Level B2 General English

Lesson 5

Growing Old
年を取ること

There is a cure for growing old. We call it dying young. If you're not able to pull that one off, then you're going to have to deal with growing old. When we were kids we looked forward to our next birthday. Being 10 was way more cool than being only 9. When we were kids, we were growing up. As soon as we reached our 20s, we began growing old. But growing old does not need to be a negative experience.

One of the known disadvantages of growing old is the deterioration of your health and the potential gradual loss of your faculties. Being sick is not a good idea but pretending to be sick can be very useful. The simple phrase, "I don't feel well," can get you out of a lot of unpleasant situations. When you get old, people stop expecting you to do the stuff that they used to ask you to do.

Older people sometimes start to experience memory loss. Losing one's memory is a terrible thing but it can be used to your advantage. All you need to remember is the phrase, "I forgot." You will find it to be very useful when you are asked to do something you really don't want to do. After a while, people will no longer call upon you for certain things.