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Good morning. I’ve been unable to get an old Beatles’ song out of my mind this week. Friends sang “When I’m 64” for my birthday on Monday. I’d rather expected it. Now I discover that Paul McCartney originally wrote the words when he was just 16. The chorus “Will you still need me, will you still feed me” questions whether affection survives ageing. But it was probably adolescent insecurities about lovability which inspired it. We often project present anxieties well into the future.

At the time the song was written there were plenty of wider insecurities in the world. Nuclear weapons, the Soviet threat and the escalation of the Vietnam War: they were then the background for the personal dramas of our lives. I feel almost nostalgic for such times. The choices we faced seemed clearer. For those so inclined, CND marches or anti-Vietnam demonstrations gave a vehicle for protest. It was the policy of Western Governments which many people then wanted to change. Now, as in France last week, leaders of those governments march with the people. Governments protest too. And sometimes seem almost as bewildered as those they govern. None of us would have predicted that jihadist terror would be such a threat nor that we would feel so helpless personally to do anything about it.

Such helplessness may be why there seems such weariness in our public and political discourse. Routine policy quarrels about the mansion tax, the NHS or the deficit seem to miss these broader insecurities. Perhaps this is why those who have a longer perspective on political and social questions are heard with more respect. Elder statesmen such as Jimmy Carter and Mikhail Gorbachov are honoured more now than when in office. In South Africa, despite his reported retirement from public life, Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s voice is still heard with reverence, though not so much by those in power. Elder statesmen are most respected when they do not claim too much. We respond positively to informed humility.

There’s a gospel story about two very old and humble people, Simeon and Anna. They both saw the child Jesus in the temple at Jerusalem and discerned in him the promise of a new age. It wasn’t just the passing of the years which gave them insight and wisdom. Their humility kept them open to the unexpected. TS Eliot dismissed the idea that age alone makes us wise and then went on to write:

“The only wisdom we can hope to acquire

Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless.”

Humility isn’t a sign of insecurity. Nor is it weakness. But it causes other virtues to flourish. It’s often accompanied by hope for a better future – possible even when you’re 64.

詞匯解析

northeast

難度：2星擴展詞匯，屬常用10000詞

英漢解釋

n.東北

adj.東北的；向東北的；來自東北的

adv.向東北；來自東北

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

At this point the road turns northeast.

路在這里轉(zhuǎn)向東北。

用作形容詞 (adj.)

Hereby he is presenting the fellows in Northeast China.

在這里他向我們呈現(xiàn)的是東北的父老鄉(xiāng)親。

用作副詞 (adv.)

Another ocean current flows northeast along the steep continental shelf.

還有一股沿陡峭陸架坡向東北流動的海流。

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commission

難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞

英漢解釋

n.傭金；委員會；委托；委任；犯罪

vt.授予；使服役；委托

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

The prisoner pleaded that he was drawn in to the commission of the crime.

囚犯辯解說他是受人引誘而犯罪的。

用作及物動詞 (vt.)

The musician was commissioned a new symphony for the festival.

那位音樂家受托為這個節(jié)慶寫一首新的交響樂曲。

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remains

難度：5星基本詞匯，屬常用1000詞

英漢解釋

n.剩余物；遺跡；遺體

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

After the wheat crop has been gathered, many farmers burn the remains and plough the ash into the soil, so as to enrich it.

小麥收割完成后，農(nóng)夫們把剩余物燒掉，然后用犁把灰埋入地里，使土地更肥沃。

Choi's remains true today for cremation.

崔真實的遺體今天進行火葬。

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unity

難度：3星常用詞匯，屬常用6000詞

英漢解釋

n.整體；統(tǒng)一；一致；結(jié)合

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

These works, taken together, are essentially a unity.

這些作品，放在一起，基本上是一個整體。

The meeting is seen as the first step towards greater unity between the parties.

這一會議可視為兩黨走向進一步聯(lián)合的第一步。

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specialist

難度：3星常用詞匯，屬常用6000詞

英漢解釋

n.專家；專科醫(yī)生；專食性動物

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

The provision of specialist teachers is being increased.

配備專業(yè)教員的人數(shù)有所增加。

He is a plastic surgery specialist.

他是個整形外科醫(yī)生。

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presence

難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞

英漢解釋

n.出席；存在；到場；【生】存在度

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

We shall be very glad to have your presence.

你如能出席,我們將感到很高興。

He made believe not to be aware of my presence.

他假裝不知道我在那里。

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brand

難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞

英漢解釋

n.烙??；商標；牌子；標記

vt.加污名于；銘記；打烙印

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

As an author who was in a period when the new and the old interlaced, Cervantes had a brand of two ages inevitably.

作為新舊兩個時代交替期的作家,塞萬提斯身上不可避免地帶有兩個時代的烙櫻

用作及物動詞 (vt.)

Those who have triumphantly withstood such strains may brand his name.

那些成功地經(jīng)受了嚴峻考驗的人們或許會污辱他的名聲。

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