Aging of the American Population
America is growing older. Fifty years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 or older. Today, 10 out of every ]00 Americans are over 65. The aging of the population will affect American society in many ways - education, medicine, and business. The graying of America has made us a very different society ---one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior is suitable at various ages.
A person's age no longer tells you anything about his or her social position, marriage or health. There's no longer a particular year in which one goes to school or goes to work or gets married or starts a family. The social clock that kept us on time and told us when to go to school, get a job, or stop working isn't as strong as it used to be. It doesn't surprise us to hear of a 29-year-old university president or a 35-year- old grandmother,or a 70-year-old man who has become a father for the first time. Public ideas are changing.
Many people say,"l am much younger than my mother or my father was at my age." No one says anymore," Act your age." We've stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.
美國人口老齡化
美國正在變老。5年前，在美國每10個人里面只有4個人在65歲或65歲以上。現在每100個美國人中有10個超過了65歲。人口老化將會在許多方面影響美國社會—教育。醫藥和商業。美國變老已經使我們成為一個極為不同的社會，這個社會中人們對在不同的年齡適合做什么事情的觀點也大相徑庭。
一個人的年齡不再能夠告訴你他或她的.社會地位、婚姻以及健康狀況。人們上學，工作，結婚或者組建家庭也不再有確切的時間。使我們按部就班、告訴我們何時上學、工作或退休的社會時鐘也不再像從前那樣強大。我們聽到29歲的大學校長，35歲的祖母或70歲才頭次當上爸爸這樣的消息時，也不會感到奇怪了。公眾的觀點正在發生變化。
很多人都說：“我比我父母在我這個年齡時年輕得多。”不會有人再說：“做與年紀相符的事情。”我們已經不再以驚訝的目光注視老年人以年輕人的方式行事。