新編大學(xué)英語第一冊unit7 Text C: How to Live to Be 100

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UNIT 7 AFTER-CLASS READING 2; New College English (I)

How to Live to Be 100

1 Living until 100 isn't possible for everyone, still most of us can take steps to lengthen our lives. Here's how to vastly improve your chances of a long, happy, healthy, and productive life.

2 Why do we age? No one knows why our bodies seem to wear out, but most guesses fall into one of two categories. We can describe these as "wear and tear" and "alarm clocks". The "wear and tear" side argues that aging reflects a lifetime of accumulated damage to cells and organs. This damage arises from natural sources like cosmic rays and minor errors in the body's chemical reactions and from self-caused choices like smoking cigarettes and eating too much fat. The "alarm clocks" side argues that the aging process is programmed into our genes. Thus aging is a scheduled event much like one's first permanent tooth. Of course everyone's biological alarm clock is set differently and there is no way of knowing when it will go off for any individual. However, both the "wear and tear" and the "alarm clocks" theorists agree on one important point: Most of us waste some of our allotment of time, and we could add 20 years to our life expectancy if we all adopted better living habits.

3 The best place to begin living longer is at the dinner table. Everything from cancer to heart disease to diabetes can be caused or made worse by a lifetime of bad eating habits. Eating less fat is the most important thing for most people. That is the best way to lower the amount of cholesterol in the blood.

4 Exercise is essential. Vigorous exercise can slow the aging process. One research group found that a group of intensively trained athletes aged 55 or older, men who jogged or ran as much as 50 miles a week, were as fit in many respects as were healthy 25-year-old athletes. Another study shows that among 17,000 Harvard University graduates, those who exercised regularly and vigorously after graduation had death rates a quarter to a third lower than their classmates who did not exercise.

5 Of course, there are obvious things that people need to remind themselves of from time to time: Don't leave poisons in the medicine cabinet where "sleepy" hands can find them in the night; don't daydream while crossing the street; when driving a car, don't drive at excessive speed. People should also stop damaging their bodies with drugs, including cigarettes and too much alcohol. If they will do this, they will probably add years to their lives. Studies show that the body can often begin to reverse the ill effects of such damage even in later years. It really is never too late to quit smoking or heavy drinking.

6 The most heartening possibilities of all for longer life have been found in the area of mental outlook. Keeping mentally active will increase one's chances of staying healthy farther into one's senior years. One study of healthy individuals whose average age was 71 indicated that the people in the group who had high goals and interests as well as a high degree of organization in their lives were the ones who lived longer. The nature of the interest was not important. It could be interest in a grandchild, in community activities, or even the success of some sports team, just as long as there was strong interest. Researchers have also found that the interests that keep older people going can be solitary as well as shared with others.

7 Other research studies have found that the best predictor of one's longevity is the age at which one's parents die. If they lived a long life, chances are good that their children will also. Many studies have also shown that married people get sick less and live longer than those who remain single.