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Growing Old 美国老年人 Happy birthday! Do birthdays really make people happy? Of course they do. Birthdays celebrate the day we were born. Moreover, that extra candle on the cake represents another year of growth and maturity-or so we hope. We all like to imagine that we\'re getting wiser and not just older. Most of us enjoy observing the miracle of growth in others, as well. For instance, seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud. For Americans, like people in most cultures, growing up is a wonderful process. But growing old? That\'s a different story. 生日快乐！生日真能使人快乐吗？这是当然的啊，庆生是庆祝我们来到世上的日子，除此之外，蛋糕上多加一支蜡烛也代表了另一年的成长与成熟--或者说至少我们希望能如此。我们都喜欢想象着自己能够越来越有智能，而不只是变老，我们大部份人也同时较喜欢观察别人成长的奇迹。例如：看到我们的孩子长大并学习新的事物使我们感到骄傲。而对美国人而言，就像大部份其它文化中的人们一样，长大是一个美好的历程，但是变老呢？那可就是另外一回事了。 Growing old is not exactly pleasant for people in youth-oriented American culture. Most Americans like to look young, act young and feel young. As the old saying goes, "You\'re as young as you feel." Older people joke about how many years young they are, rather than how many years old. People in some countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom. But Americans seem to favor those that are young, or at least "young at heart." | 
