美語情景對話 第823期:Long Life 長壽

Todd: So, Monica, a minute ago we were talking about Tai Chi and about how it helps longevity, helps you live a long life. One time when I was in Bangkok, I met a guy and he was doing Tai Chi and he looked really young, but he said the secret to his old life ... he said the secret to looking young, was Tai Chi and cold showers. He took a cold shower every morning.

託德：莫妮卡，剛纔我們聊了太極拳以及太極拳如何有助於益壽和長壽。我在曼谷的時候認識了一個練太極拳的人，他看起來非常年輕，他說他保持年輕的祕訣是練太極拳和洗冷水澡。他每天早上都洗冷水澡。

Monica: Oh, wow!

莫妮卡：哦，哇哦！

Todd: Could you do that?

託德：你能這麼做嗎？

Monica: No, I don't think I could actually.

莫妮卡：不能，我想我做不到。

Todd: Yeah, you know, I actually tried it for awhile and I tried it for about a week and I did feel so energized and it was easy in Bangkok, cause it's really warm but I couldn't keep it up, especially not that I'm in the cold climate. There's no way.

託德：我曾經嘗試過一段時間，我嘗試過一週的時間，那段時間我的確感覺充滿能量，這在曼谷很容易做到，因爲曼谷天氣非常暖和，不過我沒能堅持下去，尤其是在寒冷的氣候裏。

Monica: Yeah, I remember when I was young, my mother used to teach me to splash my face with cold water in the morning because she believed that helped wake you up, and I remember as a child not liking that at all because I just found it too cold. So I preferred to splash my face with warm water.

莫妮卡：我記得我小時候，我媽媽曾教我在早上用涼水洗臉，她認爲這樣有助於讓人清醒，可是我小時候非常不喜歡這樣做，因爲我覺得那樣太冷了。我喜歡用溫水洗臉。

Todd: So, have you heard about any other secrets to having a long life?

託德：你聽說過其他長壽祕訣嗎？

Monica: Yeah, I've heard of quite a few different secrets to having a long life. I guess one secret that a lot of different cultural groups seem to share is diet. If you take the Japanese as an example, and Japanese people do have a long life expectancy in comparison to other people from ofher countries. I think the Japanese eat a diet that's quite low in fat and reasonably low in salt as well, and I think their fluid intake is quite healthy because they drink a lot of green tea which has antioxidants in it, and a they drink a lot of miso soup which has a lot of vegetables in it, and is made from fermented barley, so I think that's very healthy.

莫妮卡：我聽說過很多不同的長壽祕訣。其中不同文化羣體都同意的祕訣是飲食。以日本人爲例，與其他國家的人相比，日本人的壽命很長。我認爲日本人的飲食低脂低鹽，而且他們的液體攝入非常健康，因爲他們飲用大量的綠茶，綠茶含有抗氧化劑，而且他們喝含有很多蔬菜的味噌湯，味噌湯由大麥發酵而成，我認爲這非常健康。

Todd: I've also heard that people in the Mediterranean, they also often have a long life span in certain regions and maybe the combination of wine, just a little wine, not too much, but wine and olive oil, and then a lot of fish, seafood is also maybe beneficial to a long life.

託德：我還聽說地中海一些地區的人壽命也很長，因爲他們喝紅酒，不是喝太多，只是喝一點紅酒，他們還食用橄欖油，另外魚和海鮮應該也有益於長壽。

Monica: Yeah, that's true. I've heard French people for example live a long life and that has often been said due to a glass of red wine a day, and I know people think differently about alcohol and it's affect on the body these days.

莫妮卡：對，沒錯。我聽說法國人很長壽，聽說這是因爲他們每天喝一杯紅酒，我知道最近人們對酒精以及酒精對人體的影響有不同的看法。

Todd: Right.

託德：是的。

Monica: Yeah, because alcohol used to be considered quite a bad thing and discouraged in all forms but now people tend to think that a glass a day is actually quite beneficial to your health.

莫妮卡：對，因爲酒精以前被認爲是不好的東西，所有形式的酒精都應該禁止，不過現在人們傾向於認爲每天一杯酒對健康有好處。

Todd: I've also actually heard that laughter, that people that laugh a lot tend to live longer.

託德：我還聽說過多笑有助於長壽。

Monica: Yeah, I've heard that too, actually, because laughing releases natural endorphins, and I think that helps you physiologically, and also I think psychologically you're happier if laughing so. Yeah, I think that long life is related to how you are feeling, and I think a lot of it is psychological as well as physical, for example, how much you are eating and what types of food you're eating.

莫妮卡：對，我也聽說過這個，因爲笑會自然產生內啡肽，我認爲這從生理上來講有好處，而且從生理上來說，多笑笑會更幸福。我認爲長壽與人的感覺有關，與心理和生理都有很大聯繫，舉個例子，長壽與飯量以及飲食種類有關。

Todd: Yeah, I guess, I'm kind of in the same boat, but I just don't know if I laugh that much. Maybe I'm in trouble.

託德：對，我想我的處境相同，不過我不知道我有沒有笑那麼多。也許我陷入困境了。

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重點講解：
1. keep up 繼續做（或提供）；
例句：I was so hungry all the time that I could not keep the diet up for longer than a month.
我無時無刻都覺得餓，節食堅持不到一個月就放棄了。
2. used to do sth. 過去常常；過去曾；
例句：Pirates used to maroon people on desert islands.
海盜過去慣常把人們遺棄在荒島。
3. wake up 醒；醒來；喚醒；弄醒；
例句：Stop shouting or you'll wake up the neighbors.
不要喊了，否則你會把鄰居吵醒的。
4. in comparison to 與…相比；與…比較而言；
例句：My worries suddenly seemed to pale in comparison to the problems of Jackson.
但和傑克遜的麻煩一比，我的憂慮簡直算不得什麼。
5. due to 由於；因爲；
例句：Sales are down a bit due to the revaluation.
由於貨幣升值銷售額稍有下降。
6. in trouble 處於困境；惹麻煩；將受懲罰；
例句：Nobody will believe he is in trouble because he has cried wolf so many times.
因爲他多次謊發警報，現在誰也不會相信他遭難了。