1、辽宁大学博士研究生教材辽宁大学公共基础学院Chapter I How To Grow Old Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) was a British philosopher and logician. He was one of the outstanding figures of 20th Century British philosophy, especially important for his work in mathematical logic. He published a vast number of books on logic, theory
2、of knowledge, and many other topics. A Humorous Introduction to His Family HistoryIn spite of the title, this article will really be on how not to grow old, which, at my time of life, is a much more important subject.H My first advice would be to choose your ancestors carefully. H Although both my p
3、arents died young, I have done well in this respect as regards my other ancestors.A Humorous Introduction to His Family HistoryH My maternal grandfather, it is true, was cut off in the flower of his youth at the age of sixty-seven, H but my other three grandparents all lived to be over eighty. H Of
4、remoter ancestors I can only discover one who did not live to a great age, H and he died of a disease which is now rare, namely, having his head cut off. A Great GrandmotherA great grandmother of mine lived to the age of ninety-two, H and to her last day remained a terror to all her descendants. H M
5、y maternal grandmother, after having nine children who survived, one who died in infancy, and many miscarriages, as soon as she became a widow, devoted herself to womans higher education.A Great GrandmotherH She was one of the founders of Girton College, and worked hard at opening the medical profes
6、sion to women. H She used to relate how she met in Italy an elderly gentleman who was looking very sad. H She inquired the cause of his melancholy and he said that he had just parted from his two grandchildren. A Great GrandmotherH “Good gracious”, she exclaimed, “I have seventy-two grandchildren, a
7、nd if I were sad each time I parted from one of them, I should have a dismal existence!”H “Madre snaturale,” he replied. H But speaking as one of the seventy-two, I prefer her recipe.“您真是一位不寻常的母亲！ ” A Great GrandmotherH After the age of eighty she found she had some difficulty in getting to sleep, H
8、 so she habitually spent the hours from midnight to 3 a.m. in reading popular science. H I do not believe that she ever had time to notice that she was growing old. H This, I think, is proper recipe for remaining young.Wide and Keen Interests Keep YoungH If you have wide and keen interests and activ
9、ities in which you can still be effective,H you will have no reason to think about the merely statistical fact of the number of years you have already lived, H still less of the probable brevity of your future. Good Habits Keep YoungH As regards health I have nothing useful to say since I have little experience of illness. H I eat and drink whatever I like, and sleep when I cannot keep awake. H I never do anything whatever on the ground that it is good for health, though in actual fact the things I like doing are mostly wholesome(大多都裨益身体 ).
