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People are living longer than ever，but for some reason，women are living longer than men.A baby boy born in the United States in 2003 can expect to live to be about 73；a baby girl，about 79.This is indeed a wide gap，and no one really knows why it exists.The greater longevity of women，however，has been known for centuries.It was，for example，described in the seventeenth century.However，the difference was smaller then—the gap is growing.
A number of reasons have been proposed to account for the differences.The gap is greatest in industrialized societies，so it has been suggested that women are less susceptible to work strains that may raise the risk of heart disease and alcoholism.Sociologists also tell us that women are encouraged to be less adventurous than men（and this may be why they are more careful drivers，involved in fewer accidents）.
Even smoking has been implicated in the age discrepancy.It was once suggested that working women are more likely to smoke and as more women entered the work force，the age gap would begin to close，because smoking is related to earlier deaths.Now，however，we see more women smoking and they still tend to live longer although their lung cancer rate is climbing sharply.
One puzzling aspect of the problem is that women do not appear to be as healthy as men.That is，they report far more illnesses.But when a man reports an illness，it is more likely to be serious.
Some researches have suggested that men may die earlier because their health is more strongly related to their emotions.For example，men tend to die sooner after losing a spouse than women do.Men even seem to be more weakened by loss of a job.（Both of these are linked with a marked decrease in the effectiveness of the immune system.）Among men，death follows retirement with an alarming promptness.
Perhaps we are searching for the answers too close to the surface of the problem.Perhaps the answers lie deeper in our biological heritage.After all，the phenomenon is not isolated to humans.Females have the edge among virtually all mammalian species，in that they generally live longer.Furthermore，in many of these species the differences begin at the moment of conception；there are more male miscarriages.In humans，after birth，more baby boys than baby girls die.
重点词汇：
gap 差距（n.）
longevity 长寿（n.）
account for 解释
strain 压力（n.）
susceptible 容易受影响的（adj.）
alcoholism 酗酒（n.）
adventurous 冒险的（adj.）
implicate 牵涉（v.）
discrepancy 差异，不符合（之处）（n.）
spouse 配偶（n.）
immune system 免疫系统(https://www.daowen.com)
alarming 令人担忧的（adj.）
promptness 敏捷，迅速（n.）
biological heritage 生物遗传
virtually 几乎（adv.）
mammalian 哺乳动物的（n.）
species 物种（n.）
miscarriage 流产（n.）
难句分析：
①The gap is greatest in industrialized societies，so it has been suggested that women are less susceptible to work strains that may raise the risk of heart disease and alcoholism.
【结构分析】这是一个主从复合句，so表示结果状况。it has been suggested翻译成“人们/有人建议……”，it是形式主语，真正的主语是that women are less susceptible to work strains，strains后又有一个that引导的定语从句。
②Sociologists also tell us that women are encouraged to be less adventurous than men （and this may be why they are more careful drivers，involved in fewer accidents）.
【结构分析】这里需要注意的是括号中的内容。此处括号表示对主句内容的补充，this为主语，may be为谓语部分，why引导表语从句，involved in fewer accidents是drivers的后置定语。
全文翻译：
人们比以往任何时候活得都长，但是由于一些原因，女性比男性活得更长。2003年在美国出生的男婴，预期可能活到73岁，但是女婴大约会活到79岁。这的确是一个很大的差距，但是没有人知道它为什么会存在。女性的长寿几个世纪以来都被人们熟知。例如，17世纪它就已经被描述过了。然而，那时的差异较小，而现在的差距在不断加大。
许多原因都被提出来解释这种差异。在工业社会，差距更大了，所以有人提出女性不易被工作压力所影响，而这些压力会增加患心脏病和酗酒的风险。社会学家也说女性比男性更少受鼓励去冒险（这可能就是为什么女性开车更小心，更少被卷入车祸中的原因）。
甚至吸烟也被牵扯到年龄差距上来了。有人曾经提出随着更多的女性进入职场，职业女性更有可能吸烟，这使得年龄差距开始接近，因为吸烟与早逝有关。然而，现在我们看到更多的女性吸烟，但是她们仍然倾向于活得更长久，尽管她们得肺癌的概率在急剧上升。
令人百思不得其解的是女性看起来似乎不像男性那样健康。更确切地说，她们得病的次数更多。但是，男性一旦得病，就会很严重。
一些研究者提出男性的过早死亡可能与他们的情绪有关。例如，在失去配偶后，男性比女性更早地死亡。男性在失去工作后也更为脆弱（这些都与明显的免疫系统功能下降有关）。在男性中，退休后的死亡率很令人担忧。
也许我们追寻的答案与问题的表象很接近。也许更深层次的答案在于我们的生物遗传上。毕竟，这一现象并不孤立存在于人类当中。几乎所有哺乳动物中的雌性都拥有这一优势，这使它们通常活得更久。因此，许多物种的差异开始于胚胎时期，有更多的雄性动物流产。人类在出生之后，男婴比女婴夭折的人数多。