Centenarians

 　　NB: This is not a word for word transcript¹

　　Yvonne: This is 6 Minute English, I'm Yvonne Archer² - and thanks to Alice for joining

　　me today.

　　Alice: Hi, Yvonne!

　　Yvonne: Hi! Now, when people in the UK reach the ripe old age of 100, something

　　rather special usually arrives in the post for them.

　　Alice: Yes, they get a congratulatory card from the Queen.

　　Yvonne: Exactly. But it seems that the Queen will have to send out lots more cards in

　　the future. But before we hear why, are you ready to answer today's question,

　　Alice?

　　Alice: Yes, ready and waiting!

　　Yvonne: Grand! The oldest female³ to complete a marathon was from the United States

　　- but how old was she?

　　a) 92

　　b) 97 or

　　c) 101 years old

　　Alice: Oh, that's difficult. They're all quite old. Because we're talking about people

　　over the age of 100, I'll guess 101 years old.

　　Yvonne: Good answer, but as usual you'll have to wait until the end of today's “6 Minute

　　English” to find out if you're right or wrong. Now, reaching the age of 100

　　used to be quite rare - unusual. But government figures show that in 2009,

　　there were 11,600 people over that age here in the UK.

　　Alice: That's quite a lot!

　　Yvonne: Exactly. Well, that number is set to rise because it's expected that more than

　　three million of today's under-16s will live to be centenarians. Alice, explain

　　what 'a centenarian' is for us, please?

　　Alice: A centenarian is someone who has reached 100 years old - or older.

　　Yvonne: Wow. Let's hear more on that from Fran Cartwright of Age UK, who's at an

　　exercise class for the over 70s.

　　Insert 1: Fran Cartwright, Age UK

　　Well, people are living longer. We have wonderful clients⁴ here who are approaching a

　　hundred; they're still exercising. So by mental and physical activity, they can achieve

　　that.

　　Yvonne: In that class, there are clients who are approaching - are almost - a hundred

　　years old and they're still exercising.

　　Alice: Yes, and Fran Cartwright from Age UK says they can achieve the age of a

　　hundred through mental activity and physical activity - by exercising both

　　mind and body.

　　Yvonne: Right, well, here's how one woman in the exercise class compares herself and

　　her friends with her own great grandmother.

　　Insert 2: Woman at exercise class for over 70s

　　My great grandma, you know, she was, you know - I thought they were ancient. We're

　　not today, are we? You know, we're reasonably healthy.

　　Yvonne: The woman and her friends are all over the age of 70. Some of them are great

　　grandparents too, but she wouldn't describe them in the same way that she'd

　　describe her own great grandmother, would she?

　　Alice: No, she describes her own great grandmother as 'ancient' - so old, that she was

　　almost an antique⁵, or even prehistoric⁶!

　　Yvonne: Oh dear. And in contrast, at a similar age, the woman says that she and her

　　friends are reasonably healthy - they're in fairly good health. But here's how

　　two young people feel about the possibility of an extended⁷ old age - living

　　longer than they'd expect to.

　　Insert 3 – Two young men

　　Young man 1: It would be an achievement living that long, but I wouldn't be able to do

　　much then. I'd just probably be sitting around in a chair.

　　Young man 2: I don't think it would be fun because you've got to live with strangers

　　which you don't know.

　　Yvonne: Well, they don't seem too enthusiastic about living until one hundred - and

　　possibly beyond - do they?

　　Alice: No, they don't. Although the first young man said that he thought it would be

　　an achievement to live that long. He doesn't think he'll be able to do much by

　　then - except sit around in a chair.

　　Yvonne: And the second young man thinks that being old won't be any fun because he'll

　　have to live with strangers - people he doesn't know - rather than with friends

　　and family.

　　Alice: But government figures seem to say otherwise, predicting that one in four

　　children in Britain will live until they are 100 years old.

　　Yvonne: So hopefully, both young men are wrong about what will happen to them when

　　they're old. Alice, did I tell you that I've got a friend who's now 102 years old?

　　Alice: You did. What an achievement! And she's still very active, isn't she?

　　Yvonne: Definitely⁸. She was dancing at her sister's 100th birthday party just last

　　weekend! And what about your sprightly⁹, lovely grandfather, Alice?

　　Alice: Yeah, my grandpa's over 90 and he does lots of crosswords¹⁰. I think it keeps his

　　mind very active.

　　Yvonne: Excellent! And to keep your mind active Alice, back to today's quiz. Earlier, I

　　told you that the oldest female to complete a marathon was from the United

　　States. But was she 92, 97 or 101 years old?

　　Alice: I guessed 101 years old.

　　Yvonne: And, unfortunately, you were wrong. She was actually 92 years old and it only

　　took her nine hours and almost a minute.

　　Alice: Fantastic! I hope we'll be able to do that when we get into our 90s.

　　Yvonne: Let's hope so - and more importantly, that we're really healthy too. But that's all

　　for "6 Minute English" from BBC Learning¹¹ English. Do join us again soon.

　　Both: Goodbye!

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 archer   

n.射手，弓箭手

参考例句：

• The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
• The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

3 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

4 clients   

n.顾客( client的名词复数 )；当事人；诉讼委托人；[计算机]客户端

参考例句：

• a lawyer with many famous clients 拥有许多著名委托人的律师
• She understood the importance of establishing a close rapport with clients. 她懂得与客户建立密切和谐的关系的重要性。

5 antique   

adj.古时的，古代的；n.古物，古器，古玩

参考例句：

• The Sunday antique market is a happy hunting ground for collectors.周日的古董市场是收藏家的淘物乐园。
• I saw the vase in the window of an antique shop.我在一家古玩店的橱窗里看见了这个花瓶。

6 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

7 extended   

adj.延伸的；伸展的；延长的；扩大的v.延伸(extend的过去式和过去分词)；伸展；延长

参考例句：

• an extended lunch hour 延长了的午餐时间
• France has greatly extended its influence in world affairs. 在世界事务中，法国的影响已大大地扩大了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

9 sprightly   

adj.愉快的，活泼的

参考例句：

• She is as sprightly as a woman half her age.她跟比她年轻一半的妇女一样活泼。
• He's surprisingly sprightly for an old man.他这把年纪了，还这么精神，真了不起。

10 crosswords   

纵横填字谜( crossword的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Doing crosswords gives the mind some exercise. 做纵横字谜游戏能锻炼脑筋。
• He spends all his time on crosswords and other trifles. 他把所有的时间都用在做纵横填字游戏和其他无聊的活动上。

11 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。