2018-09-10

未来人类真能长生不老？

尤瓦尔·赫拉利在畅销书《未来简史》中写道：进入21世纪后，曾长期威胁人类生存和发展的瘟疫、饥荒和战争三大难题已被攻克，智人面临着新的待办议题：长生不老、幸福快乐和成为具有“神性”的人类。

其实，中国人追求长生不老由来已久，想想多少皇帝醉心于炼丹不可自拔，结果却因此而暴毙。现代的人们在科学指导之下，知道了人的器官功能会不断老化，就像汽车零件一样不断磨损，最终无法使用。

然而，现在科学家却重新研究起长生不老，并且有越来越多的学术机构和私人公司加入进来。这已不是个未来的产业了！

▍生词好句

anti-aging /ˌæntiˈeɪdʒɪŋ/: adj. 抗衰老的；延缓衰老的

foremost /ˈfɔːməʊst, ˈfɔːrmoʊst/: adj. 最重要的；最佳的

advocate /ˈædvəkət/: n. 支持者

provocative /prəˈvɒkətɪv, prəˈvɑːkət̬ɪv/: adj. 引发思考的；令人生气的

· provoke /prəˈvəʊk, prəˈvoʊk/: vt. 激起；引起

accumulate /əˈkjuːmjəleɪt/: vt. 积累；积聚

tolerate /ˈtɒləreɪt, ˈtɑːləreɪt/: vt. 容忍；宽容

groundbreaking /ˈɡraʊndˌbreɪkɪŋ/: adj. 开创性的；创新的

readily /ˈredəli/: adv. 轻而易举地；迅速地

cheer sb. on: 鼓励某人；支持某人

radical /ˈrædɪkəl/: adj. 极端的；激进的

▍词汇拓展

1. foremost: adj. the most important or the most well-known

He was one of the foremost actors of his day.

他是当时最著名的演员之一。

He was one of the world's foremost scholars of mathematics.

他是世界上最顶尖的数学学者之一。

2. liken sb./sth. to sb./sth.: to say that someone or something is similar to someone or something else

In poetry, many writers liken love to something in nature, like a butterfly.

在诗里，许多作者把爱比作蝴蝶等大自然生物。

3. wear down: to become weaker, damaged, because of continuous use

My favourite shoes are wearing down, because I wear them every single day.

我最爱的鞋子开始磨损，因为我每天都穿它。

4. accumulate: vt. to collect, to grow in quantity over a period of time, to build up

You might try to accumulate enough money to buy a house.

你可以努力攒钱，买个房子。

5. tolerate: vt. if you can tolerate something, you can bear something unpleasant or something dangerous. You can keep going despite the difficulties.

Athletes often have to tolerate a lot of pain.

运动员一般得忍受很多疼痛。

The teacher cannot tolerate the students' bad behaviour.

老师无法忍受学生们的不良行为。

6. groundbreaking: adj. something that is new and likely to have an effect on how we do things in the future

a groundbreaking scientific discovery

一项开创性的科学发现

(a) groundbreaking research/studies

一项创造性的研究

a groundbreaking agreement between two countries who in the past used to quarrel a lot

两大对立国之间的一份开创性的协议

7. readily: adv. easily

The information is readily accessible on the internet.

这个信息可从互联网上迅速得到。

These books are readily available in the public library.

这些书从公共图书馆就很容易得到。