我们都知道，在上个世纪里，全球范围内的“预期寿命”(life expectancy)都有所上升，这得益于医疗医药领域的进步以及教育和生活水平的提高。2020年，英国百岁老人的数量超过1.5万人，比上一年增加近五分之一。然而，正如很多人并不想活到一百岁这一点所昭示的，“健康预期寿命”(healthy life expectancy)或许更能反映人们实际上想要什么。
健康预期寿命是指人们能健康地活着的预期岁数。它不是一个完美的指标，因为它依据的是人们当前的健康状况和死亡率，而不是对这些数据可能会发生什么变化的预测。但它仍然有用。它能告诉我们什么呢？
请看《金融时报》的详细报道：
1. descendant [dɪˈsend(ə)nt] n. 后裔，子孙；派生物，衍生物 adj. 下降的；祖传的；descendants
2. poll [pəʊl] n. 民意调查，民意测验；选举投票，计票；投票数；投票点（the polls）；头顶，头皮；无角动物（尤指无角牛） v. 对……进行民意测验（调查）；获得（票数）；（电信，计算机）轮询，探询；截掉（动物，尤指小牛）的角；修枝 【名】 【名】（poll）（德、匈、罗、英）波尔（人名）；polls；polls；polling；polled；polled
3. keen [kɪːn] adj. 渴望的，热衷的；喜爱的，着迷的；热情的，热心的；（兴趣或感情）浓厚的，强烈的；思维敏捷的，敏锐的；（目光或听觉）灵敏的；（战斗或竞争）激烈的，紧张的；（价格）低廉的，有竞争力的；寒冷刺骨的；锋利的，锐利的；（气味、光或声音）有穿透力的，强烈的，明净的 v. （为死者）恸哭，哀号 n. 痛哭，挽歌 【名】 （keen）（英）基恩，（德）肯，（肯）金（人名）；keener；keens；keening；keened；keened
4. factor [ˈfæktə] n. 因素，要素；等级，系数；因数，因子；遗传因子，基因；（血液中的）凝血因子；代理公司，代理商；地产管理人，管家；测量水平 v. 把……作为因素计入，把……包括在内（factor in）；把……作为因素排除，不把……包括在内（factor out）；将……分解为因子；代理经营，（代管）产业；做代理商 【名】 （factor）（英）法克特（人名）；factors；factors；factoring；factored；factored
5. elderly [ˈeldəlɪ] adj. 上了年纪的；老掉牙的 n. 老人（the elderly）
6. improvement [ɪmˈpruːvmənt] n. 改善；改进之处；improvements
7. numb [nʌm] adj. 麻木的，失去感觉的；迟钝的，呆滞的 v. 使麻木，使失去知觉；使迟钝，使呆滞；使（某种感觉）减轻，使减弱；number；numbs；numbing；numbed；numbed
8. metric [ˈmetrɪk] adj. 米制的，公制的；度规的；用诗体写的，格律诗的 n. 诗韵；衡量标准；度规；metrics
9. overall [ˈəʊvərɔːl] adj. 总的，全面的；所有的，包括一切的 adv. 全部，总共；总的说来，大体上 n. （工作时穿的）罩衣；（上下连身的）工作服，防护服（overalls）；背带工装裤（overalls）；骑马裤，紧身制服裤（overalls）；overalls
10. accord [əˈkɔːd] n. 协议，条约；符合，一致 v. 使受到，给予（某种待遇）；（与……）一致，符合；accords；accords；according；accorded；accorded
11. gross [grəʊs] adj. 总的，毛的；严重的，极端的；粗鲁的；肥胖难看的，臃肿的；大范围的，粗略的；（高尔夫球的得分）实际所得的；明显的；让人恶心的 adv. 总共，全部 v. 总共赚得 n. 一罗（144个）；毛收入，总收入 【名】 （gross）（英、法、德、意、葡、西、俄、芬、罗、捷、匈）格罗斯（人名）；grosses；gross；grosser；grosses；grossing；grossed；grossed
12. domestic [dəˈmestɪk] adj. 国内的，本国的；家用的，家庭的；喜爱家庭生活的，乐于操持家务的；非野生的，驯养的 n. 家庭纠纷，家庭矛盾；佣人，家仆；国货，本地产品；domestics
13. limitation [ˌlɪmɪˈteɪʃən] n. 限制，制约；起限制作用的规则（或事实、条件）；局限，缺陷；追诉时效；limitations
14. deprive [dɪˈpraɪv] v. 剥夺，使丧失；免去……的职务（尤指圣职）；deprives；depriving；deprived；deprived
15. inner [ˈɪnə] adj. 内部的，靠近中心的；内心的，未表达出来的；存在于性格中的，骨子里的；隐蔽的，内在的 n. 内部，内里；靶子内圈；命中靶子内圈的一发；inners
16. foundation [faʊnˈdeɪʃən] n. 地基，基础；基本原理，根据；基金会；建立，创办；（化妆打底用的）粉底霜；foundations
17. trend [trend] n. 趋势，动态；时尚，风尚；热门话题 v. 趋向，倾向；（尤指地理特征的）走向；成为热门话题；trends；trends；trending；trended；trended
18. concerning [kənˈsɜːnɪŋ] prep. 关于，涉及 adj. 让人不安的，令人担忧的 v. 有关，关于；影响；使担心（concern 的现在分词形式）
19. impact [ˈɪmpækt] n. 撞击，冲击力；巨大影响，强大作用 v. 冲击，撞击；挤入，压紧；（对……）产生影响
20. wage [weɪdʒ] n. 工资，报酬；（经济）工资总额；（喻）报应 v. 进行，发动（战争，运动）；wages；wages；waging；waged；waged
21. growth [grəʊθ] n. 成长，生长；增长，发展；肿瘤，赘生物；生长物，产物；种植，栽培 adj. 发展的，增长的；growths
22. economy [ɪ(ː)ˈkɒnəmɪ] n. 经济；节省，简练；经济舱 adj. 经济实惠的 【名】 （economy）（英）伊科诺米（人名）；economies
23. ambitious [æmˈbɪʃəs] adj. 有抱负的，野心勃勃的；费劲的，艰巨的；热望的
24. sustain [səsˈteɪn] v. 维持，保持；维持……的生命；遭受，经受；（在体力或精神方面）支持，支撑；承受住……的重量；证实，证明；认可，赞成，确认；（演员）充分表演（角色，人物），扮演 n. （乐）延音；sustains；sustaining；sustained；sustained
25. economic [ˌɪːkəˈnɒmɪk] adj. 经济的，经济学的；有利可图的；节约的
26. inhabit [ɪnˈhæbɪt] v. 居住于，栖居在；存在于，占据；inhabits；inhabiting；inhabited；inhabited
I’m one of life’s optimists. When I think about living to be 100 years old, I picture a birthday party where I am surrounded by my devoted descendants, perhaps followed by a commercial space flight as a celebratory treat. But I’m in the minority here. A lot of people would rather be dead. In a recent UK poll by Ipsos, only 35 per cent of people said they wanted to become centenarians.
我是对生活抱着乐观主义看法的人之一。每当我设想自己活到一百岁的光景，我就想象会有一场生日宴会，孝顺的子孙们围在我身边为我庆祝，没准还能来一场商业太空飞行。但在英国我属于少数派。很多人宁可死。益普索(Ipsos)最近在英国做了一个调查，只有35%的人表示希望活到一百岁。
Men were keener on the idea than women (43 per cent to 28 per cent) — a shame really, since women are more likely than men to achieve it. Age is a factor too: older people are less likely to want to live to 100 than younger ones, perhaps because they have already had a taste of poor health, or have gone through the experience of caring for elderly parents who suffered in their later years. In the poll, fewer than one in five people thought they would have a good quality of life if they reached 100.
男性的这种愿望比女性强烈（43%对28%）——这委实令人唏嘘，因为女性比男性更有可能活到一百岁。年龄也是一个因素：和年轻人相比，年纪比较大的人更加不会期待自己能活到一百岁，这可能是因为他们已经吃到了身体不好的苦头，或者是他们曾经照顾过年迈体弱的父母。在这项调查中，认为自己活到一百岁也能活得好好的人不到五分之一。
We all know that life expectancy has risen globally over the last century thanks to advances in healthcare and medicine as well as improvements in education and living standards. In the UK in 2020, the number of centenarians reached more than 15,000, up almost a fifth on the year before. But — as is clear by how many don’t want to live to be 100 — “healthy life expectancy” is probably a better measure of what people actually want.
我们都知道，在上个世纪里，全球范围内的“预期寿命”(life expectancy)都有所上升，这得益于医疗医药领域的进步以及教育和生活水平的提高。2020年，英国百岁老人的数量超过1.5万人，比上一年增加近五分之一。然而，正如很多人并不想活到一百岁这一点所昭示的，“健康预期寿命”(healthy life expectancy)或许更能反映人们实际上想要什么。
Healthy life expectancy — a measure of the number of years someone is expected to live in good health — is not a perfect metric, since it’s based on health and mortality rates now rather than projections of how they might change. But it’s still useful. What can it tell us?
健康预期寿命是指人们能健康地活着的预期岁数。它不是一个完美的指标，因为它依据的是人们当前的健康状况和死亡率，而不是对这些数据可能会发生什么变化的预测。但它仍然有用。它能告诉我们什么呢？
First, while it has been rising globally, it has not kept pace with improvements in overall life expectancy, according to a study of 195 countries between 1995 to 2017.
首先，根据从1995年到2017年期间对195个国家所做的一项研究，虽然全球范围内健康预期寿命呈上升趋势，但它没有与总体预期寿命的提高保持同步。
第一，学习descendant的用法。这个词作名词，表示someone who is related to a person who lived a long time ago, or to a family, group of people etc that existed in the past，后代，后裔，常用搭配为sb’s descendants / the descendants of sb，例：The coastal areas were occupied by the descendants of Greek colonists. 沿海地区居住着希腊殖民者的后裔。
第二，学习taste的熟词僻义。这个词作名词，表示a short experience of something that shows you what it is like，体验；感受；尝试，例：Schoolchildren can get a taste of the countryside first-hand. 学童可以亲身体验一下乡村生活。
第三，学习projection的用法。这个词作名词，表示a statement or calculation about what something will be in the future or was in the past, based on information available now，〔对于未来情况的〕预测；〔对过去的〕估算，例：projections of declining natural gas production 对呈下降趋势的天然气产量的预测
Second, women might outlive men, but the number of years they can expect to live in good health is very similar. In the EU, for example, life expectancy for women in 2020 was 5.7 years longer on average than for men, but the healthy life expectancy gap was only one year.
第二，女性或许比男性活得久，但二者的健康预期寿命非常接近。比如在欧盟，2020年女性平均预期寿命比男性多5.7年，但健康预期寿命只多了一年。
Third, as with overall longevity, the correlation between healthy life expectancy and gross domestic product per head becomes pretty loose once countries have passed a certain level of development. Greece and Germany have very similar healthy life expectancy numbers, for example, even though Germany is significantly richer.
第三，与预期寿命一样，当一个国家达到了一定程度的发展水平之后，健康预期寿命与人均国内生产总值(GDP)之间的关联就不太强了。例如，德国的富裕程度远高于希腊，但两国的健康预期寿命十分接近。
There are some stark differences between neighbours, too. In 2020, a man born in Finland or Denmark could expect to live between 73 and 74 per cent of their lives free from health limitations, a raw deal compared with the 90 per cent on offer in Sweden. Cultural factors play a role, from the Mediterranean diet in Greece to alcohol use in Finland.
相邻国家之间也可能存在明显的差异。在2020年，出生于芬兰或丹麦的男性一生中预计有73%至74%的岁月不会受限于健康问题，相比之下，瑞典这个比例为90%。这里面有文化因素的作用，从希腊的地中海饮食习惯到荷兰的饮酒风气，不一而足。
In the UK, which ranked in the middle of the EU countries before Brexit, things aren’t looking good. In the years before the pandemic, healthy life expectancy had stagnated for men at 62.9 years and had begun to fall slightly for women to 63.3 years.
英国现在的情况看起来不太好。在脱欧以前，英国的健康预期寿命在欧盟国家中排在中间位置。在暴发新冠疫情以前的数年里，英国男性的健康预期寿命一直停滞在62.9岁，女性的健康预期寿命则开始小幅下滑到63.3岁。
The differences between rich and poor are also vast. In England, women living in the most deprived areas have a healthy life expectancy at birth of 51.4 years compared with 71.2 years for women living in the least deprived areas.
富人与穷人之间的差异也很大。在英格兰，住在最贫困地区的女性出生时的健康预期寿命为51.4岁，而最富裕地区的女性为71.2岁。
第一，学习stagnate的用法。这个词作名词，表示to stop developing or making progress，停滞；不发展，例：Growth is expected to stagnate next year. 预计明年增长会停滞。
第二，学习deprived的用法。这个词作形容词，表示not having the things that are necessary for a comfortable or happy life，贫困的，穷苦的，例：Deprived children tend to do less well at school. 贫困的孩子往往学习成绩较差。常用搭配为deprived areas / neighbourhoods etc (= where a lot of deprived people live)，贫民区，例：our deprived inner cities 我们贫困的老城区
David Finch, an assistant director at the Health Foundation, says UK policymakers should be “very worried” about the trend, given the country was hardly top of the league table to begin with. “When you can see that clear space for improvement and we stop improving, it’s particularly concerning.”
健康基金会(Health Foundation)的副主任戴维•芬奇(David Finch)表示，英国的政策制定者理应对这一趋势感到“十分担忧”，因为英国本来的排名就不算靠前。“当你看到有明显的提升空间而我们却止步不前，你就会感到格外担忧。”
There are plenty of possible reasons why health has worsened, from rising obesity and alcohol misuse to the impact of government spending cuts after 2010 and the broader impact of a decade without any real wage growth.
人们的健康状况变差有许多可能的原因，包括体型肥胖的人越来越多，酒精滥用，2010年以后政府削减开支造成的影响，以及过去十年里实际工资水平未见增长在更广泛层面的影响。
Britons’ fraying health has now become a problem for the labour market, with a rising share of people too sick to work. That is a reason to pay attention, of course. But we should have been paying attention anyway. Health doesn’t just matter because it has an impact on the economy; it matters because it’s what people want.
英国人健康水平下降给劳动力市场带来了问题，因患病而不能工作的人在总人口中占到了更大的比例。这当然是健康问题值得关注的一个原因。但健康问题本来就是我们应该一直关注的。健康之所以重要不只是因为它会对经济产生影响。它之所以重要，是因为它是人们想要的。
The government has set an ambitious target to increase healthy life expectancy by five years by 2035. Such rapid improvements are possible: it increased by four years in the first decade of the millennium. But that was a time of sustained economic growth and higher social spending. It’s hard to imagine that’s what the next decade will look like, even for an optimist like me.
英国政府雄心勃勃地制定了到2035年将健康预期寿命提高5年的目标。如此飞快的提升是有可能做到的：进入2000年的头十年里，英国的健康预期寿命提高了4年。但那是个经济保持增长、政府增加社会性开支的时期。即便是像我这样的乐观主义者，也很难想象未来十年会有这样的光景。
第一，学习fray的用法。这个词作不及物动词，表示if cloth or other material frays, or if something frays it, the threads become loose because the material is old，（使）〔布等〕磨损，（使）磨破；（使）磨散，例：The collar had started to fray on Ed’s coat. 埃德外套的领子开始出现了磨损。fraying是现在分词作前置定语，引申表示“健康水平下降”。
第二，学习millenium的用法。这个词作名词，表示a period of 1,000 years，一千年，千年期，例：people who have inhabited this land for millennia 在这片土地上已经居住了数千年的人们。这个词还可以表示the time when a new 1,000-year period begins，新千年开始的时刻，新千年开始之际，例：the beginning of a new millennium 新千年伊始
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