理想的退休年龄是多少岁(上)

美国和其他地方的国家退休年龄都起源于政治上的一些烟雾弹，这最初是一种象征性的福利，只有能够活到高寿的幸运公民才能享受到。

双语精读

In 1881, the conservative German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, plagued by a rise in socialist ideology, proposed a national retirement benefit to appease the leftist masses.

1881年，德国保守派总理奥托·冯·俾斯麦因为社会主义意识形态兴起而焦头烂额，于是提出了一项全国性的退休福利，以安抚左翼群众。

He set the retirement age at 70. Average life expectancy at the time? About 40 years. Von Bismarck resigned shortly after the policy passed, but his legacy remained, and Germany's retirement benefit (which was lowered to 65 in 1916) became the model for many other nations.

他把退休年龄定为70岁。而当时的平均预期寿命是多少？大约40岁。俾斯麦在该政策通过后不久就辞职了，但这一政治遗产被保留下来，德国的退休福利政策(1916年退休年龄降至65岁)成为了许多其他国家的典范。

When President Roosevelt established the Social Security Act of 1935, 65 was similarly chosen as the national retirement age, despite the fact that less than 60 percent of American adults lived that long.

当罗斯福总统在1935年制定《社会保障法案》时，65岁同样被选定为国家退休年龄，尽管当时只有不到60%的美国成年人活到了这个年龄。

Which is all to say, the national retirement age in the U.S. and elsewhere has origins in a bit of political smoke and mirrors; it began as a symbolic offering, accessible only to the lucky citizens who managed to survive well into old age.

总而言之，美国和其他地方的国家退休年龄都起源于政治上的一些烟雾弹，这最初是一种象征性的福利，只有能够活到高寿的幸运公民才能享受到。

Today though, many more people live long enough to have access to a national retirement fund, often for years if not decades. Average life expectancy in the United States is 76, and in many European countries it's even higher.

然而，如今许多人的寿命延长，可以享受到几年，甚至几十年的国家退休基金。美国的平均预期寿命为76岁，而在许多欧洲国家，这一数字甚至更大。

The U.S. national retirement age -- when you can start claiming full Social Security benefits -- has crept up much more gradually, to 67 for people born after 1960.

美国的国家退休年龄--即可以开始申领所有社会保障福利的年龄--增长得更为缓慢，对于1960年后出生的人来说，退休年龄已经上升到67岁。

In response, several countries -- most notoriously France, where the retirement age is 62 and life expectancy is 82 -- are debating raising the retirement age to try to offset the economic pressures of an aging population and the concern that national retirement benefits won't be able to keep up for much longer.

作为回应，几个国家--最显眼的是法国，该国的退休年龄为62岁，预期寿命为82岁--正在讨论提高退休年龄，以试图抵消人口老龄化带来的经济压力，并缓解人们对国家退休金无法维持太长时间的担忧。

From an economic standpoint, a later retirement age perhaps benefits everyone's bottom line. But putting finances aside, what are the mental and physical implications of raising a national retirement age? We asked experts to weigh in.

从经济角度来看，较晚的退休年龄或许对每个人的经济状况都有利。但是，撇开财务问题不谈，提高国家退休年龄在身心健康方面会产生什么影响？我们请了专家来发表意见。

One way to answer this question is to look at changes not in life span but in health-span -- the number of years people are healthy and disability-free. Think of it as your work-span.

回答这个问题的一种方法是，不看总体寿命的变化，而是看健康年限的变化，健康年限即人们有多少年是身体健康且没有残疾。可以把健康年限看成是你的工作年限。

Gal Wettstein, a senior research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, looked at age and potential for employment in a study about people's working life expectancy.

波士顿学院退休研究中心的高级研究型经济学家盖尔·韦特斯坦在一项关于人们的预期工作年限的研究中考察了年龄和就业潜力。

He found that Americans who are healthy at age 50 can expect to have roughly 23 more years free of disability, plus about eight years living with disability. That would suggest people's maximum working life expectancy, on average, is age 73.

他发现，50岁时身体依然健康的美国人预计还会有23年左右的无残疾寿命，外加大约8年的有残疾寿命。这表明，人们的平均最长工作年限为73岁。

"There's no doubt that life expectancy is longer, and also the ability to work has expanded," Dr. Wettstein said. "Part of that is medical changes, and part of that is the nature of work has changed."

"毫无疑问，人们的预期寿命更长了，而且能够工作的时间也延长了，"韦特斯坦博士说。"其中部分原因是医学上的变化，部分原因是工作性质发生了变化。"

In 2020, roughly 45 percent of the American labor force worked in a knowledge-based field, such as management, business and finance, education and health care. In 1935, these types of professions accounted for just 6 percent of the workforce.

2020年，大约45%的美国劳动力从事脑力工作，如管理、商业和金融、教育和医疗保健。1935年，这些类型的职业仅占劳动力的6%。

Dr. Pinchas Cohen, dean of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California, agreed that, from a health standpoint for people in these fields, a retirement age under 65 "makes no sense." "Even 65 is a 20th century number," he said.

南加州大学伦纳德·戴维斯老年学学院院长平查斯·科恩表示赞同，他说从健康角度来看，这些领域的人在65岁以下退休都是"说不通的"。"即使是65岁退休也都算是20世纪的标准。"他说。

词汇预习

economic [高考]
美[ˌiːkəˈnɑːmɪk] | 英[ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk]
adj. 经济的，经济学的；有利可图的；节约的
despite [高考]
美[dɪˈspaɪt] | 英[dɪˈspaɪt]
prep. 尽管；不管 n. 憎恨；轻视
response [高考]
美[rɪˈspɑːns] | 英[rɪˈspɒns]
n. 反应；回答；响应；答复
roughly [高考]
美[ˈrʌfli] | 英[ˈrʌfli]
adv. 粗略地；大约；粗暴地；粗糙地；粗鲁地
elsewhere [高考]
美[ˌelsˈwer] | 英[ˌelsˈweə(r)]
adv. 别处
similarly [高考]
美[ˈsɪmələrli] | 英[ˈsɪmələli]
adv. 相似地；类似地
employment [高考]
美[ɪmˈplɔɪmənt] | 英[ɪmˈplɔɪmənt]
n. 职业；雇用；使用
retirement [高考]
美[rɪˈtaɪərmənt] | 英[rɪˈtaɪəmənt]
n. 退休；隐匿处
economist [高考]
美[ɪˈkɑnəmɪst] | 英[ɪˈkɒnəmɪst]
n. 经济学家；[古]节俭的人
workforce [高考]
美[ˈwɜːrkfɔːrs] | 英[ˈwɜːkfɔːs]
n. 劳动力；工人总数；职工总数
legacy [高考]
美[ˈleɡəsi] | 英[ˈleɡəsi]
n. 遗赠物；先人或过去遗留下来的东西 adj. [计算机]旧系统的
potential [高考]
美[pəˈtenʃl] | 英[pəˈtenʃl]
adj. 潜在的；可能的 n. 潜力；潜能 n. 电位；电势
mental [高考]
美[ˈmentl] | 英[ˈmentl]
adj. 思想的；心理的；精神的；脑力的 n. 精神病患者
access [高考]
美[ˈækses] | 英[ˈækses]
n.入口，通道；获得的机会，使用权；（对计算机存储器的）访问，存取；（情感）爆发，发作；探视权 v. 接近，进入；获取，访问（计算机信息） adj.[美]（电视节目或时间等）对外公开的
disability [高考]
美[ˌdɪsəˈbɪləti] | 英[ˌdɪsəˈbɪləti]
n. 无力；无能；残疾；不利条件
political [高考]
美[pəˈlɪtɪkl] | 英[pəˈlɪtɪkl]
adj. 政治的；政治上的；政党的；人事的；争权夺利的
maximum [高考]
美[ˈmæksɪməm] | 英[ˈmæksɪməm]
n. 最大量；最大限度；最高点 adj. 最高的；最大极限的
accessible [高考]
美[əkˈsesəbl] | 英[əkˈsesəbl]
adj. 可得到的；易接近的；可进入的；易受影响的；易理解的
shortly [高考]
美[ˈʃɔːrtli] | 英[ˈʃɔːtli]
adv. 立刻；马上
plus [高考]
美[plʌs] | 英[plʌs]
prep. 加；加上 adj. 正的；超过的 n. 正数；加号；优势 conj. 并且
finance [高考]
美[ˈfaɪnæns] | 英[ˈfaɪnæns]
n. 金融；财政；资金 vt. 给 ... 提供资金；负担经费
conservative [高考]
美[kənˈsɜːrvətɪv] | 英[kənˈsɜːvətɪv]
adj. 保守的；守旧的 n. 保守派(党)；保守的人
socialist [高考]
美[ˈsoʊʃəlɪst] | 英[ˈsəʊʃəlɪst]
adj. 社会主义的 n. 社会主义者
access to [高考]
美[ˈæksɛs tu] | 英[ˈækses tu:]
接近，有权使用；进入，通向…的路口
no doubt [高考]
美[noʊ daʊt] | 英[nəʊ daʊt]
无疑；必定
keep up [高考]
美[kiːp ʌp] | 英[kiːp ʌp]
保持继续维持跟上(时代)
free of [高考]
美[friː əv] | 英[friː əv]
免于；没有
have access to [高考]
美[hæv ˈæksɛs tu] | 英[hæv ˈækses tu:]
可以到达；可以使用；有接触…的机会或权利
living [高考]
美[ˈlɪvɪŋ] | 英[ˈlɪvɪŋ]
adj. 活着的；生动的 n. 生活；生计
expectancy [高考]
美[ɪkˈspektənsi] | 英[ɪkˈspektənsi]
n. 期待；预期
span [高考]
美[spæn] | 英[spæn]
n. 时期；跨度；间距 vt. 延续；横跨；贯穿；遍及；弥补
symbolic [高考]
美[sɪmˈbɑːlɪk] | 英[sɪmˈbɒlɪk]
adj. 象征的；符号的 n. 代号
where [高考]
美[wer] | 英[weə(r)]
adv. 在哪里；在那个地方 conj. 在 ... 地方
would [高考]
美[wʊd , wəd] | 英[wʊd , wəd]
aux. 将；可能；大概；总会；愿意；will的过去式
standpoint [四级]
美[ˈstændpɔɪnt] | 英[ˈstændpɔɪnt]
n. 立场；观点
dean [四级]
美[diːn] | 英[diːn]
n. 系主任；学院院长；教务长；(基督教)教长 n. 迪安（人名）
look at [四级]
美[lʊk æt] | 英[lʊk æt]
（仔细地）看；着眼，考虑
rise in [四级]
美 | 英
在……方面的增加；上涨
offering [四级]
美[ˈɔːfərɪŋ] | 英[ˈɒfərɪŋ]
n. 供品；作品；出售物
ideology [六级]
美[ˌaɪdiˈɑːlədʒi] | 英[ˌaɪdiˈɒlədʒi]
n. 意识形态；空论；观念学
offset [六级]
美[ˈɔːfset] | 英[ˈɒfset]
vt. 抵消；补偿；（为了比较的目的而）把…并列（或并置）；为（管道等）装支管 vi. 形成分支，长出分枝；装支管 n. 抵消物，补偿；偏离量，偏离距离；（测绘）支距；（电压或电流的）偏离；分支，（山的）支脉；（建筑）壁阶；胶印法 adj. 胶印的，平版印刷的；偏离中心的，偏移的
resigned [专八]
美[rɪˈzaɪnd] | 英[rɪˈzaɪnd]
adj. 认命的；顺从的；听任的
appease [专八]
美[əˈpiːz] | 英[əˈpiːz]
v. 安抚；缓和；平息；姑息
less than [雅思]
美[les ðən] | 英[les ðən]
不到；少于

重点讲解

In 1881, the conservative German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, plagued by a rise in socialist ideology, proposed a national retirement benefit to appease the leftist masses.

1881年，德国保守派总理奥托·冯·俾斯麦因为社会主义意识形态兴起而焦头烂额，于是提出了一项全国性的退休福利，以安抚左翼群众。

plague n. & v.

1. 作名词：死亡率高的传染病；祸患；令人烦恼的事

【例】the plague of rats/smog 鼠害/雾霾忧患

2. 作动词：给……带来长时间的痛苦；困扰

【例】The team has been plagued by injury this season.

本赛季这支球队一直为队员受伤所困扰。

【近义词】trouble v. 使苦恼；使烦恼

appease v. 安抚；抚慰

【例】His resignation did little to appease public anger.

他的辞职并没有平息众怒。

【拓展】appeasement n. 绥靖政策

He set the retirement age at 70. Average life expectancy at the time? About 40 years. Von Bismarck resigned shortly after the policy passed, but his legacy remained, and Germany's retirement benefit (which was lowered to 65 in 1916) became the model for many other nations.

他把退休年龄定为70岁。而当时的平均预期寿命是多少？大约40岁。俾斯麦在该政策通过后不久就辞职了，但这一政治遗产被保留下来，德国的退休福利政策(1916年退休年龄降至65岁)成为了许多其他国家的典范。

legacy n.

1. 遗产

【例】received a legacy of $5 000 得到了5 000美元的遗产

2. 遗留问题；遗留的东西

【例】The war has left a legacy of hatred.

战争留下了仇恨。

【辨析】inheritance/heritage n. 继承的东西/（历史文化方面的）遗产

当罗斯福总统在1935年制定《社会保障法案》时，65岁同样被选定为国家退休年龄，尽管当时只有不到60%的美国成年人活到了这个年龄。

legacy n.

1. 遗产

【例】received a legacy of $5 000 得到了5 000美元的遗产

2. 遗留问题；遗留的东西

【例】The war has left a legacy of hatred.

战争留下了仇恨。

【辨析】inheritance/heritage n. 继承的东西/（历史文化方面的）遗产

Which is all to say, the national retirement age in the U.S. and elsewhere has origins in a bit of political smoke and mirrors; it began as a symbolic offering, accessible only to the lucky citizens who managed to survive well into old age.

总而言之，美国和其他地方的国家退休年龄都起源于政治上的一些烟雾弹，这最初是一种象征性的福利，只有能够活到高寿的幸运公民才能享受到。

smoke and mirrors 烟雾弹；障眼法

【例】The new budget isn't smoke and mirrors; it's an honest attempt to reduce the deficit.

新的预算计划不是烟雾弹，而是切切实实地要减少赤字。

然而，如今许多人的寿命延长，可以享受到几年，甚至几十年的国家退休基金。美国的平均预期寿命为76岁，而在许多欧洲国家，这一数字甚至更大。

smoke and mirrors 烟雾弹；障眼法

【例】The new budget isn't smoke and mirrors; it's an honest attempt to reduce the deficit.

新的预算计划不是烟雾弹，而是切切实实地要减少赤字。

The U.S. national retirement age -- when you can start claiming full Social Security benefits -- has crept up much more gradually, to 67 for people born after 1960.

美国的国家退休年龄--即可以开始申领所有社会保障福利的年龄--增长得更为缓慢，对于1960年后出生的人来说，退休年龄已经上升到67岁。

claim v.

1. 认领；索取

【例】claim your luggage/the watch 提取行李/认领（被捡到的）手表

2. 要求领取；索要

【例】 He's not entitled to claim unemployment benefit.

他无权要求领取失业救济金。

creep up

1. 蹑手蹑脚地靠近

【例】Let’s creep up on them and scare them.

我们悄悄走到他们背后，去吓他们。

2. （数量）逐渐增长

【例】House prices are creeping up again.

住房价格又在渐渐上涨。

offset v. 抵消；弥补

【例】Henry has to offset his small salary by living economically.

亨利只好用勤俭持家的办法来弥补他微薄的薪水。

【近义词】counterbalance v./n. 使平衡；抵消

【例】Her husband's cool judgement was a counterbalance to her impulsiveness.

她丈夫的冷静判断可以平衡她的冲动性格。

In response, several countries -- most notoriously France, where the retirement age is 62 and life expectancy is 82 -- are debating raising the retirement age to try to offset the economic pressures of an aging population and the concern that national retirement benefits won't be able to keep up for much longer.

作为回应，几个国家--最显眼的是法国，该国的退休年龄为62岁，预期寿命为82岁--正在讨论提高退休年龄，以试图抵消人口老龄化带来的经济压力，并缓解人们对国家退休金无法维持太长时间的担忧。

claim v.

1. 认领；索取

【例】claim your luggage/the watch 提取行李/认领（被捡到的）手表

2. 要求领取；索要

【例】 He's not entitled to claim unemployment benefit.

他无权要求领取失业救济金。

creep up

1. 蹑手蹑脚地靠近

【例】Let’s creep up on them and scare them.

我们悄悄走到他们背后，去吓他们。

2. （数量）逐渐增长

【例】House prices are creeping up again.

住房价格又在渐渐上涨。

offset v. 抵消；弥补

【例】Henry has to offset his small salary by living economically.

亨利只好用勤俭持家的办法来弥补他微薄的薪水。

【近义词】counterbalance v./n. 使平衡；抵消

【例】Her husband's cool judgement was a counterbalance to her impulsiveness.

她丈夫的冷静判断可以平衡她的冲动性格。

From an economic standpoint, a later retirement age perhaps benefits everyone's bottom line. But putting finances aside, what are the mental and physical implications of raising a national retirement age? We asked experts to weigh in.

从经济角度来看，较晚的退休年龄或许对每个人的经济状况都有利。但是，撇开财务问题不谈，提高国家退休年龄在身心健康方面会产生什么影响？我们请了专家来发表意见。

bottom line

1. 底线

【例】The bottom line is that we have to make a decision today.

底线是，我们今天必须作出决定。

2. 最终赢利（或亏损）

【例】Cost-cutting moves at the company should help bottom lines.

公司的降本措施应该会改善赢利状况。

weigh in 发表有分量的意见

【例】Several leading architects weighed in with criticisms regarding the design of the new museum.

几位一流建筑师对新博物馆的设计提出了重要的批评意见。

【拓展】weigh up 权衡；认真考虑

【例】You must weigh up pros and cons/all the evidence.

你必须权衡利弊/认真考虑所有证据。

span n.

1. 持续的时间

【例】over a span of 10 years/attention span/span of interest 在10年的时间中/注意力持续时间/感兴趣的时间

2. 范围；包括的种类

【例】Each manager has a span of responsibility.

每个经理都有其职责范围。

One way to answer this question is to look at changes not in life span but in health-span -- the number of years people are healthy and disability-free. Think of it as your work-span.

回答这个问题的一种方法是，不看总体寿命的变化，而是看健康年限的变化，健康年限即人们有多少年是身体健康且没有残疾。可以把健康年限看成是你的工作年限。

bottom line

1. 底线

【例】The bottom line is that we have to make a decision today.

底线是，我们今天必须作出决定。

2. 最终赢利（或亏损）

【例】Cost-cutting moves at the company should help bottom lines.

公司的降本措施应该会改善赢利状况。

weigh in 发表有分量的意见

【例】Several leading architects weighed in with criticisms regarding the design of the new museum.

几位一流建筑师对新博物馆的设计提出了重要的批评意见。

【拓展】weigh up 权衡；认真考虑

【例】You must weigh up pros and cons/all the evidence.

你必须权衡利弊/认真考虑所有证据。

span n.

1. 持续的时间

【例】over a span of 10 years/attention span/span of interest 在10年的时间中/注意力持续时间/感兴趣的时间

2. 范围；包括的种类

【例】Each manager has a span of responsibility.

每个经理都有其职责范围。

Gal Wettstein, a senior research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, looked at age and potential for employment in a study about people's working life expectancy.

波士顿学院退休研究中心的高级研究型经济学家盖尔·韦特斯坦在一项关于人们的预期工作年限的研究中考察了年龄和就业潜力。

free of/from 没有……的；不受……伤害的

【例】ice-cream free from artificial colors 不含人工色素的冰淇淋

【拓展】-free suffix. 没有

【例】a trouble-free life/sugar-free drinks 无忧无虑的生活/无糖饮料

He found that Americans who are healthy at age 50 can expect to have roughly 23 more years free of disability, plus about eight years living with disability. That would suggest people's maximum working life expectancy, on average, is age 73.

他发现，50岁时身体依然健康的美国人预计还会有23年左右的无残疾寿命，外加大约8年的有残疾寿命。这表明，人们的平均最长工作年限为73岁。

free of/from 没有……的；不受……伤害的

【例】ice-cream free from artificial colors 不含人工色素的冰淇淋

【拓展】-free suffix. 没有

【例】a trouble-free life/sugar-free drinks 无忧无虑的生活/无糖饮料

"毫无疑问，人们的预期寿命更长了，而且能够工作的时间也延长了，"韦特斯坦博士说。"其中部分原因是医学上的变化，部分原因是工作性质发生了变化。"

free of/from 没有……的；不受……伤害的

【例】ice-cream free from artificial colors 不含人工色素的冰淇淋

【拓展】-free suffix. 没有

【例】a trouble-free life/sugar-free drinks 无忧无虑的生活/无糖饮料

2020年，大约45%的美国劳动力从事脑力工作，如管理、商业和金融、教育和医疗保健。1935年，这些类型的职业仅占劳动力的6%。

from the standpoint/perspective/viewpoint of 从……的立场/角度

【例】a discussion of marriage from the standpoint of women

从女性的立场进行的关于婚姻的讨论

Dr. Pinchas Cohen, dean of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California, agreed that, from a health standpoint for people in these fields, a retirement age under 65 "makes no sense." "Even 65 is a 20th century number," he said.

南加州大学伦纳德·戴维斯老年学学院院长平查斯·科恩表示赞同，他说从健康角度来看，这些领域的人在65岁以下退休都是"说不通的"。"即使是65岁退休也都算是20世纪的标准。"他说。

from the standpoint/perspective/viewpoint of 从……的立场/角度

【例】a discussion of marriage from the standpoint of women

从女性的立场进行的关于婚姻的讨论

课后练习

What can be learned about Bismarck’s retirement benefit?
A. It was established by the socialist party.
B. It only lasted for a relatively short period.
C. It actually amounted to an empty promise.
D. It promoted social welfare across the country.
In response to an aging population, some countries ____.
A. increase the amount of retirement pension
B. raise the threshold for retirement benefit
C. encourage people to work for shorter years
D. invest heavily in healthcare for senior citizens
What does Gal Wettstein find about work-span nowadays?
A. It is longer than a person’s health-span.
B. The ability to work weakens gradually.
C. The elders are more likely to be unemployed.
D. It has extended due to an increase in non-manual work.
What is Pinchas Cohen’s opinion of retirement age?
A. It is good for people’s health to retire before 65.
B. Retiring at 65 was impractical in the 20th century.
C. It is reasonable for non-manual workers to retire after 65.
D. Retiring early may extend people’s life expectancy.