0
Clive Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
Re: reference
Hi,
We have come a long way in our technologic capacity to put death off, and it is imaginable that we might learn to stall it for even longer periods, perhaps matching the life-spans of the Abkhasian Russians, who are said to go on, springily, for a century and a half. If we can rid ourselves of some of our chronic, degenerative diseases, and cancer, strokes and coronaries, we might go on and on. It sounds attractive and reasonable, but it is no certainty. If we became free of disease, we would make a much better run of it for the last decade or so, but might still terminate on about the same schedule as now. We may be like the genetically different lines of mice, or like Hayflick's different tissue-culture lines, programmed to die after a predetermined number of days clocked by their genomes.
It's one of those vague uses of 'it', where the reader is left trying to find the meaning. It's rather like when we say 'Hi, how's it going'?
I take it to mean 'our life', 'the last 10 years of our life'.
The underlying idea is that we could make a better attempt at the last 10 years of our life.
Best wishes, Clive
We have come a long way in our technologic capacity to put death off, and it is imaginable that we might learn to stall it for even longer periods, perhaps matching the life-spans of the Abkhasian Russians, who are said to go on, springily, for a century and a half. If we can rid ourselves of some of our chronic, degenerative diseases, and cancer, strokes and coronaries, we might go on and on. It sounds attractive and reasonable, but it is no certainty. If we became free of disease, we would make a much better run of it for the last decade or so, but might still terminate on about the same schedule as now. We may be like the genetically different lines of mice, or like Hayflick's different tissue-culture lines, programmed to die after a predetermined number of days clocked by their genomes.
It's one of those vague uses of 'it', where the reader is left trying to find the meaning. It's rather like when we say 'Hi, how's it going'?
I take it to mean 'our life', 'the last 10 years of our life'.
The underlying idea is that we could make a better attempt at the last 10 years of our life.
Best wishes, Clive
Top answer
Clive The underlying idea is that we could make a better attempt at the last 10 years of our life. Yes, I took it that way. So you don't think that practically, 'it' refers to any part in the text?
- Clive The underlying idea is that we could make a better attempt at the last 10 years of our life.
- Yes, I took it that way.
- So you don't think that practically, 'it' refers to any part in the text?
- And do you think it would still make sense without 'of it' in 'a much better run of it'?
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
4 Answers
0
CliveYes, I took it that way.
The underlying idea is that we could make a better attempt at the last 10 years of our life.
So you don't think that practically, 'it' refers to any part in the text? And do you think it would still make sense without 'of it' in 'a much better run of it'?
00
Hi,
Yes, I took it that way.
So you don't think that practically, 'it' refers to any part in the text? Not specifically, no.
And do you think it would still make sense without 'of it' in 'a much better run of it'? Yes, I suppose so.
But this use of 'of it' is somewhat idiomatic.
We say things like
make a mess of it
have a go at it
ta
Yes, I took it that way.
So you don't think that practically, 'it' refers to any part in the text? Not specifically, no.
And do you think it would still make sense without 'of it' in 'a much better run of it'? Yes, I suppose so.
But this use of 'of it' is somewhat idiomatic.
We say things like
make a mess of it
have a go at it
ta
00
0
i believe the "it" you were referring to was a generality included to allow creative interpretation for the individual. for example, i feel "it" actually refers to the author's point that the idea of dying has not matured very well in the human being; that although we've come along ways technologically, better dealing with elongating life, WE ARE NO BETTER dealing with our termination.
0
Related Questions