Autumn Years and Other Phases of Life

 

And now it’s time for Words and Their Stories!

Each week, we tell the story of English language words and expressions. On our program today, we will talk about seasons. In some places, there are four: winter, spring, summer and autumn.

Many areas in Earth’s northern hemisphere¹ have just experienced² a change of seasons -- from summer to autumn. Hours of daylight grow shorter, and temperatures drop. Nature is entering a quiet phase³. Flowering plants stop producing flowers. Leaves growing on some trees change color, die and fall to the ground. Some animals become less active and hibernate⁴ during the winter months.

Nature has its phases⁵ and so do we.

Like seeds shooting signs of life through the soil, spring is a time of rebirth. If it were likened to a human life, spring is the time when we enter the world as innocent⁶ as a newborn baby.

Then babies become toddlers. They learn the word “no” and use it a lot. Bad behavior can be a problem during this period. No wonder it is often called the “Terrible Twos.” But other than this “terrible” part, childhood is a magical time, or at least, it should be, when everything seems possible.

However, those feelings of wonder are often dampened during a child’s adolescence⁷. The growing pains and angst of the teenage years can be a dark time, indeed. But then we become young adults. We try to make it on our own.

For many people, their 20s and 30s are the prime⁸ of life. This is the time when they are at their personal best. But the prime of life can happen at any time. Some people peak really early. They hit their prime in high school or college. After that, it may be all downhill. He or she is filled with memories of the glory days – always reliving an earlier, happier time.

We just sit around talking about the old times,

She says when she feels like crying she starts laughing thinking about …

Glory days - they pass you by

Glory days - in the wink⁹ of a young girl’s eye,

Glory days, glory days …

Other people may be late bloomers. They do not hit their peak until much later in life. And still others live their lives as if the best is yet to come … always!

Whenever you peak, we all begin to slow down a bit. As we age, we hit a phase that some people call midlife. In this phase we are busy working and possibly raising a family. Even though we are busy, we may feel that life has become predictable. So, this is when many people want to change things, a lot! They have a so-called¹⁰ midlife crisis¹¹... or two. They may buy a really fast motorcycle, get a tattoo¹² or take up a new and dangerous hobby -- like skydiving.

But this passes and things calm down again as we enter the next phase – the autumn years.

If spring is the season of being born, autumn is the season of dying¹³ -- or at least slowing down for the winter. Our autumn years is the period after we retire from work and start to slow down. Many people love this phase and enjoy their time in retirement¹⁴.

However, we have other terms that describe this latter part of life. You might hear them called the twilight¹⁵ years. For many, this could suggest that the “end is near.”

So, perhaps a better expression is the golden years. This describes a time that is carefree and easy. Golden, you might say. You finally hit a phase where you don’t have to care what other people think anymore.

Perhaps this is why we sometimes call the autumn years, or golden years, a second childhood. We can live like a child again, hopefully, without a care in the world.

Some people in their autumn years of life may have some regrets. But seriously, who wouldn’t? Nearly everyone has a few “what-ifs” and “should-haves.”

But as we say, you can’t change the past. You can only look to the future … whatever stage of life you are in.

And that’s Words and Their Stories. Until next time, I’m Anna Matteo.

Golden years, (gold whop whop whop)

Golden years, (gold whop whop whop)

Golden years, (gold whop whop whop)

Don't let me hear you say life's taking you nowhere,

(angel)

Look at that sky, life's begun

Nights are warm and the days are young...

Words in This Story

phase – n. a part or step in a process : one part in a series of related¹⁶ events or actions

hibernate – n. of an animal : to spend the winter sleeping or resting

toddler – n. a young child

angst – n. a strong feeling of being worried or nervous : a feeling of anxiety about your life or situation

peak – n. the highest point of development

hobby – n. an interest or activity engaged in for pleasure

what-if – n. a question that asks someone to imagine what might happen or what might have happened

should-have – n. a question that asks someone to imagine what might happen or what might have happened

1 hemisphere   

n.半球，半球地图

参考例句：

• This animal is to be found only in the Southern Hemisphere.这种动物只有在南半球才能找到。
• In most people,the left hemisphere is bigger than the right.多数人的左脑比右脑大。

2 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

3 phase   

n.相位，时期，局面，阶段；vt.逐步执行，实行，按计划进行

参考例句：

• The first phase of the project has been completed.第一期工程已经告一段落。
• It was a very important phase of history.它是一个非常重要的历史阶段。

4 hibernate   

v.冬眠，蛰伏

参考例句：

• Bears often hibernate in caves.熊常在山洞里冬眠。
• Some warm-blooded animals do not need to hibernate.一些温血动物不需要冬眠。

5 phases   

n.[化学]相( phase的名词复数 )；阶段；[物理学]相位；（月亮、行星的）位相

参考例句：

• The phases of the moon include the new and the full moon. 月相包括新月和满月。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Carbon steels exist in three stable crystalline phases. 碳素钢含有3种稳定的结晶状态。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 innocent   

adj.无罪的，清白的；无害的；天真的，单纯的

参考例句：

• I'm not quite so innocent as to believe that.我还不至于简单到相信那种事的地步。
• I was very young,and very innocent.我那时非常年轻，幼稚无知。

7 adolescence   

n.青春期，青少年

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the process of going from childhood to maturity.青春期是从少年到成年的过渡期。
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence.这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。

8 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

9 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

10 so-called   

adj.所谓的，号称的

参考例句：

• These were the so-called mainframe machines.它们被称为主机。
• Let's see what this so-called button does.让我们来看看为什么这个按钮叫这个名字。

11 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

12 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

13 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。

14 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。

15 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

16 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。