Who Wants to Live Forever?
If your doctor could give you a drug that would let you live a healthy life for twice as long，would you take it?
The good news is that we may be drawing near to that date.Scientists have already extended the lives of flies，worms and mice in laboratories.Many now think that using genetic treatments we will soon be able to extend human life to at least 140 years.
This seems a great idea.Think of how much more time we could spend chasing our dreams，spending time with our loved ones，watching our families grow and have families of their own.
“Longer life would give us a chance to recover from our mistakes and promote long term thinking，”says Dr Gregory Stock of the University of California School of Public Health.“It would also raise productivity by adding to the year we can work.”
Longer lives don’t just affect the people who live them.They also affect society as a whole.“We have war，poverty，all sorts of issues around，and I don’t think any of them would be at all helped by having people live longer，”says US bioethicist Daniel Callahan.“The question is ’What will we get as a society?’ I suspect it won’t be a better society.”
It would certainly be a very different society.People are already finding it more difficult to stay married.Divorce rates are rising.What would to marriage in a society where people lived for 140 years?And what would happen to family life if nine or 10 generations of the same family were all alive at the same time?
Research into ageing may enable women to remain fertile for longer.And that raises the prospect of having 100-year-old parents，or brothers and sisters bom 50 years apart~.We think of an eider sibling as someone who can protect us and offer help and advice.That would be hard to do if that sibling came from a completely different generation.
Working life would also be affected，especially if the retirement age was lifted.More people would stay in work for longer.That would give us the benefits of age-skill，wisdom and good judgement.
On the other hand，more people working for longer would create greater competition for jobs.It would make it more difficult for younger people to find a job.Top posts would be dominated by the same few individuals，making career progress more difficult.And how easily would a 25-year-old employee be able to communicate with a 125-year-old boss?
Young people would be a smaller part of a society in which people lived to 140.It may be that such a society would place less importance on guiding and educating young people，and more on making life comfortable for the old.
And society would feel very different if more of its members were older.There would be more wisdom，but less energy.Young people like to move about.Old people like to sit still.Young people tend to act without thinking.Old people tend to think without acting.Young people are curious and like to experience different things.Old people are less enthusiastic about change.In fact，they are less enthusiastic about everything.
The effect of anti-ageing technology is deeper than we might think.But as the science advances，we need to think about these changes now.
“If this could ever happen，then we’d better ask what kind of society we want to get，”says Daniel Callahan.“We had better not go anywhere near it2 until we have figure those problems out.”
词汇：
mice/maIs/n.老鼠 (复数) bioethicist/7aIE5WIsIst/n.生物伦理学家
sibling/5sIblIN/n.兄弟姐妹
注释：
1. brothers and sisters born 50 years apan 出生年份才目隔50年的兄弟姐妹
2. We had better not go anywhere near it 我们最好离它远点，这里的it指代前面讲的 anti-ageing technology。
练习：
1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as one of the things that living longer might enable an individual to do?
A) Spending more time with his family.
B) Having more education.
C) Realizing more dreams.
D) Working longer.
2. Which of the following is implied in the sixth paragraph?
A) Marriages in the US today are quite unstable.
B) More and more people in the US today want to get married.
C) Living longer would make it easier for people to maintain their marital ties.
D) If people live longer，they would stay in marriage longer.
3. All of the following are possible effects living longer might have on working life EXCEPT
A) Communication between employers and employees would be more difficult.
B) More money would be used by employees in payment of their employees.
C) The job market would be more competitive.
D) It would be more difficult for young people to be promoted to top positions.
4. An important feature of a society in which people live a long life is that
A) it places more emphasis on educating the young.
B) it is both wise and energetic.
C) it lacks the curiosity to experiment what is new.
D) it welcomes changes.
5. Which of the following best describes Callahan’s attitude to anti-ageing technology?
A) Optimistic.
B) Pessimistic.
C) Reserved.
D) Negative.
答案与题解：
1. B 长寿使个人能做的事主要在第3、4段里讲到，作者没有提到长寿可以让人更多地接受教育
2. A 本题答案以下面的这两句话为依据：Psople are already finding it more difficult to stay married.Divorce rates are rising.暗示美国人目前的婚姻关系已经十分脆弱。
3. B 文章的第9段讲了寿命延长、退休推迟可能带来的种种问题，但作者没有提到雇佣者需要更多的钱来支付员工的工资。
4. C 答案可以在10、11这两段里找到。
5. C 本题的答案依据可以在最后一段里找到。Callahan认为在搞清楚长寿社会会给我们带来哪些问题之前，最好不要急着搞抗衰老的技术。可见他对抗衰老技术的发展是有保留的。
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