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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
年近百岁的老人也有参加马拉松比赛的，你相信吗？
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 1 of 6
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.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 2 of 6
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.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 3 of 6
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?
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 4 of 6
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.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 5 of 6
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 Learning1 English. Do join us again soon.
Both: Goodbye!
收听单词发音 |
1
learning
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| n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词 | |
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2
archer
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| n.射手，弓箭手 | |
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3
female
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| adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子 | |
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4
clients
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| n.顾客( client的名词复数 )；当事人；诉讼委托人；[计算机]客户端 | |
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antique
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| adj.古时的，古代的；n.古物，古器，古玩 | |
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prehistoric
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| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
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7
extended
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| 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 | |
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8
definitely
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| adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地 | |
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9
sprightly
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| adj.愉快的，活泼的 | |
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10
crosswords
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| 纵横填字谜( crossword的名词复数 ) | |
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