怎样确定自己该何时退休？

近日，关于几岁退休的话题引发热议。

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. How does Louis H. Primavera suggest people prepare for retirement?

A) By saving more money

B) By trying new activities and ramping down slowly

C) By consulting a financial advisor

D) By retiring at the same time as their partner

无注释原文：

How to Know When It's Time to Retire

From: The Wall Street Journal

At 67, Kathie Davis liked her financial-services job. But the demands were getting heavier, and life outside work was moving on.

“When do you call it a career?” she wondered.

Her finances were in order, and with friends passing away—including one just into retirement—she decided it was time. Still, when her last Friday arrived in June, she sat in front of her computer well into the evening, trying to convince herself to log off.

“It just felt like a part of my life was being cut,” she said. 

Americans are working later than ever. The average retirement age was 62 in 2023, up from 57 in 1991, according to a Gallup poll. Many people simply don't have the luxury of stopping, financially unable to go without a paycheck well after 65. Even when your retirement account hits its mark, deciding to close the book on your career can prompt existential questioning. 

Wait too long, and you might regret the extra years you gave to work. Leave too early, and you could feel lost in your new life. 

“Work in this society defines who you are,” says Louis H. Primavera, a psychology professor at Touro University who studies retirement. “When you're retired, you're a 'was.' ”

Maybe it's because on the job, we convince ourselves we're impervious to the passing of time. Work forms the scaffolding of our lives, and the end of work reminds us that the end of everything is coming, too.

Our longer lifespans have also changed the calculus. Retirement was once meant to be a brief respite between physically taxing work and death. Now it can span three or more decades. That alters what we can afford to do, financially and psychologically, say those who study longevity.

Clinging to your job forever isn't the answer. Instead, experiment and adjust to find the moment that promises freedom and rest, not an identity crisis. 

Try new activities—pickleball, Bible study, volunteer work—before you make the jump, to see what gives you a sense of purpose, Primavera says. Research shows too many empty hours can leave us miserable.

Consider ramping down slowly with a new role or creative pursuit. And talk to your family. Retiring at the same time as your partner, Primavera says, lets you formulate a shared vision for travel or caring for grandkids.

Do the work, and you'll be ready to start your next chapter.

Create your own next chapter

You don't have to make a binary choice. You could taper or rethink your work.

“We've been trying to swim upstream, people at this stage of life, trying to pretend we have this boundless, youthful vigor,” says Marc Freedman, the 65-year-old founder of a San Francisco-based nonprofit. Recently, he realized he was exhausted from years of putting in seven-day workweeks, administering hundreds of performance reviews and prepping for countless board meetings.

Still he didn't feel done with the work. He split his job, sharing the chief executive role with a younger colleague. The move eased some of the pressure and freed him to focus on big-picture work.

“For a lot of people, they're actually at a point where they're about to do their best work, but society's telling them that they're done,” Freedman says of his fellow 60-somethings.

More than 40% of older adults work or plan to work in retirement, a recent AARP survey found. 

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为华尔街日报官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

How to Know When It's Time to Retire

From: The Wall Street Journal

At 67, Kathie Davis liked her financial-services job. But the demands were getting heavier, and life outside work was moving on.

67岁的凯西·戴维斯（Kathie Davis）喜欢她的金融服务工作。但是，工作要求越来越让她不堪重负，而且工作以外的生活也有了变化。

“When do you call it a career?” she wondered.

她想知道的是：“职业生涯到什么时候宣告结束？”

call it a career意思是“决定结束职业生涯”或“宣布退休”，表示某人决定不再继续从事其职业，并准备进入退休生活或转向其他生活阶段。

源自日常用语中的“call it a day”，意思是“决定结束一天的工作；结束工作；到此为止；收工”，英文解释为“to stop what you are doing because you do not want to do any more or think you have done enough”举个🌰：I'm getting a bit tired now - let's call it a day. 我有些累了——收工吧。

Her finances were in order, and with friends passing away—including one just into retirement—she decided it was time. Still, when her last Friday arrived in June, she sat in front of her computer well into the evening, trying to convince herself to log off.

她财务状况良好，随着一些朋友的去世（其中一位刚刚退休），她确定是时候退休了。去年6月的一个周五是她最后一个工作日，她在电脑前一直坐到很晚，试图说服自己彻底放下工作。

convince /kənˈvɪns/ 表示“说服；使相信；使信服”，英文解释为“to persuade someone or make someone certain”举个🌰：He managed to convince the jury of his innocence. 他使陪审团相信他是无辜的。

log off/out 表示“退出，注销（计算机系统）”，英文解释为“to stop a computer being connected to a computer system, usually when you want to stop working”举个🌰：Could you all log off for a few minutes, please? 你们都退出一会儿好吗？

“It just felt like a part of my life was being cut,” she said. 

她说：“这种感觉就像是我生命的一部分被抽走了。”

Americans are working later than ever. The average retirement age was 62 in 2023, up from 57 in 1991, according to a Gallup poll. Many people simply don't have the luxury of stopping, financially unable to go without a paycheck well after 65. Even when your retirement account hits its mark, deciding to close the book on your career can prompt existential questioning. 

眼下美国人的退休年龄比以往任何时候都要晚。盖洛普民意调查显示，2023年的平均退休年龄为62岁，高于1991年的57岁。很多人根本就不能奢望退休，因为在65岁以后的很长一段时间里，没有薪水根本活不下去。即使在你的退休账户余额达到目标后，终止职业生涯的决定也可能引发对生存意义的怀疑。

poll /pəʊl/ 1）作名词，表示“民意测验；民意调查”，英文解释为“A poll is a survey in which people are asked their opinions about something, usually in order to find out how popular something is or what people intend to do in the future.”复数形式polls可以特指“选举投票；计票”（the process of voting at an election; the process of counting the votes）举个🌰：Polls show that the European treaty has gained support in Denmark. 民意测验显示，欧洲条约已经在丹麦获得支持。

2）作动词，表示“对…进行民意调查”，英文解释为“If you are polled on something, you are asked what you think about it as part of a survey.”举个🌰：More than 2,000 people were polled. 2000多人接受了民意调查。

3）作动词，表示“获得…选票”，英文解释为“If a political party or a candidate polls a particular number or percentage of votes, they get that number or percentage of votes in an election.”举个🌰：The result showed he had polled enough votes to force a second ballot. 结果显示他获得了足够的选票来促使第二轮选举。

luxury /ˈlʌk.ʃər.i/ 不可数名词，表示“奢华，奢侈”，英文解释为“very great comfort and pleasure, such as you get from expensive food, beautiful houses, cars etc”如：to live in luxury 生活奢华。

可数名词，表示“奢侈品，名贵品”，英文解释为“something expensive that is pleasant to have but is not necessary”如：luxuries, such as champagne and chocolate 香槟酒和巧克力之类的奢侈品。

paycheck /ˈpeɪ.tʃek/ 表示“工资支票；工薪；工资”，英文解释为“the amount of money a person earns”举个🌰：It's easy to go on expensive holidays when you have a paycheck the size of hers. 如果你的薪水有她那么多的话，花大钱去度假就不在话下了。

prompt /prɒmpt/ 作名词，1）表示“（计算机屏幕上的）提示符（显示计算机已经准备好接受指令）”，英文解释为“a sign on a computer screen that shows that the computer is ready to receive your instructions”

📍在ChatGPT火热的今天，prompt通常指的是给模型的输入，用来激发或引导模型生成特定的输出或回答。简而言之，prompt是指用户提供给语言模型的一段文字或命令，以便模型据此理解用户的需求并给出相应的响应或信息。例如，在与像ChatGPT这样的大语言模型交互时，用户提出的问题或指令就是一个“prompt”。模型会根据这个prompt的内容分析、处理并生成回答或执行相关的任务。Prompt对于大语言模型来说是非常关键的，因为它直接决定了模型如何理解和回应用户的需求。

📍prompt中文里有译为“提示词”，prompt engineering 就是“提示工程/提示词工程”。

2）表示“（给演员的）提词，提白”，英文解释为“words that are spoken to an actor who has forgotten what he or she is going to say during the performance of a play”

3）作动词，表示“促使；导致；激起”，英文解释为“to make sb decide to do sth; to cause sth to happen”举个🌰：His speech prompted an angry outburst from a man in the crowd. 他的讲话激起了人群中一男子的愤怒。

📺美剧《斯巴达克斯：血与沙》（Spartacus: Blood and Sand）中的台词提到：One cannot but wonder what would prompt such an act 不知他们为何遭此不幸。

4）作动词，表示“（尤指）给（演员）提词”，英文解释为“to help someone, especially an actor, to remember what they were going to say or do”举个🌰：I forgot my line and had to be prompted. 我忘词了，只好让人提词。

Wait too long, and you might regret the extra years you gave to work. Leave too early, and you could feel lost in your new life. 

等待太久，你可能会对额外耗费在工作上的岁月感到后悔。离开太早，你可能会在新生活中感到迷惘。

“Work in this society defines who you are,” says Louis H. Primavera, a psychology professor at Touro University who studies retirement. “When you're retired, you're a 'was.' ”

“在社会上工作决定了你是谁，”图罗大学（Touro University）研究退休问题的心理学教授路易斯·H·普里马维拉（Louis H. Primavera）说。“退休后，你的身份就成了‘过去式’”。

define /dɪˈfaɪn/ 表示“给（尤指单词）下定义；说明，解释”，英文解释为“to say what the meaning of something, especially a word, is”举个🌰：Before I answer your question, could you define your terms a little more (= explain what you mean by the words you have used)? 在回答你的问题之前，你能不能再解释一下你用词的意思？

Maybe it's because on the job, we convince ourselves we're impervious to the passing of time. Work forms the scaffolding of our lives, and the end of work reminds us that the end of everything is coming, too.

也许这是因为，在工作的时候，我们会让自己相信我们不受时间流逝的影响。工作构成了我们生活的脚手架，职业的终结会提醒我们其他的一切也会终结。

impervious /ɪmˈpɜː.vi.əs/ 1）表示“不能渗透的”，英文解释为“not allowing liquid to go through”举个🌰：How does glue bond with impervious substances like glass and metal? 胶水粘玻璃和金属之类不透水物质的效果如何？

2）表示“不受影响的”，英文解释为“If someone is impervious to something,they are not influenced or affected by something.”举个🌰：She is impervious to criticism and rational argument. 她对批评和说理都无动于衷。

scaffolding /ˈskæf.əl.dɪŋ/ 表示“脚手架；建筑架”，英文解释为“a structure of metal poles and wooden boards put against a building for workers to stand on when they want to reach the higher parts of the building”举个🌰：Scaffolding has been erected around the tower and repair work will start next week. 塔的周围已竖起了脚手架，修缮工作将从下周开始。

Our longer lifespans have also changed the calculus. Retirement was once meant to be a brief respite between physically taxing work and death. Now it can span three or more decades. That alters what we can afford to do, financially and psychologically, say those who study longevity.

人们寿命的延长也改变了计算退休时间的方式。退休曾经意味着在繁重的体力工作和死亡之间获得短暂休息。如今，这段时间可以持续三十年甚至更久。研究长寿的人士表示，这从财务上和心理上改变了“我们能在这段时间里做些什么”这件事。

calculus /ˈkæl.kjə.ləs/ 表示“微积分”，英文解释为“an area of advanced mathematics in which continuously changing values are studied”或者表示“（数，逻）演算（法），计算（法）”，英文解释为“a way of calculating, judging, or deciding something in a complicated situation”

respite /ˈres.paɪt/ 表示“暂停；暂时中止；暂时缓解”，英文解释为“a pause or rest from something difficult or unpleasant”举个🌰：We worked for hours without respite. 我们一刻不停地工作了好几个小时。

2）表示“暂缓；短暂的延缓；喘息（时间）”，英文解释为“a useful delay before something unpleasant happens”举个🌰：Their teacher was away, so they had a day's respite before their essays were due. 他们的老师外出，所以他们交论文的期限往后拖了一天。

span /spæn/ 1）表示“横跨”，英文解释为“A bridge or other structure that spans something such as a river or a valley stretches right across it.”举个🌰：Travellers get from one side to the other by walking across a footbridge that spans a little stream. 旅游者通过一座横跨小溪的人行桥从一边走到另一边。

2）表示“持续”，英文解释为“If something spans a long period of time, it lasts throughout that period of time or relates to that whole period of time.”举个🌰：His professional career spanned 16 years. 他的职业生涯持续了16年。

alter /ˈɒl.tər/ 表示“（使）改变，更改，改动”，英文解释为“to become different; to make sb/sth different”举个🌰：We've had to alter some of our plans. 我们不得不对一些计划作了改动。

🎬电影《大侦探福尔摩斯》（Sherlock Holmes）中的台词提到：that will alter the very course of the world. 足以改变世界的力量。

longevity /lɒnˈdʒev.ə.ti/ 表示“长寿，长命，持久”，英文解释为“living for a long time”举个🌰：To what do you attribute your longevity? 你的长寿归功于哪些因素？

Clinging to your job forever isn't the answer. Instead, experiment and adjust to find the moment that promises freedom and rest, not an identity crisis. 

这个问题的答案并不是要你一直工作下去。相反，你要进行尝试和调整，最终明确在哪个时刻退休，既能给你带来自由和休息，也不会造成身份危机。

表示“坚持，保持，死死抱住（信念或希望）”，英文解释为“to refuse to stop believing or hoping for something”举个🌰：She clings to the hope that her husband will come back to her. 她坚信丈夫一定会回到自己身边。

Try new activities—pickleball, Bible study, volunteer work—before you make the jump, to see what gives you a sense of purpose, Primavera says. Research shows too many empty hours can leave us miserable.

普里马维拉说，在你辞掉工作之前，尝试新的活动——比如匹克球、《圣经》研习和志愿者工作——看看哪些活动能带给你使命感。研究显示，空闲时间太多会让我们感到痛苦。

pickleball /ˈpɪk.əl.bɔːl/ 表示“匹克球”，英文解释为“a game played in the US that is similar to tennis, but played close to the net with short wooden bats and a plastic ball with holes in it”举个🌰：Pickleball is enjoying huge increases in popularity with seniors, school kids, and families. 匹克球在老年人、中小学生和家人中的受欢迎程度有了很大的提高。

Consider ramping down slowly with a new role or creative pursuit. And talk to your family. Retiring at the same time as your partner, Primavera says, lets you formulate a shared vision for travel or caring for grandkids.

考虑通过扮演新角色或从事有创意的活动而慢慢退下来。还要和你的家人谈谈。普里马维拉说，和你的伴侣同时退休可以让你们在旅行和照顾孙辈方面制定共同的愿景。

ramp /ræmp/ 作名词，表示“（人造）斜坡，坡道”，英文解释为“an artificial slope”举个🌰：I pushed the wheelchair up the ramp and into the supermarket. 我沿坡道把轮椅推进了超市。

ramp sth up 1）表示“（公司）扩大，增加，增多（业务等）”，英文解释为“If a business ramps up its activity, it increases it.”举个🌰：The company announced plans to ramp up production to 10,000 units per month. 这家公司宣布了每月生产1万件的增产计划。

2）表示“加快（速度）；增加（威力）；提高（费用）”，英文解释为“to increase the speed, power, or cost of something”举个🌰：Announcement of the merger is expected to ramp up share prices over the next few days. 预计公司合并的消息发布后，接下来的几天里股票价格会上扬。

反义词：ramp sth down

formulate /ˈfɔː.mjə.leɪt/ 表示“制订；规划；构想”，英文解释为“to develop all the details of a plan for doing something”如：to formulate a new plan 制订一个新计划。

Do the work, and you'll be ready to start your next chapter.

做好这些工作，你就准备好开启人生的新篇章了。

Create your own next chapter 创造你自己的下一个篇章

You don't have to make a binary choice. You could taper or rethink your work.

你不一定要做出非此即彼的选择。你可以逐渐减少或重新考虑你的工作。

binary /ˈbaɪ.nər.i/ 表示“双的；由两部分组成的”，英文解释为“consisting of two parts”，本身可以表示“二进制的”（The binary system expresses numbers using only the two digits 0 and 1. It is used especially in computing.）在计算机的世界里，处理的实际上都是0和1这两个数字。

non-binary表示“非二元性別的”，英文解释为“having a gender identity (= feeling of being a particular gender) that is not simply male or female”. 也被广泛称作Genderqueer（性别酷儿），用来指称那些超越传统意义上对男性或女性的二元划分、不单纯属于男性或女性的自我性别认同。

📍此前纽约时报的有一篇文章专门讲述了Nonbinary一词：“Washington, D.C., schools are the latest, with a small change on the public school enrollment form for next year that some members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community regard as a big step forward: The term “nonbinary,” which refers to people who do not identify exclusively as male or female, will be included as a gender choice.” “华盛顿特区的学校对明年的公立学校入学表格做出了一个小改动：“非二元性别的”——意指那些性别认同不单纯属于男性或女性的人，被加入到性别选择中。这是被一些L.G.B.T.Q.群体成员认为是一大进步的最新例子。”

taper /ˈteɪ.pər/ 作名词，表示“细枝小蜡烛；点火木片；灯芯；烛芯”，英文解释为“a very thin candle or a very thin strip of wood, used especially in the past for lighting candles, fires, etc.”也可以表示“渐减；逐渐缩小（或变细）”，英文解释“the way that sth gradually decreases in size, becoming thinner”

📍taper off表示“逐渐变小；逐步减弱；使（数目等）逐渐减少；降低…程度”，英文解释为“to become gradually smaller or weaker, or happen less often；to make sth become gradually less in number, amount, degree, etc.”举个🌰：Her voice tapered off as she realized everyone was listening. 当她意识到大家都在听时，她的声音就越来越小了。They are gradually tapering off production of the older models.他们在逐步减少生产旧型号的产品。

“We've been trying to swim upstream, people at this stage of life, trying to pretend we have this boundless, youthful vigor,” says Marc Freedman, the 65-year-old founder of a San Francisco-based nonprofit. Recently, he realized he was exhausted from years of putting in seven-day workweeks, administering hundreds of performance reviews and prepping for countless board meetings.

“对于处在这个人生阶段的人来说，我们以前一直在努力逆流而上，假装自己拥有无限的青春活力，”旧金山一家非营利组织创始人、65岁的马克·弗里德曼(Marc Freedman)说。最近，他意识到，多年来坚持每周工作七天、负责数百次业绩评估以及为无数次董事会议做准备已经让自己疲惫不堪。

upstream /ˌʌpˈstriːm/ 表示“在上游（地）；向上游（地）；逆流（地）”，英文解释为“(moving) on a river or stream towards its origin”举个🌰：Salmon swim upstream against very strong currents to reach their breeding areas. 大麻哈鱼会迎着湍急的水流游向上游它们的产卵区。

vigour /ˈvɪɡ.ər/ 1）表示“体力；精力；活力”，英文解释为“strength, energy, or enthusiasm”举个🌰：They set about their work with youthful vigour and enthusiasm. 他们带着年轻人的活力与热情开始了工作。

2）表示“（思想、观点等的）气势，力量”，英文解释为“strength of thought, opinion, expression, etc.”举个🌰：He gave his side of the story with vigour. 他充满激情地从自己的角度讲述了这件事。

prep /prep/ 表示“准备”，英文解释为“to prepare something”举个🌰：Prepping your vegetables for a whole week in advance is a great way to save time and energy in the kitchen. 事先准备好一周的蔬菜是一个好办法，能节省在厨房里花的时间和精力。

Still he didn't feel done with the work. He split his job, sharing the chief executive role with a younger colleague. The move eased some of the pressure and freed him to focus on big-picture work.

然而，他感觉自己还没有干够这份工作。他把工作分担出去，和一位比自己年轻的同事共同担任首席执行官。此举减轻了部分压力，让他能够专注于大局。

“For a lot of people, they're actually at a point where they're about to do their best work, but society's telling them that they're done,” Freedman says of his fellow 60-somethings.

“对许多人来说，他们实际上正处于即将在工作中大放异彩的时刻，但这个社会告诉他们，可以功成身退了。”弗里德曼在谈到60多岁的同龄人时这样说道。

-something后缀，表示“（用于数字后指年龄或某个年龄段的人）…多岁，…多岁的人”，英文解释为“used after a number like 20, 30, etc. to refer to the age of a person who is between 20 and 29, 30 and 39 years old, etc., or to a person who is of this age”举个🌰：I'd guess she's thirty-something. 我猜她三十多岁。

More than 40% of older adults work or plan to work in retirement, a recent AARP survey found.

美国退休人员协会（AARP）最近的一项调查发现，超过40%的年长者退休后仍在工作或者打算退休后继续工作。

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