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To give me an idea of how many of you here
为了让我知道这里有多少人
may find what I'm about to tell you
待会儿会觉得我告诉你的事情
of practical value,
有实用价值，
let me ask you please to raise your hands:
请符合条件的人把手举起来:
Who here is either over 65 years old
这里有谁已经超过65岁
or hopes to live past age 65
或者想要活到65岁以后
or has parents or grandparents who did live
或者有父母、祖父母的岁数
or have lived past 65,
达到或超过65岁，
raise your hands please.
请举手。
Okay. You are the people to whom my talk
好。你们就是会发现我的演讲
will be of practical value.
有用的人。
The rest of you
其他人，
won't find my talk personally relevant,
不会觉得我的演讲和你有切身的关系，
but I think that you will still find the subject
但我觉得你仍会发现这个主题
fascinating.
非常有趣。
I'm going to talk about growing older
我要谈一谈在传统的社会里
in traditional societies.
慢慢变老是什么样子。
This subject constitutes just one chapter
这一主题是我新书的
of my latest book, which compares
一章，这本书在比较
traditional, small, tribal societies
传统上基于部落的小社会，
with our large, modern societies,
与我们现在的庞大社会之间，
with respect to many topics
在许多事情上都有很大不同，
such as bringing up children,
例如后代的培养，
growing older, health, dealing with danger,
老年问题，健康问题、危机处理，
settling disputes, religion
领土和宗教争端等，
and speaking more than one language.
现在社会很多人都能说一种以上语言。
Those tribal societies, which constituted
这中小部落社会组织形式
all human societies for most of human history,
是人类漫长历史上最主要的社会形式，
are far more diverse than are our modern,
远比我们现代的，近代的大社会
recent, big societies.
更多样化。
All big societies that have governments,
所有具有政府的，
and where most people are strangers to each other,
且大多数人互不认识的大社会，
are inevitably similar to each other
都不可避免地相互类似
and different from tribal societies.
并且与部落社会不同。
Tribes constitute thousands of natural experiments
部落的形成是大自然实验的结果
in how to run a human society.
成千上万次的实验形成了部落的多样性。
They constitute experiments from which we ourselves
在大自然的实验中，部落形成的过程中
may be able to learn.
我们可以学到很多。
Tribal societies shouldn't be scorned
不应该认为部落社会
as primitive and miserable,
原始而悲惨的，并因此看不起它们
but also they shouldn't be romanticized
但也不应该觉得它们是
as happy and peaceful.
幸福与和平的，从而把其浪漫化。
When we learn of tribal practices,
当我们去了解部落的做法时，
some of them will horrify us,
有些做法会吓坏我们，
but there are other tribal practices which,
但也有其他部落的做法，
when we hear about them,
当我们听说时，
we may admire and envy
我们可能会觉得佩服和羡慕
and wonder whether we could adopt those practices
并思考，是否我们自己，
ourselves.
也可以采取这些做法。
Most old people in the U.S. end up living
生活在美国的大多数老人，最终
separately from their children
都与子女分开生活
and from most of their friends
他们年轻时就认识的朋友们
of their earlier years,
也会相互分开，
and often they live in separate retirements homes for the elderly,
他们很可能生活在单独为老人设立的养老院里，
whereas in traditional societies,
而在传统社会中，
older people instead live out their lives
年纪大的人和他们的子女，
among their children, their other relatives,
他们的其他亲戚，
and their lifelong friends.
以及他们认识了一辈子的朋友生活在一起。
Nevertheless, the treatment of the elderly
虽然，老年人的待遇
varies enormously among traditional societies,
在不同的传统社会间差别极大，
from much worse to much better
有比我们的现代社会糟糕很多的，
than in our modern societies.
也有比我们的现代社会好很多的。
At the worst extreme, many traditional societies
在最坏的极端，许多传统社会
get rid of their elderly
通过以下四种一种比一种残忍的方式
in one of four increasingly direct ways:
来处理部落中的老年人：
by neglecting their elderly
第一种做法是忽略他们
and not feeding or cleaning them until they die,
不给他们吃的，不打理他们，任其自生自灭，
or by abandoning them when the group moves,
第二种做法是在整个群体迁移时，抛弃他们，
or by encouraging older people to commit suicide,
第三种做法是迫使老人自杀，
or by killing older people.
最后，最残忍的，杀死老人。
In which tribal societies do children
到底是什么样的部落社会，
abandon or kill their parents?
子女会抛弃或杀死他们的父母？
It happens mainly under two conditions.
主要在以下两个环境下会发生。
One is in nomadic, hunter-gather societies
一个情况是游牧部落，打猎和采摘为食的社会
that often shift camp
这些部落常常需要迁移，
and that are physically incapable
他们没有能力
of transporting old people who can't walk
带着无法自己迁移的老人，
when the able-bodied younger people already
四肢健全的年轻人
have to carry their young children
要携带年幼的子女
and all their physical possessions.
和其所有的物质财产。
The other condition is in societies
另一种是生活在极端恶劣
living in marginal or fluctuating environments,
或极端不稳定环境中的部落，
such as the Arctic or deserts,
比如北极或沙漠，
where there are periodic food shortages,
这些地方有周期性的粮食短缺，
and occasionally there just isn't enough food
并且时不时的会有饥荒，
to keep everyone alive.
粮食无法满足所有人。
Whatever food is available has to be reserved
这种情况下，食物必须
for able-bodied adults and for children.
为健全的成年人和儿童保留。
To us Americans, it sounds horrible
对我们美国人来说，这听起来非常可怕，
to think of abandoning or killing
想想抛弃或杀死
your own sick wife or husband
你自己生病的妻子或丈夫
or elderly mother or father,
或年迈的母亲或父亲，
but what could those traditional societies
但是，那些传统社会还可能
do differently?
怎么样呢？
They face a cruel situation of no choice.
他们面对别无选择的残酷态势。
Their old people had to do it to their own parents,
他们的老人都不得不对自己的父母做这样的事情，
and the old people know
并且老人们知道
what now is going to happen to them.
现在什么会发生在他们身上。
