世界節(jié)假日博覽 第142期:老年人日

Senior Citizens Day is on August the 21st. It is a day to celebrate the world’s older people. Their number is increasing rapidly every year. In 1950 there were 200 million people over 60 years old. That number nearly tripled to 600 million in 2000. Experts say that by 2025, there will be over 1 billion old folk. The day was started by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. He said there should be a day for us to show our gratitude for what old people have achieved in their lives, and for their contributions to our communities and society. It is also a day on which we can focus on the rights of the aged all over the world. In today’s world where equality is so important, there are many issues surrounding ageism.There are many things we can do on Senior Citizens Day. Perhaps the first thing we should do is tell the older people in our lives how much we love them. We should thank them for all they have done for us. It is important to spend time with seniors, especially those who live alone, who may be lonely.Spending time with seniors shows them they are still appreciated. There are many things we can learn from them. They are full of wonderful stories of a different age. President Reagan said: “For all they have achieved throughout life and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks…We can best demonstrate our gratitude and esteem by making sure that our communities are good places in which to grow older.”


老年人日在8月21日。這一節(jié)日用于贊美世界上的老年人。老年人的數(shù)量每年都在急劇增長。1950年全世界60多歲的老年人是2億人。老年人的數(shù)量到2000年增長了2倍，達(dá)到了6億人。專家說到2025年，世界上將會有10億老年人。老年人日是美國前總統(tǒng)羅納德·里根提出的。里根說我們應(yīng)該設(shè)立一天來感激老年人畢生的成就及他們對社區(qū)和社會做出的貢獻(xiàn)。老年人日也是我們專注老年人權(quán)利的一天。當(dāng)今世界平等如此重要，卻仍存在著諸多歧視老年人的問題。我們能在老年人日做很多事。或許我們該做的第一件事就是告訴老人們我們多愛他們。我們應(yīng)該感謝老人為我們所做的一切。陪伴老人很重要，特別是陪伴那些獨(dú)居，可能感覺孤單的老人。陪伴老人證明他們?nèi)灾档酶屑?。我們可以從他們身上學(xué)到很多事情。他們身上有著不同時(shí)代的精彩烙印。里根總統(tǒng)說，“我們對老年人畢生的成就和他們一直的追求欠一聲感謝。我們應(yīng)該好好展示我們的感激和尊敬，保證我們的社會適合年老時(shí)居住。”