，不知其尽也。¡±
责任编辑:zhaotingting
