EZCNN 易英网

当前位置：Home

英语教材

Advanced English

Health (健康)

Living With Alzheimer’s 老年痴呆症患者活出尊严

详细资料: 创建于 2009年7月27日; 最后更新于 2024年5月25日; 发布于 2012年3月20日; 作者：Mike Lee; 点击数：282

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Can those in the early stages of Alzheimer’s stay active and enjoy life? 老年痴呆症患者患病初期能否保持活动力，持续享受生活之乐呢？

Bob Blackwell can rattle off the names of every country in Europe, even the obscure little islands, but most days he can’t remember his computer password or his wife, Carol’s, cell phone number.

巴伯．布雷克威尔能飞快说出全欧洲每个国家的名称，甚至连名不见经传的小岛他都了如指掌，不过，大部分日子里，他却连计算机密码或太太卡萝的手机号码都想不起来。

The 30-year CIA veteran recalls trips to the USSR on Air Force One with Vice President George H. W. Bush and meetings with Presidents Carter and Reagan, but he occasionally forgets which exit to take on the way home.

这位在美国「中央情报局」工作三十年的老手还能记起与当时还是副总统的老布什一起搭乘空军一号（译注：空军一号只是一个代号，任何搭载美国元首的飞机都被称作空军一号）造访前苏联的情景，他也记得和美国前总统卡特和里根开过的会议，只不过，偶尔他可能连回家的路上该走哪条通道都记不得。

At 65, Blackwell, now retired, is experiencing the baffling symptoms of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, a form of dementia.

现年六十五岁、现已退休的布雷克威尔，其实正经历老年痴呆症早期病状的打击，该病属痴呆症的一种。

He sings in a choir, hikes and kayaks with Carol, breakfasts every week with friends, builds sand castles with his grandchildren and can recount details from a spy novel he’s reading. But sometimes he just can’t summon up the word he wants.

虽然他在合唱团中高歌，也和卡萝一起泛舟，每周都会和好友一起享用早餐，还会和孙子一起堆沙子盖城堡，而对目前正在读的一本间谍小说细节也如数家珍，可是，有时他就是想不起来该用哪个字来形容，而一时语塞。

“It can be confusing,” says Blackwell, who holds a Ph.D. in political science but these days leaves tasks such as balancing the checkbook, paying bills and travel planning to Carol. Despite the challenges, he has found that the best way to weather the disease right now is to stay active physically and mentally, hope a cure isn’t far-off and surround himself with family and friends.

「这的确可能令人困惑不已，」布雷克威尔说道，即使他拥有政治学博士学位，可是近来却连结算支票簿、支付帐款和旅行规划这类差事全都得交给卡萝来打理。不过，虽然面临困难挑战，他仍发现，如今战胜病魔的最佳方式就是保持身心活跃，心里也要抱着根治良方很快就会问世的希望，而且要多和家人朋友相聚。

Starts with subtle changes 微小变化是病兆

Before Blackwell was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s almost two years ago, his wife and close friends noticed subtle differences in his mood and memory.

布雷克威尔是在两年前被诊断出罹患老年痴呆症，但早在这之前，他太太和好友就注意到，他在情绪和记性等方面都和过去有点不太一样。

“About a year before Bob was diagnosed, he seemed much quieter than he used to be. He was normally happier, outgoing. He seemed somewhat more absent-minded, too, and had trouble figuring out different remotes, things on the computer,” say Carol, his wife of 41 years.

「巴伯被诊断出患病的大约一年前左右，人就变得比过去更安静，而他原本性情更快乐、外向，此外，他也变得似乎更常心不在焉，不同的遥控器、计算机上出现的东西他也搞不大清楚。」他结发四十一年的妻子卡萝表示。

Blackwell had a series of tests, but it took months of doctor’s visits and medical exams because Alzheimer’s can be tricky to diagnose early. “The early stage can last for years, and during that time a person can be very functional,” says neurologist Scott Turner, from the Georgetown Medical Center.

布雷克威尔接受了一连串的检查，但足足花了好几个月去看医生和接受医疗检测之后，才被诊断出患病，因为老年痴呆症很不容易在早期诊断出来。「疾病初期可能持续好几年之久，在这段期间，患者可能生活自理能力如常，」「乔治敦医学中心」精神病学家史考特．透纳表示。

单词发音

More Information

rattle off 急促地背诵 recite volubly or extravagantly

rattle [ˋræt!] v. 喋喋不休地说话

USSR 前苏联 the abbreviation for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

baffling [ˋbæf!ɪŋ] adj. 令人困惑的，难对付的；难解的

dementia [dɪˋmɛnʃɪə] n. 痴呆 a medical condition that affects especially old people, causing gradual worsening of the memory and other mental abilities, and leading to confused behavior

choir [kwaɪr] n.（教堂的）唱诗班；圣乐团

recount [riˋkaʊnt] v. 叙述，讲述

weather [ˋwɛðɚ] v. 经受住，渡过(难关等)

far-off [ˋfɑrˋɔf] adj.（时间、地点等）遥远的 at a great distance, absolutely or relatively

absent-minded [ˋæbsntˋmaɪndɪd] adj. 心不在焉的，茫茫然的 describing someone who tends to forget things or does not pay attention to what is happening near them because they are thinking about other things

remote [rɪˋmot] n. 遥控器 a remote control device

tricky [ˋtrɪkɪ] adj. 微妙的；难处理的

functional [ˋfʌŋkʃən!] adj. 能起工作的，正常运转的

课文朗读

课文讲解

Every day now, Bob says, is a chance to keep his brain alive and fend off the disease. “I want to beat this thing,” he says. “I want to help find a cure for me and for my kids and grandkids.”

巴伯说，如今他每天都有机会保持脑子清醒，以对抗病魔。「我希望能打败这个病，」他说，「为了我自己、我的孩子和我的孙子们，我希望能找到根治之道。」

Blackwell plays math and language games on his palm-sized computer, travels, takes international-relations classes and reads. The couple voyaged to New Zealand last year and plan to travel to Ireland this fall. “Recent research indicates staying mentally and physically active may help stave off dementia longer,” Turner says.

布雷克威尔会用他的掌上电脑来玩数学和语言电玩游戏，也去旅游，还选修了国际关系的课程，并饱览群书。夫妻俩去年到纽西兰旅游，还计划在今年秋季到爱尔兰旅行。「最近研究显示，保持身心活跃可能有助于延缓痴呆病状恶化，」透纳指出。

Misconceptions abound 不少错误认知

Blackwell’s adult children, Rob and Jennifer, are proud their father is trying to get joy out of his life instead of letting fear consume him.

布雷克威尔现已成年的子女罗伯和珍妮弗都为父亲感到骄傲，因为他努力让自己的生命洋溢着喜悦，而不是被动地任由恐惧吞噬自己。

“When I confided in some close friends and their response was, ‘Does he recognize you?’ I knew I had some clarifying to do. Many people still think Alzheimer’s is a mental disorder or that the people is debilitated and in a nursing home from the start.”

「当我把爸爸患病的消息向几位知心好友吐露之后，他们的反应却是说，『那他还认得你吗？』我便知道自己必须厘清一些事情了。很多人仍然以为老年痴呆症是一种心理失调症，或是会使患者身体虚弱，害他们患病之初就非得送到疗养院去不可。」（译注：布雷克威尔女儿珍妮弗所述）

A 2008 report (called “Voices of Alzheimer’s Disease”) from the Alzheimer’s Association “show people are still very active and capable in the early stage of Alzheimer’s” says Peter Reed, the association’s senior director of programs.

「老年痴呆症协会」计划资深协理彼得．李德表示，根据「老年痴呆症协会」在二００八年发布的报告（名为《老年痴呆症心声》），「显示在罹患老年痴呆症初期，患者仍能拥有高度活动力及自理能力。」

Blackwell wants to be valued for the person he is: the boy who was a high school football player, the graduate student who fell in love with Carol, the CIA analyst who advised a president, a loving father who told a great bedtime story, and a doting grandpa.

布雷克威尔希望自己做为人的价值能受到珍视：包括那个高中时踢足球的男孩；爱上了卡萝的那位研究生；能向总统进言的「中央情报局」分析师；会在床边为子女讲精彩故事、充满爱心的爸爸，以及宠爱孙子的祖父等身分，都能受到尊重。

He says the support of close family and friends helps him stay buoyed, particularly the unfailing love and companionship of his wife. “I couldn’t have made it this far without Carol,” he says, his voice catching.

他表示，亲朋好友的大力支持，尤其是妻子始终如一的爱和陪伴，有助他振作起精神，「如果没有了卡萝，我就绝对不可能走到今天，」他语带哽咽地说。

−by Mary Brophy Marcus

单词发音