胡楊

They move slowly. They dont listen to pop music. They are so different from you that they seem like they are from another planet1. So why should you get to know them or talk to them？

他們行動緩慢，他們也不聽流行音樂。他們和你是如此的不同，以至于看起來像是來自另一個星球。那么，你為什么要去了解他們或與他們交談呢？

Were talking about old people. The word “old” is a relative2 word. In this article， the older people mean who may be the same age as your grandparents or even older. Some live for over a hundred years. Maybe its an older neighbor with gray hair who is retired3.

我們談?wù)摰氖抢夏耆?。“老”是一個相對的詞。在本文中，老年人指的是和你的祖父母年齡相同甚至更大的人。有些老人能活一百多歲，也許是一個白發(fā)蒼蒼的退休的老鄰居。

Maybe you cant visit an elderly person on weekends because of the distance4， but now it is a good time to call them. They may be lonely5 with few or no visitors. They may be your neighbor， but you cannot stay with them. It will bring good luck to you if you talk with old people sometimes.

也許你不能在周末看望老人，因為距離太遠，但現(xiàn)在是給他們打電話的好時機。他們可能因為很少或沒有人來看望而感到孤獨?；蛟S他們是你的鄰居，但你不能和他們住在一起。如果你不時和老人聊天，會給你帶來好運。

Old people are time travelers.

老年人是時間旅行者。

Its true. Think about a person who is 80 years old. When that a person was a little child， there were no cell phones， Internet， satellites6， or many of the things you use every day. 8o years ago， many people still didnt have ball-point pens or telephones.

這是真的。想想一個80歲的人，當他還是個小孩的時候，沒有手機，沒有互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，沒有衛(wèi)星或者你每天使用的許多東西。80年前，許多人還沒有圓珠筆或電話。

When you talk to an old person， you can see into the past. You can talk to someone who lived there. How did they visit with friends without mobile phones？ What was life like without TV？ How did they listen to music？ An old person can take you back to a different world. When they talk about the world， they are traveling through time. You are traveling with them.

當你和一個老人談話時，你可以看到過去。你可以和經(jīng)歷了過去的人交談。沒有手機，他們是如何拜訪朋友的？沒有電視的生活是什么樣的？他們是怎么聽音樂的？一個老人可以帶你回到一個不同的世界。當他們談?wù)撌澜缱兓臅r候，他們是在穿越時間旅行。你在和他們一起旅行。

Old people have learned to live with the hard parts of life.

老年人已經(jīng)學會了忍受生活的艱難。

They may not know how to repair7 broken computers， but they can help to solve human problems. Old people have had their hearts broken and survived8. Theyve lost loved ones and dear friends. Most of them have moved from their home to somewhere else. They had to struggle9 in life. No matter what you are feeling， an old person can help.

他們可能不知道如何修理壞了的電腦，但他們可以幫助解答人們的問題。老人都有心酸往事，但都挺過來了。他們失去了親人和朋友，他們中的大多數(shù)人已經(jīng)遠離家鄉(xiāng)，搬到了其他地方居住。他們不得不在生活中掙扎。不管你現(xiàn)在有什么感受，老人都能夠幫助你。

Old people know things you dont know.

老年人知道一些你不知道的事情。

Remember， every life is different， meaning that every old person has different stories in their own head. When you have a question， ask an old person， you could learn a lot.

記住，每個人的人生都是不同的，這意味著每個老人的腦海中都有不同的故事。當你有問題的時候，問一位老人，你可以學到很多東西。

Old people can help you to make big decisions10.

老年人可以幫助你做出重大的決定。

After living for a long time， most people have made a lot of choices11. Some of those choices were positive12. Some were not. You can ask an old person about those bad decisions and what they regret13. They can help you to make better decisions so that when you are an old person， youll be happier.

經(jīng)過長時間的生活，大多數(shù)人做出了無數(shù)的選擇。有些選擇是積極的，有些不是。向一位老人詢問那些糟糕的決定，他們因什么而后悔。它們可以幫助你做出更好的決定，這樣當你老了的時候，你才會更快樂。

That is your future14. Yes， you will someday be an old person. You will see the world becomes different in ways that you cannot imagine15. By talking to older people， you see into the future： Your future. Why not take a look？

這就是你們的未來。是的，你總有一天會成為一位老人。你會看到世界以你無法想象的方式改變著。通過與年長的人交談，你看到了未來：你的未來。為什么不看看呢？

（英語原文選自：safesearchkids.com）