How to grow old

原文

Some old people are oppressed by the fear of death. In the young there is a justification for this feeling. Young men who have reason to fear that they will be killed in battle may justifiably feel bitter in the thought that they have cheated of the best things that life has to offer. But in an old man who has known human joys and sorrows, and has achieved whatever work it was in him to do, the fear of death is somewhat abject and ignoble. The best way to overcome it -- so at least it seems to me -- is to make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal, until bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly merged in the universal life. An individual human existence should be like a river -- small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past boulders and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being. The man who, in old age, can see his life in this way, will not suffer from the fear of death, since the things he cares for will continue. And if, with the decay of vitality, weariness increases, the thought of rest will be not unwelcome. I should wish to die while still at work, knowing that others will carry on what I can no longer do, and content in the thought that what was possible has been done.

译文

有些老年人被死亡的恐惧所压抑。年轻人对这种感觉有正当的理由。那些有理由害怕在战场上阵亡的年轻人，可以理直气壮地为被剥夺了生活所能提供的最美好事物而感到苦涩。但对于一个经历过人世间的喜悦和悲伤，并完成了自己力所能及的工作的老人来说，死亡的恐惧是卑下的、不光彩的。克服它的最好方法——至少在我看来是这样——是逐渐使你的兴趣变得更广泛、更超脱，直到一点一点地，自我之墙后退，你的生命日益融入宇宙生命中。个人的生命应该像一条河流——起初很小，被狭窄的河岸所限制，热情地冲过巨石和瀑布。渐渐地，河流变宽，河岸后退，水流更平静，最终，没有任何明显的断裂，它们融入大海，并无痛地失去个体的存在。那个在晚年能这样看待自己生命的人，不会再受死亡恐惧的折磨，因为他所关心的东西会继续存在。而且，如果随着生命力的衰退，疲倦增加，那么休息的念头将不会不受欢迎。我希望在工作着的时候死去，知道别人会继续我无法完成的事，并满足于“可能做到的事已经做到了”这个想法。

词汇表

oppressed

动词, 形容词

英:/əˈprɛst/

美:/əˈprɛst/

定义

1. 压迫 - To keep someone in a state of subjection or hardship, often through unjust force.

例子: The minority group felt oppressed by the government's policies.

例子: Throughout history, many communities have been oppressed due to discrimination.

2. 压抑 - To burden someone mentally or emotionally.

例子: She was oppressed by the fear of failure in her career.

例子: The weight of debt oppressed him for years.

近义词

suppressed: 强调通过控制或抑制来限制自由，与 'oppressed' 类似，但更侧重于压制表达或想法。

persecuted: 暗示基于偏见或仇恨的系统性攻击，比 'oppressed' 更强烈，强调主动的敌意。

subjugated: 侧重于完全征服或支配，常用于政治或军事语境，而 'oppressed' 更广泛地包括社会或心理方面。

反义词:

liberated, empowered, freed

用法

常用于描述不公正的社会、政治或个人压力，常搭配如 'oppressed by fear'，在正式语境中出现，文化背景中常与人权议题相关。

形式:

过去式: oppressed, 过去分词: oppressed, 现在分词: oppressing, 名词形式: oppression, 形容词形式: oppressive

关键句型 "should be like [noun]"

定义

此句型用于表达建议、比喻或理想状态，结构为：should（应该） + be（是） + like（像） + [noun]（名词）。例如，在文章中，“An individual human existence should be like a river” 展示了这种形式。根据《剑桥英语语法》教材，这种句型常用于劝告或描述事物应有的样子，强调一种理想化的比较，帮助表达人生哲理或建议。

它是一种简单却有力的表达方式，适合初学者用于讨论观点或描述相似性。

用法

此句型主要用于建议他人或描述事物应该如何，常见于哲学、建议或描述性文章中。规则：主语 + should be like + 名词短语，should 作为情态动词，表示义务或建议。在语法体系中，它属于情态动词句型，与其他表示建议的结构如 "should do something" 相关联，但这里强调了比喻关系。

横向比较：与 "be similar to [noun]" 相比，should be like [noun] 更带有建议的语气，而非单纯描述相似性。例如，"should be like" 暗示改进或理想状态，而 "be similar to" 只陈述事实。同时，与 "ought to be like [noun]" 相比，should 更常用且口语化，ought to 则更正式且强调道德义务。跨语法联系：它可以扩展到条件句中，如 "If you want to succeed, you should be like a river."

在实际应用中，此句型帮助学生连接比喻和建议，强化语言的表达力。

注意事项

学生易犯的错误包括：误用 should 为过去时（如将它当成 "should have been"），导致句意混乱；或忽略比喻的上下文，使句子显得生硬。例如，初学者可能说 "You should like a teacher" 而非 "You should be like a teacher"，混淆了 be like 和 like 的含义。纠正建议：始终记住 should be like 的固定结构，并练习在上下文中使用。另一个常见偏误是过度使用，导致语气太强硬；建议结合情境调整。

具体例句：

错误示例：Life is like a river. (这只是描述，不是建议)
正确示例：Life should be like a river, flowing steadily.

通过这些例子，学生可以学会区分描述和建议。

练习

原创例子：假设在讨论人生规划时，你可以说：“Your career should be like a tree, growing strong and tall over time.” 学生可以替换 [noun] 为其他事物，如 “a mountain” 或 “a bird”，并创建自己的句子，例如：“My daily routine should be like a clock, always on time.” 这能帮助学生应用句型到个人生活场景中，鼓励他们思考并替换关键词，以加深对比喻表达的掌握。

通过这种练习，学生能自然地将句型融入对话或写作中。

额外内容

背景知识：这种句型源于英语中常见的比喻表达，深受文学影响，如柏拉图的哲学比喻。文化背景上，英语使用者常通过比喻传达人生智慧，与中文的 "应该像..." 类似，但英语更强调结构化。对比分析：与西班牙语的 "debería ser como [noun]" 相似，都用于建议，但英语的 should 更灵活，不需改变动词形式。这能丰富学生的跨文化理解，鼓励他们在学习中探索更多比喻用法。