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At the opposite extreme
在对待老人的另一个极端
in treatment of the elderly, the happy extreme,
这个快乐的极端，
are the New Guinea farming societies
是在新几内亚的农耕社会
where I've been doing my fieldwork for the past 50 years,
过去50多年来，我在那里做野外调查
and most other sedentary traditional societies
还有大多数其他在世界各地
around the world.
定居的传统社会。
In those societies, older people are cared for.
在这些社会中，老年人受到照顾。
They are fed. They remain valuable.
他们被（子女）赡养。他们仍有价值。
And they continue to live in the same hut
而且他们继续住在同一屋檐下，
or else in a nearby hut near their children,
或是住在靠近他们子女，或其他亲属和好朋友住处
relatives and lifelong friends.
附近的小屋。
There are two main sets of reasons for this variation
在不同的社会中，有这样不同的
among societies in their treatment
对待老人的态度和方式，
of old people.
主要有两组原因。
The variation depends especially
这种不同尤其取决于
on the usefulness of old people
老人依然能够体现自己的价值
and on the society's values.
以及当地社会的价值观。
First, as regards usefulness,
第一点是关于老人的价值，
older people continue to perform useful services.
老人可继续提供有用的服务。
One use of older people in traditional societies
在传统社会中老人的一个用处
is that they often are still effective
是他们常常仍可以
at producing food.
生产食物。
Another traditional usefulness of older people
另一种老年人的传统用处，
is that they are capable of babysitting
是他们有能力帮忙照看
their grandchildren,
他们的孙辈，
thereby freeing up their own adult children,
从而让其成年子女，
the parents of those grandchildren,
那些孙子们的父母，
to go hunting and gathering food for the grandchildren.
去狩猎和采集食物给孙子们。
Still another traditional value of older people
还有另一个老年人的传统价值
is in making tools, weapons, baskets,
是在于制作工具、武器、篮子、
pots and textiles.
锅碗和纺织品。
In fact, they're usually the people who are best at it.
事实上，他们通常是擅长的人。
Older people usually are the leaders
老人通常是传统社会
of traditional societies,
的领导人，
and the people most knowledgeable about politics,
也是在政治、医学、宗教、
medicine, religion, songs and dances.
歌曲和舞蹈方面最有知识的人。
Finally, older people in traditional societies
最后，在传统社会中的老年人
have a huge significance that would never occur
具有一个巨大的，且在我们的现代文明社会中
to us in our modern, literate societies,
永远不会想到的重要性，
where our sources of information are books
因为我们的信息来源是书
and the Internet.
和互联网。
In contrast, in traditional societies without writing,
相比之下，在没有文字书写的传统社会，
older people are the repositories of information.
老人是信息的存储库。
It's their knowledge that spells the difference
他们的知识是其整个社会
between survival and death for their whole society
在罕见事件引起的危机时
in a time of crisis caused by rare events
存亡的关键
for which only the oldest people alive
因为唯一活着的，最年长的老人
have had experience.
才会有经验。
Those, then, are the ways in which older people
那些就是老人
are useful in traditional societies.
在传统社会中有用的地方。
Their usefulness varies and contributes
他们的用处会不同，并决定了
to variation in the society's treatment
社会对待老人
of the elderly.
态度的不同。
The other set of reasons for variation
另一组（不同社会）对待老人
in the treatment of the elderly is
有差异的原因是
the society's cultural values.
社会的文化价值观。
For example, there's particular emphasis
例如，对在东亚地区，
on respect for the elderly in East Asia,
特别强调对老人的尊重，
associated with Confucius' doctrine
这与孔子的孝道學說有关
of filial piety, which means obedience,
也即是服从，
respect and support for elderly parents.
尊重并支持年迈的父母。
Cultural values that emphasize respect for older people
强调尊重老年人的文化价值观
contrast with the low status of the elderly
与在美国，老人的地位低微
in the U.S.
形成了鲜明对比。
Older Americans are at a big disadvantage
美国老年人在工作申请中
in job applications.
处于很大的劣势。
They're at a big disadvantage in hospitals.
他们在医院也处于很大的劣势。
Our hospitals have an explicit policy
我们的医院有明确的政策
called age-based allocation of healthcare resources.
称为“基于年龄分配医疗资源”。
That sinister expression means that
这种政策的表述听起来充满恶意：
if hospital resources are limited,
如果医院资源是有限的，
for example if only one donor heart
例如，如果只有一个捐助者的心脏
becomes available for transplant,
可供移植，
or if a surgeon has time to operate
或者，如果一个外科医生
on only a certain number of patients,
在一定时间中只能为少数几个患者做手术，
American hospitals have an explicit policy
美国的医院有明确的政策，
of giving preference to younger patients
（这些资源）要优先给年轻的患者
over older patients
而不是老年患者，
on the grounds that younger patients are considered
理由是年轻患者被认为
more valuable to society
对社会更有价值
because they have more years of life ahead of them,
因为他们还有更多年的生活在等待他们，
even though the younger patients have fewer years
即使较年轻的患者有较少的
of valuable life experience behind them.
宝贵生活经验。
