Growing Old

Say what you think on this problem.

Compare the given below points of view on the problem of growing old.

Read the text below and translate paragraphs 3 and 4 in writing.

1 My mother used to advise me about getting old. We weren’t very sentimental about it in my family. She said the day she couldn’t get the bathroom by herself she was going to kill herself. And that’s what I’m going to do. And what do I look forward to? Well, I think most old people get to give their opinion kind of more bluntly than when we’re younger. We have to be a little careful about what we say. So I’m looking forward to being a really cranky old man, saying just what I think about everything. And how do I hope to stay young? Well, I row. I hope that by going out in a boat two or three times a week will keep me fit enough to get me to an age when I can be a cranky old man.

2 I think the thing that scares me the most about getting old is being physically infirm and not really being able to get around or take care of myself and being dependent on other people. What I look forward to though is actually just when you are old you really can do what you want. You don’t have to worry about other people’s opinions. You have a freedom that you don’t have earlier in life. How I hope to stay young is with good physical exercise because I think the better shape that you stay in, both mentally and physically, and also I think adventures are really important. You should have adventures all the times and even when you are old you should try new things and learn new things and try and have an adventure whenever you can and that’ll keep you younger.

3 I suppose what I fear most about growing old is a feeling of worthlessness. A feeling that nobody needs me or wants me or that I’ve been used up and that I don’t play any part in my community or in my society. What I look forward to about growing old is the sense that I hope that there won’t be so much worry, that there’ll be more serenity, that I will feel more at peace with the world and that it won’t be such a terrifying idea to face the next thirty years. And I suppose not to have to worry about growing old because I’ll be old by then. And how do I hope to stay young? I run, so I want to keep running and hope that I’m able to do that when I get older. In fact I was shamed into running in the first place by watching older people running in Central Park in New York.

4 I don’t think growing old actually worries me. In a way I look forward to it as a chance to be able to do all things I’ve always wanted to do. I think I’m slightly worried that when I do get older I won’t actually have the strength – the physical strength – to do those things. And I think you keep young by an attitude of mind and really just keep moving so you don’t have time to sit down and think.

1) Read the following text and discuss it using the following questions:

Do you think the number of children in the family can be planned? Why is it desirable to have more than one child? Is it justifiable to have five or more children? Do you agree with the author’s opinion of the main goals of life? What happens to people whose main object of life is pleasure? Where in your opinion can one find happiness? (Compare it with what the author thinks.)

Дата добавления: 2014-12-29