不瘋魔，不成活

Building Bridges  建立友誼橋梁

By Linda Baxter

Being old is when you know all the answers, but nobody asks you the questions. (Anonymous)
衰老--滿腹經綸無人問。(佚名)

Six months before she died, my grandmother moved into an old people's home and I visited her there when I was in Britain. She was sitting in the living room with about fifteen other residents, mostly women, half of them asleep. The room was clean and warm, with flowers and pictures, and the care assistants were kind and cheerful. 'The Weakest Link' was on the television ('to keep their brains active' one of the assistants said), and the only other sound was snoring and embarrassing digestive noises. People only moved when they needed to be helped to the bathroom. It was depressing. Gran talked a lot about how much she missed seeing her grandchildren (my nieces, aged 7 and 5), but I knew from my sister that they hated going to visit her there and, to be perfectly honest, I couldn't wait to get away myself.
在我祖母去世的六個月前，她搬去了養老院，當我還在英國時有去探望她。當時她正和其他老人一起坐在客廳，那些人大概有十五名，大部分都是女性，有一半都睡著了。這裡的房間很乾凈、也很溫暖，有花朵和圖畫作擺飾，照服員也很和善、開朗。電視上正放映著益智節目「最弱一環」(其中一名照服員說:「這是為了保持他們的大腦活動。」)，剩餘的聲響則是打鼾，還有那令人尷尬的消化聲。這裡的老人只有在要人攙扶去廁所時，才會動起來。這真是讓人難過。我的祖母常常提起，她很想念外孫(我的姪女們，一個七歲、一個五歲。)，但是我從姐姐那裡得知，她們討厭去養老院看她，甚至我姊還老實說，連她自己也巴不得趕快離開這裡。

So I was interested to read a newspaper article about a new concept in old people's homes in France. The idea is simple, but revolutionary: combining a residential home for the elderly with a crèche/nursery school in the same building. The children and the residents eat lunch together and share activities such as music, painting, gardening and caring for the pets which the residents are encouraged to keep. In the afternoons, the residents enjoy reading or telling stories to the children and, if a child is feeling sad or tired, there is always a kind lap to sit on and a cuddle. There are trips out and birthday parties too.
因此，在我讀到報紙文章所提到的，法國養老院的新概念時，感到非常的有興趣。這個想法很簡單，但卻是個創新:將老人院與托兒所/育幼院結合在同一棟建築裡。孩子與居民一起吃午餐、分享活動，像是音樂、繪畫、園藝，還有居民被鼓勵的飼養寵物。在下午的時候，居民享受著閱讀故事或說故事給孩子們聽，假如有小孩感到悲傷或是疲累，這裡總是會有親切的大腿可坐和擁抱。這裡還有外出旅行和生日派對。

The advantages are enormous for everyone concerned. The children are happy because they get a lot more individual attention and respond well because someone has time for them. They also learn that old people are not different or frightening in any way. And of course, they see illness and death and learn to accept them. The residents are happy because they feel useful and needed. They are more active and more interested in life when the children are around and they take more interest in their appearance too. And the staff are happy because they see an improvement in the physical and psychological health of the residents and have an army of assistants to help with the children.
對於相關人士而言，這項計畫實在是好處多多。孩子會因此得到更多個別的關注而感到快樂，並且因為有人肯花時間陪伴他們而有良好的回應。孩子們也了解到這些長輩並沒有什麼不同，或是可怕的地方。理所當然的，他們會看見生病與死亡，進而學會接受老人家。而這些老人家也很開心，因為他們覺得自己是有用的，而且是被需要的。當孩子圍繞在他們身邊時，他們變得更有活力，對生活更有興趣，也會更加注重自己的外貌。而全部的工作人員也很開心，因為他們看見這些老人家，不管是生理還是心理上的健康，都有很大的改善，且他們還有這些一大群的老人家作為助理來照顧孩子們。

Nowadays there is less and less contact between the old and the young. There are many reasons for this, including the breakdown of the extended family, working parents with no time to care for ageing relations, families that have moved away and smaller flats with no room for grandparents. But the result is the same: increasing numbers of children without grandparents and old people who have no contact with children. And more old people who are lonely and feel useless, along with more and more families with young children who desperately need more support. It's a major problem in many societies.
如今，老人與青幼年之間的連結越來越少了。造成此現象的原因有很多，像是大家庭的崩解、職業父母無暇照顧長輩、家族分遷，且分遷所居的小公寓，沒有足夠的房間給祖父母使用。但是這些原因所造成的結果都是一樣的:沒有祖父母在身邊的小孩開始增加、沒有與小孩聯繫的長輩也變多了。除了有越來越多養育幼兒的家庭急需更多的援助外，也有更多的長輩感到孤單、認為自己沒有用處。這是許多社會所存在的最主要的問題。

That's why intergenerational programmes, designed to bring the old and the young together, are growing in popularity all over the world, supported by UNESCO and other local and international organisations. There are examples of successful initiatives all over the world. Using young people to teach IT skills to older people is one obvious example. Using old people as volunteer assistants in schools is another, perhaps reading with children who need extra attention. There are schemes which involve older people visiting families who are having problems, maybe looking after the children for a while to give the tired mother a break. Or 'adopt a grandparent' schemes in which children write letters or visit a lonely old person in their area. There are even holiday companies that specialise in holidays for children and grandparents together. One successful scheme in London pairs young volunteers with old people who are losing their sight. The young people help with practical things such as writing letters, reading bank statements and helping with shopping, and the older people can pass on their knowledge and experience to their young visitors. For example, a retired judge may be paired with a teenager who wants to study law. Lasting friendships often develop.
因此，這個兩代之間的計劃--將老人與幼兒聚在一塊的構想，於全世界開始流行起來，還獲得了聯合國教科文組織，和其他地方與國際組織的支持。世界各地皆有一些成功的創始例子。讓青少年教導長輩資訊科技的技巧便是個顯著的例子。讓長輩在學校作為志工助理是另一例子，像是陪著需要特別關心的孩子一起念書。也有一些方案是需要老人家去拜訪遭遇困難的家庭，可能是幫忙照顧小孩一下，讓疲累的媽媽得以休息。抑或「領養祖父母」計畫，讓小孩寫信或是拜訪住在附近的孤單老人。甚至還有假日同伴，特定在假日讓小孩與祖父母在一起。在英國有一個成功的計畫，讓年輕的志工與失去視力的老人配成對。年輕人幫忙做些務實的事，像是寫信、讀銀行結單，還有買東西；而長者可以傳遞自己的知識與經驗給他們的年輕訪客。例如，一個退休的法官或許可以與想學習法律的青年配對。這通常都會發展為長久的友誼。

But it isn't only the individuals concerned who gain from intergenerational activities. The advantages to society are enormous too. If older people can understand and accept the youth of today, and vice versa, there will be less conflict in a community. In a world where the number of old people is increasing, we need as much understanding and tolerance as possible. Modern Western society has isolated people into age groups and now we need to rediscover what 'community' really means. And we can use the strengths of one generation to help another. Then perhaps getting old won't be such a depressing prospect after all.
但並不是只有相關的個人，能從兩代之間的活動中獲益。對於社會的好處也是非常大的。假如老人家能夠瞭解並接受現在的年輕人，反之亦然，那麼社區內便可以減少衝突。在一個人口老化的世界裡，我們需要儘可能地，擁有更多的諒解與寬容。現代的西方社會將人們隔離成不同的年齡層，然而現在我們需要重新發現「社區」的真正意涵。我們可以利用各世代的長處，讓世代間相互幫助。那麼，或許變老不再會是讓人如此沮喪的將來了。

- See more at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine-articles/building-bridges#sthash.GcGotqxj.dpuf



a. 最後一環
英國的益智節目名稱。

b. miss seeing
可等同於miss ，也就是想念。
但網路上也有說法是 miss seeing  是用在 對方位於和自己相近的地方，想念著並期待能夠見面。
而 miss 是想念的對方在遙遠的地方，僅是想念。

c. crèche / nursery school
兩者皆可等同托兒所
不過也有一些差異:
crèche 以照顧為主、只有幾個小時、包含不同年齡層
nursery school 以教育為主、可為一整天、可為包含不同年齡層 或 三歲以上

d. lap
膝部、(坐時)大腿前部

e. extended family
大家庭(尤指三代以上同堂者，包括外/祖父母、姑/姨等在內的親屬)

f.young child
指幼兒，而非青少年

g. bank statement
銀行結單。美國的銀行不發存摺，只會每個月發銀行結單。(戶頭明細)