Yet Mr Abe only hints at the need for any of this. “We are not thinking about immediately raising the co-payment for medical and health services,” he says. “But there must be a careful review of the balance between the contribution and benefit.” Those who take action to prevent illness, such as regular exercise, could be rewarded. “We would like to think about the incentives—what should be done to the contributions that have to be paid by the people who adopt habits to prevent diseases,” he says.
一）内容总结：
显然，日本需要采取上段所说的那些措施，来减轻医疗保险的负担，但是安倍对此都没有直言，只是暗示。他表示并没有想要马上提高需要自理的医疗费，而是想要对那些锻炼身体减少疾病的人给予一些奖励。
二）实用表达总结：
① hint这个词，我们比较熟悉它名词“暗示”的意思，这里是个动词。后面通常接at，或引导从句。
The problems are only hinted at in the report. 报告只是暗示了这些问题。
She hinted darkly that all was not well.她悲观地暗示并非一切都顺利。
② contribution我们熟悉的意思是“贡献”，但是这里是指“（养老金的）定期缴款”，与之相对的是benefit，“（保险公司发放的）给付，保险金”。单词的意思不能想当然，要在语境中去看。
③ incentive=something that encourage you to do sth
牛津里面给的中文意思是“刺激；激励；鼓励”，但是很多时候在句子里面，我们可以把它翻译成“动机、做...的理由”，所以如果可以用motivation的地方，可以试试看能不能用这个词。
If your mom wants you to mow the lawn but you don't feel like it, she might offer to treat you to ice cream after as an incentive. An incentive is something that stimulates you to take action or work harder.
比如：Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的激励因素。
比如上一篇经济学人里面，腾讯的员工，很少有升职空间，薪水也不如抖音等高，这时候员工士气低，我们就可以说：They haven't much incentive to work hard. 他们没有努力工作的动机。
常见的用法还有：give sb. an incentive to do sth.
A little bonus will give the employees an incentive to work harder.一点奖金可以刺激雇员更加努力地工作。
④ adopt habits，注意一下其他能跟habit搭配的动词，
acquire, cultivate, develop, establish, 如果是不好的习惯的话，经常会用到fall into
比如：I had fallen into my old habit of leaving everything to the last minutes. 我拖延症又犯了。
三）重点分析
“We would like to think about the incentives—what should be done to the contributions that have to be paid by the people who adopt habits to prevent diseases,”
这段里面这句略长，但是仔细看并不难。破折号后面是对incentives的解释。有些人有着良好的生活习惯，能够减少生病的可能，这些人也要定期缴纳养老金，对此需要想一些措施。
This caution is excessive. Pushing back the retirement age is not as controversial in Japan as elsewhere. A government poll conducted in 2017 found that 42% of people aged 60 or more who work want to continue to do so. Although some politicians fret about foreigners bringing crime and disturbing social harmony, the majority of the population approves of Mr Abe’s plans to admit more foreign workers.
一）内容总结：
安培太谨小慎微了。日本民众大多其实对延长退休年龄，以及外来人员来日本工作并不反感。
二）实用表达总结：
① excessive= greater than what seems reasonable or appropriate 过分的，过度的
它的名词形式是excess，同时也是个形容词（名词读作 /ɪk'ses/，形容词读作 /'ekses/。），但是只用在名词前= in addition to an amount that is necessary, usual or legal 超额的；额外的；附加的；过度的
两者意思并不相同，试比较：
Driving with excess alcohol in blood is a serious offence. 血液里酒精含量过高时驾车是严重违法行为。
（excess指酒精含量超过法律规定的范围）
Excessive drinking can lead to stomach disorder. 酗酒可能引起胃病。（excessive指大量饮酒）
② conduct a poll，进行民意测验，注意这里的动词搭配，还可以是carry out/run a poll
③ age这里用的是动词，people aged 60，看似跟people at the age of 60差不多，除了简洁以外，还有一层动态的意味，年龄达到60岁的人们，people who reached the age of 60。所以要多学一下这些常见名词的动词用法。
④ fret= to worry about something, especially when there is no need 苦恼，焦虑不安
I was working all hours and constantly fretting about everyone else's problems.
我一刻不闲地工作，还总是为别人的事操心。
三）重点分析
not as...as... 这个句式很好用，还可以拓展一个 not so...as 语气更强一些。
原文里面是“日本不像其他地方那样，对延长退休年龄颇有争议。”
这个用法我们已经很熟悉了，
而“not so much...as”还可以用在“与其说...倒不如说...”的语境里：
例句：We are not so much depressed as lonely. 与其说我们抑郁，倒不如说我们是孤独。
He is not so much a genius as a hard worker. 他的努力胜于天份。
I lay down not so much to sleep as to think. 我躺下来与其说是要睡觉，倒不如说是要思考。
Mr Abe wants Japan to be a model for other ageing societies. He has done more than his predecessors to prepare for a smaller, older population. The danger is that Japan will become an example of a country that has done too little, too late.
一）内容总结：
安倍希望日本能成为其他同样面临老龄化问题国家的范本，他做的已经比他上一任多多了，但是可能还是太少，而且为时已晚。
二）实用表达总结：
① ageing 日益变老的，还是上段一样，从age的动词变来的形容词，注意灵活运用一个熟悉的小词。
② predecessor，前任，与之相对的是successor，继任者，可以放在一起记。
三）重点分析
这段前面，安倍希望日本成为其他老龄化国家的范本，后面说这个范本很有可能是个反面教材。挺讽刺的，用了一个The danger is ...，把前面美好的幻想一举击破。我们也可以学习这种用法来写一段话：
We all have dreams, or at any rate, something we really want to do. But nine times out of ten, we wait, until we have plenty of time tomorrow so that we can have it done perfectly. The danger is that tomorrow may not come after all.
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