One has reached the three score years and ten which one is accustomed to accept as the allotted allot vt.(按份额)分配， 分派 span of man， and one can but look upon such years as remain to one as uncertain contingencies stolen while old time with his scythe scythe n.长柄镰刀， 镰(古兵器) has his head turned the other way.
而六十岁时我说：“现在该整理我的东西了，因为这已是老年的门槛，我也应该清查一下我的账目了。”
我决定停止我的戏剧写作，写了《总结》，在书里试图为了自娱把我从生活、从文学中学习到的东西，我的所作所为和这些东西给我带来的安慰，全部加以回顾。但是在所有过去的这些生日纪念中，我想最为重要的要算是七十岁的生日了。
一个人活到七十岁，也就是到了通常认为是人类寿命的定数，剩下来的有生之年，只能看作是一个很不稳定的未知数，只是趁手握镰刀的时光老人的头看别处时偷来的。
At seventy one is no longer on the threshold of old age. One is just an old man.
On the continent of Europe they have an amiable amiable adj.亲切的， 和蔼可亲的 custom when a man who has achieved some distinction reaches that age. His friends， his colleagues， his disciples ( if he has any) join together to write a volume volume n.卷， 册， 体积， 量， 大量， 音量 of essays in his honor.
In England we give our eminent eminent adj.显赫的， 杰出的， 有名的， 优良的 men no such flattering flattering adj.谄媚的， 讨人欢喜的， 奉承的， (肖像等)比真容更美丽 mark of our esteem. At the utmost we give a dinner， and we dont do that unless he is very eminent indeed…
My own birthday passed without ceremony ceremony n.典礼， 仪式， 礼节， 报幕员 .
到了七十岁，一个人不再只是站在老年的门槛上了。他已经算是一个老人了。
在欧洲大陆，当一个有相当成就的人到了七十岁时，他们有一个非常亲切的风俗习惯，就是他的亲友，他的同事，以及他的弟子们（如果他有的话），大家联合起来一起为他撰写一本论文集来表示祝贺。
在英国，我们对名人却没有这样的表示敬重的做法。我们最多也不过是举
行一次祝寿宴会，而且这还非得要那个人真得非常有名气……
我的生日就是在没有任何礼仪的情况下度过的。
I worked as usual in the morning and in the afternoon went for a walk in the solitary solitary adj.孤独的 woods behind my house…
I went back to my house， made myself a cup of tea and read till dinner time. After dinner I read again， played two or three games of patience， listened to the news on the radio and took a detective story to bed with me. I finished it and went to sleep. Except for a few words to my colored maids maid n.少女， 女仆 I had not spoken to a soul all day.
So I passed my seventieth birthday and so I would have wished to pass it. I mused muse v.沉思 .
Two or three years ago I was walking with Liza and she spoke， I dont know why， of the horror with which the thought of old age filled her.
上午我像往常一样工作，下午则在我房后的静谧树林中散步……
后来我回到屋里，沏了一杯茶，一直读书到吃晚饭。晚饭后我继续读书，一个人玩了会儿纸牌游戏，收听了收音机的新闻报道，拿了本侦探小说上床。我看完小说就睡着了。除了与我的几个黑人女佣说过几句话外，我整天没和任何人讲过一句话。
我就这样过完了我的七十岁生日，我本来也就想这样度过的，我寻思。
两三年以前，有一次我正同赖莎一起散步，不知为何，她说到老年使她充满了恐惧感。
“Dont forget，” I told her， “that when youre old you wont have the desire to do various things that make life pleasant to you now. Old age has its compensations.”
“What？” she asked.
“Well， you need hardly ever do anything you dont want to. You can enjoy music， art and literature， differently from when you were young， but in that different way as keenly keenly adv.敏锐地 . You can get a good deal of fun out of observing the course of events in which you are no longer intimately intimately adv.密切地 concerned. If your pleasures are not so vividvivid adj.生动的， 鲜明的， 鲜艳的， 大胆的， 清晰的， 活泼的， 逼真的 your pains also have lost their sting sting n.刺， 刺痛， 针刺 .”
I could see that all this seemed cold comfort， and even as I spoke I realized that it afforded afford vt.提供， 给予， 供应得起 a somewhat gray prospect.
“不要忘了，”我告诉她，“将来你老了，你就不再有欲望去做那些如今使你生活快乐的各种事了，老年有它的补偿。”
“什么补偿啊？”她问道。
“你再也不用去做你不想做的任何事了，你可以去欣赏音乐、艺术和文学，和年轻时有所区别，但也一样敏感。你可以冷眼观察一些与你不再紧密相连的事物发展，从中得到乐趣。也许你的快乐不再那么强烈，但你的痛苦中也会失去了刺痛。”
我可看出我的这些话好像只是空洞的安慰，甚至就在我讲这些话时，我自己也感觉到这只是提供了一种相当黯淡的前景。
When later I came to think it over， it occurred to me that the greatest compensation of old age is its freedom of spirit. I suppose that is accompanied accompany vt.陪伴， 伴奏 by a certain indifference to many of the things that men in their prime think important.
Another compensation is that it liberates you from envy， hatred and malice malice n.恶意， 怨恨， 预谋， 蓄意犯罪 . I do not believe that I envy anyone. I have made the most I could of such gifts as nature provided me with； I do not envy the success of others.
I am quite willing to vacate the little niche niche n.小生境 I have occupied so long and let another step into it. I no longer mind what people think of me. They can take me or leave me. I am mildly pleased when they appear to like me and undisturbed if I know they dont.
当我后来再把这件事情考虑了一遍以后，我想到老年最大的补偿就是精神层面的自由。我看这是因为人们在成年后以为是很重要的事情现在已不再在意了。
另外的一个补偿就是老年使你从嫉妒、怨恨和恶意中得到解放。我不信自己还会再嫉妒任何人。我会充分利用我与生俱来的那些天赋，我不会嫉妒别人比我拥有更多的天赋。我已经取得了许多成功，我不会嫉妒别人的成功。
