翻译题 Why do animals grow old and die at characteristic ages? Even if maintained in peak condition and not eaten by your cat, your hamster is unlikely to make it much past its second birthday. And your cat might live for ten times that. Yet neither cat nor hamster will ever match the average healthy human for longevity.
A study uses demographic data to reveal a lifespan that human beings cannot exceed. It's like running. 【F1】Elite athletes might shave a few milliseconds off the world record for the 100-metre race, but they'll never run the same distance in, say, five seconds, or two. Human beings are simply not made that way. The same is true for longevity. 【F2】The consequences of numerous factors related to our genetics, metabolism, reproduction and development, all shaped over millions of years of evolution, means that few humans will make it past their 120th birthdays.
Maximum lifespan is a bald measure of years accumulated. It is not the same as life expectancy, which is an actuarial measure of how long one is expected to live from birth, or indeed from any given age. 【F3】Life expectancy at birth has increased in most countries over the past century, not because people have longer lifespans, but mainly because infectious disease does not kill as many infants as it once did.
【F4】So if we owe our increases in life expectancy to better public health, nutrition, sanitation and vaccination, is it not fair to ask whether more-effective treatments for diseases such as cancer, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's might also yield dividends in maximum lifespan? Will 120th birthday parties become routine, outmatched by a small yet increasing number of sesquicentenarians? The demographic data say no. People are living longer, and the population as a whole is greying, but the rate of increase in the number of centenarians is slowing, and might even have peaked.
Could it be possible, in some science-fictional future, to break free from the bonds of human life expectancy and increase lifespan indefinitely? Technological solutions might one day transcend the limitations of the human body. But the risks of transcendence are twofold. 【F5】First, it might be that to extend our lives beyond our normal span, we must somehow become other than human. After all, what would a 50-year-old hamster be like? Second, there is a risk that life wouldn't really be that much longer—it would only feel like it.
问答题 6.【F1】
【正确答案】顶级运动员在100米赛跑项目上或许还可以把世界纪录再削减几毫秒，但怎么也不可能跑出5秒或2秒的成绩。
【答案解析】①本句是由but连接的并列句。分句1的谓语为shave sth．off sth．结构，表示“略减，削减”。shave a few milliseconds off the world record意为“将世界纪录缩短几毫秒”；for the 100-metre race是后置定语，修饰前面的the world record，意为“百米赛跑的世界纪录”。②分句2由but连接，和前一分句是转折关系，说明顶级运动员虽然能将世界纪录再缩减几毫秒，但也不可能在几秒内跑完全程。③same distance指前半句的the 100-metre race，即100米赛跑项目。④say是插入语，表示“假如，例如”，常用于举例说明。two后面省略了seconds，即分句2的时间状语完整形式为in five seconds or two seconds。
问答题 7.【F2】
【正确答案】这是人类基因、新陈代谢、生殖和发育经由几百万年的进化演变，受到无数因素影响而得出的结论：鲜有人能活到120岁。
【答案解析】①本句是复合句。介词短语of numerous factors修饰主句主语，表示“多种因素带来的结果”。②主句主语后有两个过去分词短语充当的后置定语，第一个是related to our…and development，意为“与人类基因、新陈代谢、生殖和发育有关”。第二个是all shaped over millions of years of evolution，意为“由几百万年的进化演变而成”。③宾语从句包含“make+宾语+宾补”的结构，意思是使宾语变成宾补所描述的那样。此处it指代的是前文的longevity，意为“人类的寿命不能长于……”。
问答题 8.【F3】
【正确答案】在过去一百年，大多数国家的自出生算起的预期寿命都在增加，但这不是因为人类寿命变长了，而主要是因为婴儿没有像过去那样轻易被感染性疾病夺走性命。
【答案解析】①本句是复合句。主干是Life expectancy has increased not because…but mainly because…，意为“人们的预期寿命已经提高，不是因为……，而是因为……”。②主句主语中的at birth是后置定语，修饰Life expectancy，意为“从出生时算起的预期寿命”。in most countries和over the past century分别是地点状语和时间状语。说明主句所述情况出现的地点和时间。③后面的两个原因状语从句分别由not…but…连接，指出原因是后者而非前者。④第二个原因状语从句中的宾语包含as…as…的比较结构，将现在因感染性疾病死亡的婴儿数和过去相比，kill前的否定词not说明现在因感染性疾病死亡的婴儿数没有以前多。句末的did指代的是infectious disease killed infants。
问答题 9.【F4】
【正确答案】如果我们把预期寿命的延长归功于公共医疗、营养、卫生和免疫等方面的改善，那么是否可合理推论：如果进一步提高癌症、帕金森综合症和老年痴呆症等疾病的治疗成效，人类最长寿命尚会有上升空间?
【答案解析】①本句是复合句。主句是一般疑问句，其陈述句语序为it is not fair to ask whether．．．。it是形式主语，真正的主语是后面的不定式结构to ask…。②such as后面的cancer,Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's 是对diseases的举例说明。③dividend本义是“股息，红利”，dividends in maximum lifespan是指人类最长寿命值的增长。④条件状语从句使用了owe…to…“将……归因于……”结构。此处是将our increases in life expectancy“人类预期寿命的延长”归因于better public health,nutrition,sanitation and vaccination“更好的公共医疗、营养、卫生和免疫的改善”。
问答题 10.【F5】
【正确答案】首先，人类的寿命超出了正常阈值，或许人类就不再是人类了。
【答案解析】①本句是复合句。主句用it might be that结构中肯地引出第一个risk“风险”的所在。that后面的不定式to extend our lives beyond our normal span是表语从句中的状语，意为“使人类寿命超出正常阈值”。②表语从句中的must表示猜测，推断在to extend our lives beyond our normal span情况下的人类情况。③other than本义是“与……不同，非”，这里是指人类就不成其为人了。