这才算完成了让人感受年龄增加了一倍的束缚身体的穿戴工作。这会儿，我急于想看到和感受一下这整个衰老工程的效果，就朝附近的镜子里一看，发现自己正盯着一个只能用电影“星球大战”里的怪兽来描述的人。
然而，任何科幻小说里的英雄，活的或者死的，突然都不复存在了。因为现在我行走困难，就连上下楼、在椅子上坐下然后再起来、或者够高架子上的东西这类事情都难以胜任，更不用说去全力对付那听可乐，或者靠相当于患白内障眼病的视力去费力地读报了。
设计这套老化服的意图又是什么呢？“精彩老化俱乐部”声称它能向人们准确地展示一个人老了到底是什么样子，这样，在为下世纪规划时，它就有着巨大的价值。而人们很显然也听从了她们的建议：到目前为止，约有8000人试穿过这服装，其中有一半来自地方当局、生产部门或应急服务供应商。他们希望了解他们提供的产品和服务是否确实能满足老人的需求。
这样，全日本所有的产品，从居家日用到汽车，从建筑设计到商品包装，都在经历一个新的测试：让身穿老化服装的冒牌老人使用这些产品以判定它们的实用性。未来的世界，好像将不再是年轻人的世界，至少在21世纪的日本不是。
Read more 一床双人毛毯
宜人的夜空悬挂着一轮苍白的秋月，清辉轻撒在山谷之上。十一岁的彼得两眼定定地望着餐桌上红黑相间的毛毯。他知道这将是他和爷爷共享天伦的最后一晚。明天一早，爷爷就得走了，带着爸爸给的这件礼物走了。
祖孙两人一起洗了晚餐的碗碟，爸爸带着他将迎娶过门的女人出去了，这一会儿倒还不会回来。碗碟洗好了，彼得和爷爷来到门外，坐在月光下。
“我把口琴拿来吹给你听吧！”老人说道。可他把口琴和毛毯都拿来了。 这是一床双人毛毯。“瞧，这真是顶好的毛毯啊！”老人一边用手抚摸着毛毯柔滑的绒毛，一边说着，“你爸爸真是个好人，给老不中用的人临走还送这么好的毛毯。这很值钱的，确实值钱啊！”
爷爷就是这么说话的，他总是把事情往好里看。自始至终，每当谈起要走的事，爷爷总说是他本人的想法，他愿意去老人院。但直到今晚爸爸买回了毛毯，彼得才确信爸爸真的要让爷爷走了。
淡淡的月亮高高地挂着，一阵轻风拂过山谷。爷爷吹奏了几个音符，然后说道：“你会记住这段的。” 彼得寻思着：这是最后一次了，再听不到爷爷吹奏口琴了。爸爸就要娶那位漂亮的女人了，她吻过他，并且说过她会努力做个好后妈之类的话。
爷爷放下口琴说道：“这调子不好，但用来跳舞倒还合适。接下来，??你爸爸要娶的是个好姑娘，娶个那样的漂亮媳妇，你爸爸也会年轻的。我这糟老头子还呆在这屋里干啥哩？碍手碍脚的，成天只会嚷嚷这儿疼那儿痛的。还有，等他们生了孩子，你就整夜整夜地听那娃娃哭呀闹的吧，我可不想这样。所以呀——，我最好还是离开这儿，??再听听这首曲子，有点儿伤感，不过倒挺适合今晚的。”
他们没听见有两人沿路走来，是爸爸和那个漂亮女人，她长着一副洋娃娃般冷硬而艳丽的面孔。旋律嘎然而止，爸爸一句话也没说，女人却走向爷爷娇嗔地说道：“我明早不来送你了，
所以过来和你道别的。”
“谢谢你了。”爷爷答着，把头低向地板，看见了毛毯。他弯腰捡起毛毯，说：“你瞧瞧这个吧。儿子送我上路的毛毯多么好啊！”他像个孩子似地说道。
“哦，确实很好。”女人转向爸爸，说道：“肯定花了不少钱吧。” 爸爸清了清嗓子说：“我想让他有床最好的毯子。”
女人仍然站在那儿打量着毯子：“嗯??嗯??还是双人的哩！”
“是的，”老人应道，“是双人的。是给老头子上好的离别礼物。”男孩突然走入屋里。他仍能听见那个女人还在谈着那床昂贵的毯子，他还听见爸爸的语气渐渐地不善起来。终于，她准备走了。彼得出来时，正逢那个女人回转身叫道：“无论你怎么说，他都不需要一床双人毛毯。”爸爸用怪怪的目光看着她。
“爸爸，她说得对，”男孩说，“爷爷不需要双人毯。爸爸，把它剪开吧，剪成两半。”说着，他拿出了一把剪刀。
“这主意倒不错，”爷爷柔和地说，“我不需要这么一床大毯子。”
“对啊，”男孩说，“打发老人走，一床单人毯子就行了。爸爸，咱们省下另一半将来还有用哩。”
“咦，你说这话是什么意思？”爸爸问道。
“我的意思是呵，”男孩慢条斯里地说，“爸爸，等你老了我送你走的时候，就给你啊！”
Unit 1 The Snake Bite
1. It started raining, so she made for the nearest shelter. 2. She picked out a cap to match her dress. 3. I waited for an hour, but he didn’t show up.
4. They figured it was better to stay where they were.
5. The earthquake that struck the little island caused 23 deaths.
6. He returned home at length after being away from the village for 20 years. 7. She managed to hold on to her job while many of her colleagues lost theirs.
Unit 2 He Was My Father
1. My teacher told me that the liquid in the bottle could remove stains from metal and china.
2. The student sitting beside me looked around the examination room with apprehension.
3. He is now out of college and lives on his own.
4. They took turns staying awake in case something went wrong.
5. The elder daughter will probably follow in her father’s footsteps and take over the family business when she’s grown up.
6. He had to get off his bike and push it up the hill.
7. The pair of gloves will protect your hands against the cold.
Unit 3 Understanding Your Owner
1. At first, he refused to accept any responsibility but he ended up apologizing. 2. Sometimes it is not easy to pick out an acquaintance in a crowd. 3. Some convenience foods can fit in with ideas of healthy eating. 4. Your carelessness might put us into danger.
5. He tried to force his opinion on us, but we didn’t accept it. 6. They spent hours working out the result for the survey.
Or: It was hours before they worked out the result of the survey. 7. If you can’t make it this way, you can try doing it another way. 8. Her illness kept her off work for several weeks.
Unit 8 Beauty and Career ( P119)
1. I find it difficult to keep up with the changes in fashion. 2. He doesn't go in for outdoor sports much.
3. My English is poor so I'm not up to translating the poem. 4. People usually judge a person by his/her appearance. 5. She looked as if she hadn't slept all night.
6. He was determined to go to great lengths to fulfill his ambition 7. He sat in the front so as to hear clearly.
Unit 15 The aging population ( P228 )
1. Is it safe to draw conclusions on the basis of only one investigation?
2. More books about physical exercises will be published to meet the needs of the ageing society
3. The team leader urged the players to win the football match at any rate.
4. He has visited a lot of places of interest abroad, not to mention scenic spots at home.
5. The scientists subjected the new product to a series of strict tests.
6. After searching in the room for a while, he brought out a pile of old magazines. 7. She is determined to succeed and won’t let anything get in her way. 8. Jimmy’s parents came over from America to see him.
Unit 1 The snake bite
1. Bite vi.& vt.叮、咬
2. Annoyance n. 恼怒，烦恼，打扰 Annoy vt.打扰，干扰
3. Distress n.痛苦，悲痛，有伤，苦恼 4. Literary a.文学（上）的 5. Fable n.寓言
6. Ecstatic / ek’s/ a.入迷的，狂喜的 7. Disgust n.反感，厌恶，嫌恶 8. Disgrace n.丢脸，耻辱，不光彩
9. Bug n.虫子，病菌，故障，打扰，使厌恶 10. Queue-jump /kju:/ 插队 jump the queue
11. Perspective n.远景，景，前途，希望，透视，观点，想法 12. Pester vt.使烦恼，纠缠 13. Brag vt.&vi. 自夸，吹嘘
14. Gall n.&vt. 胆汁，怨恨，烦扰，侮辱，擦伤 15. Gamble vt.&vi.&n.赌博，冒风险，打赌，投机 16. Drag vt.&vi.&n.拖，打捞，障碍，累赘，磨蹭 17. Nuisance n. 讨厌的东西，人，物 18. Bound vi.&vt.&n.&a. 弹回，限制，范围，必定的，去 Be bound to = be sure to/ confident sth will happen
19. specific a.&n. 明确的，具体的，特效药，细节
20. thick a. 厚的，粗的，稠密的，充满的，不清楚的 thin a. 薄的，细的，瘦的，浅薄的，缺乏力量的
21.gauze n. 沙网，薄纱
Pledget n. (外科用的)纱布,脱脂棉
22.patch n.&vt. 补丁，眼罩，小块土地，修理，调停 23.on the edge of adv. 濒于，几乎，在边缘 24.cane field n. 甘蔗园
25.shed n.&vt. 棚，库，流出，留下，蜕皮 26.blade n.刀口，刀刃，叶片，草叶
27.swipe n.&vt.&vi. 重击，挥击，抨击，偷窃，扒窃 28.thumpvt.&vi.&n. 重击，（指心脏）急速跳动，拍 29.step into 干预，涉足
30.quailn.&vi. 鹌鹑，鹌鹑肉，害怕，发抖，畏缩 31.massn.&v.&a. 团，打量，群众，品质，集聚， Mess vt.&n. 弄脏，杂乱，不整洁的，粪便
32.note n.&vt. 笔记，短信，通牒，暗示，声音 33.light out 匆匆离去，拼命地跑，飞快地跑 34.apron n.围裙
35.knee n.膝盖，膝部，膝 36.porch n.门廊 37.silhouette n.轮廓
38.buggyn.&a. 小机动车，婴儿车，轻便马车，多臭虫 的，有神经病的，疯的