at the age of twelve years, the human body is at its most vigorous.任务型阅读

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1、Attheageoftwelveyears,thehumanbodyisatitsmostvigorous.任务型阅读　　Attheageoftwelveyears,thehumanbodyisatitsmostvigorous.Ithasyettoreachitsfullsizeandstrength,anditsownerhisorherfullintelligence;butatthisagethelikelihoodofdeathisleast.Earlierwewereinfantsandyoungchil

2、dren,andconsequentlymorevulnerable;later,weshallundergoaprogressivelossofourvigourandresistancewhich,thoughnotfeltatfirst,willfinallybecomesosuddenandquickthatwecanlivenolonger,howeverwellwelookafterourselves,andhoweverwellsociety,andourdoctors,lookafterus.This

3、declineinvigourwiththepassingoftimeiscalledaging.Itisoneofthemostunpleasantdiscoverieswhichweallmakethatwemustdeclineinthisway,thatifweescapewars,accidentsanddiseasesweshalleventuallydieofoldage,andthatthishappensataratewhichdifferslittlefrompersontoperson,soth

4、atthereareheavyoddsinfavourofourdyingbetweentheagesofsixty-fiveandeighty.Someofuswilldiesooner,afewwilllivelonger--onintoaninthortenthdecade.Butthechancesareagainstit,andthereisavirtuallimitonhowlongwecanhopetoremainalive,howeverluckyandstrongweare.　　Normalpeop

5、letendtoforgetthisprocessunlessanduntiltheyareremindedofit.Wearesofamiliarwiththefactthatmanages,thatpeoplehaveforyearsassumedthattheprocessoflosingvigourwithtime,ofbecomingmorelikelytodietheolderweget,wassomethingself-evident,likethecoolingofahotkettleorthewea

6、ring-outofapairofshoes.Theyhavealsoassumedthatallanimals,andprobablyotherorganismssuchastrees,oreventheuniverseitself,mustinthenatureofthings‘wearout’.Mostanimalswecommonlyobservedoinfactageaswedoifgiventhechancetolivelongenough;andmechanicalsystemslikeawoundwa

7、tchorthesun,doinfactrunoutofenergyinaccordancewiththesecondlawofthermodynamics(whetherthewholeuniversedoessoisamatteraboutwhichtheremaybedisagreementoruncertaintyatpresent).Butthesearenotsimilartowhathappenswhenmanages.Arun-downwatchisstillawatchandcanberewound

8、.Anoldwatch,bycontrast,becomessowornandunreliablethatiteventuallyisnotworthmending.Butawatchcouldneverrepairitself,itdoesnotconsistoflivingparts,onlyofmetal,whichwearsawayby