阅读短文，回答问题 How old is"old"? The answer has changed over the years. Two hundred years ago , you were old at 35. That was the average life span(跨度; 范围) then. At the turn of this century, as medical knowledge improved , the average life span increased to 45. In 1950,70-year-olds were really old. Today, a healthy70-year-old is looking forward to many more active years.
So, how old is old? Once an unknown writer wrote, "Youth is not a time of life but is a state of mind. Nobody grows old by living a number of years; people grow old by giving up their goals."
Old is a point of view. Alice Brophy, when she was with the New York City commission for the Aging, said , "It makes me angry when people say, 'Gee , you look young for your age!' What does that mean? Is there a model that you' re supposed to look a certain way at 65 and 75 and 85? You know you can die old at30 and live young at 80."
There are many wrong ideas about aging. These ideas stereotype(固化) people on the basis of age. Here are some of them and the facts.
Wrong idea 1: Most older people are in poor health.
Fact 1: Not so. There are neither biological(生物的) nor physiological(生理的) reasons to connect poor health with growing older. Older people are more likely to be affected(使感染) with illness , ____▲____ . It is possible to remain physically healthy throughout your life.
Wrong idea 2: When you get old, you become senile(年老糊涂的).
Fact 2: Older people can be smart as young minds. Senility is a sign of disease; it is not part of aging process.
Wrong idea 3: Older people are unable to change.
Fact 3: Older people are as easily-changed in their life-styles as young and middle-aged people. Though sometimes they face the very big pressures about death of close friends, financial or family problems, they deal wonderfully well. Older people give up smoking and break other bad habits, just as successfully as younger people.
