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To give me an idea of how many of you here
為了讓我知道這里有多少人
may find what I'm about to tell you
待會兒會覺得我告訴你的事情
of practical value,
有實用價值，
let me ask you please to raise your hands:
請符合條件的人把手舉起來:
Who here is either over 65 years old
這里有誰已經超過65歲
or hopes to live past age 65
或者想要活到65歲以后
or has parents or grandparents who did live
或者有父母、祖父母的歲數
or have lived past 65,
達到或超過65歲，
raise your hands please.
請舉手。
Okay. You are the people to whom my talk
好。你們就是會發現我的演講
will be of practical value.
有用的人。
The rest of you
其他人，
won't find my talk personally relevant,
不會覺得我的演講和你有切身的關系，
but I think that you will still find the subject
但我覺得你仍會發現這個主題
fascinating.
非常有趣。
I'm going to talk about growing older
我要談一談在傳統的社會里
in traditional societies.
慢慢變老是什么樣子。
This subject constitutes just one chapter
這一主題是我新書的
of my latest book, which compares
一章，這本書在比較
traditional, small, tribal societies
傳統上基于部落的小社會，
with our large, modern societies,
與我們現在的龐大社會之間，
with respect to many topics
在許多事情上都有很大不同，
such as bringing up children,
例如后代的培養，
growing older, health, dealing with danger,
老年問題，健康問題、危機處理，
settling disputes, religion
領土和宗教爭端等，
and speaking more than one language.
現在社會很多人都能說一種以上語言。
Those tribal societies, which constituted
這中小部落社會組織形式
all human societies for most of human history,
是人類漫長歷史上最主要的社會形式，
are far more diverse than are our modern,
遠比我們現代的，近代的大社會
recent, big societies.
更多樣化。
All big societies that have governments,
所有具有政府的，
and where most people are strangers to each other,
且大多數人互不認識的大社會，
are inevitably similar to each other
都不可避免地相互類似
and different from tribal societies.
并且與部落社會不同。
Tribes constitute thousands of natural experiments
部落的形成是大自然實驗的結果
in how to run a human society.
成千上萬次的實驗形成了部落的多樣性。
They constitute experiments from which we ourselves
在大自然的實驗中，部落形成的過程中
may be able to learn.
我們可以學到很多。
Tribal societies shouldn't be scorned
不應該認為部落社會
as primitive and miserable,
原始而悲慘的，并因此看不起它們
but also they shouldn't be romanticized
但也不應該覺得它們是
as happy and peaceful.
幸福與和平的，從而把其浪漫化。
When we learn of tribal practices,
當我們去了解部落的做法時，
some of them will horrify us,
有些做法會嚇壞我們，
but there are other tribal practices which,
但也有其他部落的做法，
when we hear about them,
當我們聽說時，
we may admire and envy
我們可能會覺得佩服和羨慕
and wonder whether we could adopt those practices
并思考，是否我們自己，
ourselves.
也可以采取這些做法。
Most old people in the U.S. end up living
生活在美國的大多數老人，最終
separately from their children
都與子女分開生活
and from most of their friends
他們年輕時就認識的朋友們
of their earlier years,
也會相互分開，
and often they live in separate retirements homes for the elderly,
他們很可能生活在單獨為老人設立的養老院里，
whereas in traditional societies,
而在傳統社會中，
older people instead live out their lives
年紀大的人和他們的子女，
among their children, their other relatives,
他們的其他親戚，
and their lifelong friends.
以及他們認識了一輩子的朋友生活在一起。
Nevertheless, the treatment of the elderly
雖然，老年人的待遇
varies enormously among traditional societies,
在不同的傳統社會間差別極大，
from much worse to much better
有比我們的現代社會糟糕很多的，
than in our modern societies.
也有比我們的現代社會好很多的。
At the worst extreme, many traditional societies
在最壞的極端，許多傳統社會
get rid of their elderly
通過以下四種一種比一種殘忍的方式
in one of four increasingly direct ways:
來處理部落中的老年人：
by neglecting their elderly
第一種做法是忽略他們
and not feeding or cleaning them until they die,
不給他們吃的，不打理他們，任其自生自滅，
or by abandoning them when the group moves,
第二種做法是在整個群體遷移時，拋棄他們，
or by encouraging older people to commit suicide,
第三種做法是迫使老人自殺，
or by killing older people.
最后，最殘忍的，殺死老人。
In which tribal societies do children
到底是什么樣的部落社會，
abandon or kill their parents?
子女會拋棄或殺死他們的父母？
It happens mainly under two conditions.
主要在以下兩個環境下會發生。
One is in nomadic, hunter-gather societies
一個情況是游牧部落，打獵和采摘為食的社會
that often shift camp
這些部落常常需要遷移，
and that are physically incapable
他們沒有能力
of transporting old people who can't walk
帶著無法自己遷移的老人，
when the able-bodied younger people already
四肢健全的年輕人
have to carry their young children
要攜帶年幼的子女
and all their physical possessions.
和其所有的物質財產。
The other condition is in societies
另一種是生活在極端惡劣
living in marginal or fluctuating environments,
或極端不穩定環境中的部落，
such as the Arctic or deserts,
比如北極或沙漠，
where there are periodic food shortages,
這些地方有周期性的糧食短缺，
and occasionally there just isn't enough food
并且時不時的會有饑荒，
to keep everyone alive.
糧食無法滿足所有人。
Whatever food is available has to be reserved
這種情況下，食物必須
for able-bodied adults and for children.
為健全的成年人和兒童保留。
To us Americans, it sounds horrible
對我們美國人來說，這聽起來非常可怕，
to think of abandoning or killing
想想拋棄或殺死
your own sick wife or husband
你自己生病的妻子或丈夫
or elderly mother or father,
或年邁的母親或父親，
but what could those traditional societies
但是，那些傳統社會還可能
do differently?
怎么樣呢？
They face a cruel situation of no choice.
他們面對別無選擇的殘酷態勢。
Their old people had to do it to their own parents,
他們的老人都不得不對自己的父母做這樣的事情，
and the old people know
并且老人們知道
what now is going to happen to them.
現在什么會發生在他們身上。
