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Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)(15 minutes)
Directions: In this part, you will have 1.5 minutes to go over thepassage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7,choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D ). For questions8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.
Healthy habitscan help you live longer
Leda Beierle has livedthrough World War I and II, the Great Depression, Louisville's 1937 flood and18 US presidents,
When she was born 100 yearsago, the Titanic had yet to sink.
Beierle, who is mentallysharp and lives on her own, suspects that she's still around because of"good living, "which she describes as no smoking or drinking, andgood luck.
"I can'tcomplain," she said, shortly after her birthday earlier this month."I haven't had any serious matter with me. "
Some people live longbecause they've essentially won the genetic lottery, said Brian Kennedy, anexpert on aging who also happens to be Beierle's grandson.
"They chose the rightparents," said Kennedy, president and chief executive officer of theCalifornia-based Buck Institute for Research on Aging.
But for the rest of us, health behaviors do matter, he and otherssay.
"It's like 30 percentgenetics, 70 percent lifestyle," said Dr. Deborah Danner of theSanders-Brown Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky." After you turn 80, it's more genetics than anything else,because if youmake it to 80 and you don't have heart disease, hypertension ( 高血壓 )—— allthose kind of things—— you're very unlikely to getthem. "
Last year, the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventionreleased a study showing that people who practiced healthy habits lived longerthan those who didn't. Those behaviors included eating healthfully, getting regularphysical activity, keeping alcohol use moderate, and never smoking.
Dr. Roxanne Sukol, medical director of the Cleveland Clinic'sWellness Enterprise, tells people to place an emphasis on being active; makingsmart dietary choices such as avoiding trans fat; and managing stress.
"I think the most important choices that we make are at theintersection of those three aspects," said Sukol,who suggests shiftingyour diet away from packaged and processed foods. "Soda, potato chips,even granola bars...I don't eat anything that has 52 ingredients in theingredient list. "
She also advocates a daily walk or other physical activity, suchas yard work.
Kennedy suggests getting good-quality sleep and taking steps toslash excess calories.
Cutting back on red meat also might be helpful. In a studypublished online this month by the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchersat the Harvard School of Public Health found that regular consumption of redmeat,especially processed meat, was associated with an increased risk ofmortality.
Eating one serving a day of unprocessed red meat was associated witha 13 percent risk of mortality. Having a serving a day of processed meat, suchas one hot dog or two slices of bacon, was associated with a 20 percent increasedrisk.
In a study published online this month by the Journal of theAmerican Medical Association, people who met a half dozen or more recommendedcardiovascular health measures had a lower risk of death than people who met a lotfewer ones. The factors or behaviors included being physically active, eating ahealthy diet and not smoking.
Other factors includedhaving normal blood pressure, blood sugar, total cholesterol (膽固醇 ) and weight.
Sukol strongly recommendsnot smoking.
Cigarette smoking "isassociated with a number of serious illnesses, not the least of which ishardening of the arteries, and that affects your heart, your brain, yourkidneys, everything," she said.
Positivity also may play arole in living longer.
Danner and colleaguesanalyzed the autobiographies of about 180 Catholic nuns, scoring them onemotional content. The autobiographies were written when the women were intheir late teens and early 20s.
"Some were morepositive than others," said Danner, director of education and outreach forthe Alzheimer's Disease Center at Sanders-Brown. "They would have similarevents, but some people would describe them as just matter-of-fact-‘ I wasbore'-in contrast to ‘I was welcomed into this joyous world.' "
The study, which waspublished in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in May 2001,"found that the sisters who used more positive emotion words in thoseearly writings lived 8 to 10 years longer," Danner said.
"If you're morepositive, something bad can happen, but you're quickly able to work throughit," she said.
"And as you do that, then it has less stress on your body'sorgans. "
Some of Beierle's relativescredit her positivity, in addition to good genes, with helping her to live toage 100.
Beierle, a mother of two,also stayed active for most of her life, doing things like swimming and award-winningbowling.
But Kennedy, 45, said manycentenarians have not followed the health advice being preached today.
"If you askcentenarians when they were in their 50s what did they do, what you find isthat they tended to be a little bit heavier than the average population, theywere more likely to smoke, they did drink a little bit less, but that's even abit surprising because moderate alcohol consumption is associated withlongevity," he said.
"They weren'tvegetarians. They didn't exercise. Nothing we tell people to do. But they'rethe exception, not the rule. "
Ultimately, Kennedy said,"You can take charge of your own aging. "
1.Beierle thinks she lives long because __________.
A) she exercises a lot
B) she doesn't take things seriously
C) she has a good lifestyle and good luck
D) she has good genetics
2.If you win the genetic lottery, you are likely to __________.
A) develop healthy habits
B) develop cardiovascular problems
C) live a healthy life
D) live longer than other people
3. Which of the following is TRUE according to Dr. Danner?
A) It's genes that determine whether a person can live for morethan 80 years.
B) It's lifestyle that determines whether a person can live formore than 80 years.
C) A person who doesn't have vital diseases at his or her 80should thank the genes he or she has inherited.
D) People who are already over 80 years old can hardly get heartdisease and hypertension.
4.Which of the following is NOT recommended if a person is makingsmart dietary choices?
A) Avoiding trans fat.
B) Choosing foods that have fewer ingredients.
C) Choosing foods that are well packaged and finely processed.
D) Reading carefully the ingredient list before making choices.
5.In a study published by __________, some researchers found thateating too much red meat was linked to an
increased risk of mortality.
A) Archives of Internal Medicine
B) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
C) Journal of the American Medical Association
D) Harvard School of Public Health
6.In this passage, who strongly recommends not smoking?
A) Beierle's grandson.
B) Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health.
C) Dr. Deborah Danner of the Sanders-Brown Center.
D) Medical director of the Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Enterprise,
7.Why were the autobiographies of about 180 Catholic nunsanalyzed?
A) To find out whether positivity may play a role in livinglonger.
B) To find out whether a lot of exercise will affect people'shealth.
C) To determine the causes of some health problems.
D) To gather some data about living under stress.
8.In a study, Danner found the nuns __________lived 8 to 10 yearslonger.
9.According to some of Beierle's relatives, Beierle's positivity,in addition to good genes, helps her __________
10. According to Kennedy, those centenarians who have not followedthe health advice are __________
