百岁老人压力大

百岁老人压力大

根据官方统计数据，未来20年内英国百岁老人的数量会再次翻两番。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

quadruple成为四倍['kwɒdrʊp(ə)l]

ageing population人口老龄化

socio-economic社会经济的

cutback削减；情节倒叙['kʌtbæk]

constrained被强迫的；不舒服的[kən'streɪnd]

mortality死亡率；必死性[mɔː'tælɪtɪ]

British people living over 100 quadruples（483words） By Gemma Tetlow

The number of people in Britain reaching the age of 100 has quadrupled in the past 30 years and is likely to quadruple again by 2035,according to official statistics.

The rapid growth in the number of centenarians reflects advances in medicine and improvements in nutrition and living conditions earlier in the 20th century,which have boosted life expectancy.

Between 1985 and last year the number of people over 100 years old rose from 3,420 to 14,570,according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics. By 2035,there will be 57,586.

Britain’s ageing population is putting growing pressure on the public purse in terms of health and social care spending.

But“the problem is not the rapidly ageing population per se,”said David Eaton of the International Longevity Centre UK,a think-tank that focuses on demographic change.“It is that healthy life expectancy is not keeping up”.

One way of supporting an ageing population is for people to work longer. But this is only possible if workers remain in sufficiently good health. In recent years,total life expectancy at age 65 has increased more rapidly than healthy life expectancy,particularly for men.

Andrew Scott and Lynda Gratton of the London Business School recently explored what“The 100-Year Life”might mean in a book.“The idea that we are living longer on average and are healthier for longer on average has to be good news”said Prof Scott. But,he added,the“on average”is important.

Not everyone has benefited from improvements in life expectancy in recent years. Life expectancy always has been lower for people living in poorer areas and from lower socio-economic groups.

The gap between the life expectancies of the longest and shortest lived has also increased recently — for the first time since 1879,according to a report published earlier this year by researchers at Cass Business School.

For those who do not have the skills or resources necessary to construct the type of multi-stage working career that Prof Scott said will be needed,life could turn out to be“nasty,brutish and long”.“The big issue for government is how to tackle that inequality,”said Prof Scott.

In the short term,the rapidly rising number of very old people will increase demands on health and social care services at a time when public spending is constrained. There are concerns that cutbacks in spending may have contributed to the rise in mortality that occurred last year.

Housing is also an important issue. Too many elderly people live in unsuitable properties,with too many stairs,without appropriate adaptations and — in some cases — with more rooms than they need. Though the focus of recent government policy has been on first-time buyers,“last-time buyers”may be just as important.

“We would see an immediate decrease in pressures on health and social care if people lived in suitable housing,”said Mr Eaton.