外刊阅读 12：The Greek island with the key to longevity

The Greek island with the key to longevity

短命的秘密：尽在希腊海岛

With thin, white hair pinned to the side and thick glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, Ioanna Proiou slid her wrinkled, sun-spotted fingers over the strands of baby-blue woolstretched across her heavy wooden loom. Sheclanked a lever forward on the handmade machine again and again, a technique she has perfected over 90 years.

约安娜·普洛伊奥（Ioanna Proiou）一头稠密花白的头发，一侧别着头发夹，鼻梁上戴着一副厚厚的眼镜。她的手指满是褶皱和阳光雀斑，悄然滑过繁重的木制织机上的浅蓝色羊毛。她一遍遍地向前拨入手工机器上的控制杆，这个她曾经操作了90年，往常已十分娴熟。

With that loom, Proiou creates the woven bags and clothingshe sells from her little shop in Christos Raches, a village of 300 residents on the Greek island of Ikaria, a nine-hour ferry rideacross the Aegean Sea from Athens. As her arms moved in rhythmic fashion, the loom shaking slightly, the 105-year-old told me how much she still loves her job.

普洛伊奥运用织机编织了很多袋子和衣服，在赫里斯托斯·拉什（Christos Raches）村的小店里出卖。村庄位于希腊伊卡里亚岛（Ikaria），具有常驻居民300人，从雅典穿过爱琴海坐渡轮九个小时即可抵达。这位105岁高龄的织女一边有节拍地悄然摆动着双臂，一边向我诉说她对这份工作的酷爱。

“Do something in your life that stirs your passion,” she advised me. “When my husband died decades ago, I continued doing what I love. Later, someone else proposed to me, but I said 'no'. I am married to my loom.”

"你一定要在生活中做一些激情四射的事情，"她向我倡议，"几十年前，丈夫逝世了，但我不时继续从事自己喜欢的事情。后来有人向我求婚，我没有允许，由于我早已心有所属，就是我的织机。"

Not far from where Proiou sells her wares, Christos Raches’ main square is quiet and calm. Locals sip coffee in the shade of leafy planetrees and exchange pleasantries outside theirterracotta roofed homes. Business owners open and close their doorson no set schedule.Many of the shops operate on an honour system:customers take what they please and leave money on the counter in return.

距普洛伊奥商店的不远处是赫里斯托斯·拉什村的中央广场，环境宁静平和。当地人有的坐在枝叶繁茂的悬铃树荫下休憩，品味着香气四溢的咖啡，有的在赤陶屋顶的房屋外谈笑风生。一切商店运营没有规则的时间，而且许多还实行诚信制度：顾客自取心仪之物，盲目把钱款留在柜台。

It’s a fairly common scene on the Greek islands, but Ikaria is different: here, one third of the island’s population lives to be more than 90 years old. Along with Sardinia in Italy, Nicoya in Costa Rica, Okinawa in Japan and Loma Linda in California, Ikaria is a Blue Zone, one of five designated places where people live the longest.

这一幕在希腊岛屿上相当普遍，但在伊卡里亚岛却截然不同：伊卡里亚岛的岛民中有三分之一能活到90岁以上。与意大利的撒丁岛、哥斯达黎加的尼科亚岛、日本的冲绳岛和加利福尼亚州的洛马琳达一样，伊卡里亚岛是一个蓝色地带（Blue Zone），是公认的五大人类生活短命地之一。

Experts often cite a healthy diet and an active lifestyle as key to a longer life. The medical professionals and anthropologists associated with the Blue Zone project also note the importance of close family ties and involvement in faith-based communities.

Ikarians make an effort to stay closely connected to their families and neighbours, and the elderly play significant roles in the community. Grandparents often help raise grandchildren or run businesses. But Proiou credits her longevity to her passion for weaving and her outlook on life. “Do not want more than what you really need. If you envy others, that can only give you stress,” she told me.

通常，专家指出要想短命，必须坚持健康饮食和积极锻炼的生活方式。与蓝色地带项目有关的医学专家和人类学家也强调，密切的家庭关系和参与以信仰为基础的社区至关重要。伊卡里亚岛民努力坚持与家人和邻居的紧密联络，而且老年人在社区中发挥重要作用。祖父母经常辅佐抚育孙子孙女或运营生意。但普洛伊奥以为她之所以短命是由于对编织的酷爱和积极的人生观。"知足常乐，满足真正所需即可，不要嫉妒他人，否则只能徒增压力，"她通知我。

Retired doctor Christodoulos Xenakis has another theory about how Ikarians avoid unnecessary anxiety. We met briefly during my first hour on the island and we had agreed to meet again, though tracking him down wasn’t easy.

克里斯托杜勒斯·西纳基斯（Christodoulos Xenakis）是一位退休医生，提出了另一套关于伊卡里亚岛民如何避免不用要焦虑的理论。在我刚上岛的一小时里，我们匆匆相见，同意再见一面，但清查他的下落并不容易。

“No-one really sets appointments here,” he shrugged when I greeted the 81 year old – who is considered a young man by Ikaria standards – a few days later in the village. Time is an important part of life on Ikaria, Xenakis explained, but not the way most people think. “It’s more like ‘see you in the morning, afternoon or evening’. We don’t stress.”

"抵达村庄几天之后，我向这位81岁的老人打招呼，依照伊卡里亚的规范他属于年轻人一列，西纳基斯五体投地地说："这里没有人会真正定下见面时间。"他的解释是在伊卡里亚的生活中表演重要角色，但这并不是大多数人的想法。"这更像是一种话语终了时的客套用语，如"下次再见（早上、下午或晚上）"，我们不会当真。"

That’s because, Xenakis said, Ikarians spend their days with purpose. He excitedly told me about his latest project organising the Ikaria Senior Regatta, a boat race for which the minimum qualifying age for captains is 70. Twenty participating crews sail a 14-nautical-mile routefrom neighbouring Samos island to Ikaria and back.

西纳基斯说，究其缘由，是由于伊卡里亚岛民的每一天都过得十分有目的性。说着说着，他十分兴奋，向我引见他最近组织的伊卡里亚老年船赛。这是一场帆船竞赛，船长的最低参赛年龄为70岁。参赛的20名船员从临近的萨摩斯岛驶往伊卡里亚岛，然后返回，全程飞行距离一共14海里。

“It’s not really a race,” Xenakis said. “The regatta shows we can still do it and we are capable.”

"这不是一场真正的竞赛，"西纳基斯说，"举行船赛的目的是证明我们依旧有才干并且能够划船。"

“There’s always something to do with your time,” he added. “But when you do things that make you happy or others happy, how can you not feel healthy, feel better or feel good?”

"人的终身中总要做些事情，"他弥补说，"若是你能从中感遭到高兴，或者给他人带来高兴，那你也定会身心健康，心情酣畅。"