When we ask students what they want to be, they often talk about unusual jobs, things like teachers and doctors．But if you think about it, many people don’t plan to do their jobs．They just start doing them by accident．We have talked to two people with unusual jobs．
Emily is a dentist(牙医)but she doesn’t work with people．She works with horses．After university she took care of animal’s health for several years, but she noticed that there were few people who could help horses’ teeth．She decided to go to college and study again．Then she had to buy special tools, but she is never out of work．She’s always very busy taking care of horses’ teeth．“I couldn’t be a dentist for people now,” Emily said, “because I really enjoy working with horses．”
As soon as David could read, he read books about robots, but the robots he built today don’t look like the strange robot people in his books．He builds robots for industry．Early one morning he made up his mind to study maths, science and computers so that he could break into the world of robot engineering．“Some of the maths is very difficult,” says David, “but you must study maths to be an engineer．” Fortunately he got top marks in all his math exams．
(1)
Emily doesn’t want to be a dentist because _________．
[ ]
A．
the pay is low
B．
she has to buy special tools
C．
she will be out of work
D．
she likes working with horses
(2)
To become a robot engineer, David _________．
[ ]
A．
need to worry
B．
bought a lot of robots
C．
had to study hard
D．
didn’t have to go to college
(3)
David got top marks in all his maths exams, although _________．
[ ]
A．
maths was not easy to study
B．
he had to study maths to be an engineer
C．
he could break into the world of robot engineering
D．
he made up his mind to study maths, science and computers
She took up skating at age 85, made her first movie appearance at age 114, and held a concert in the neighborhood on her 121st birthday．
Whe n it comes to long life, Jeanne Calment is the world’s recordholder．She lived to the ripe old age of 122．So is 122 the upper limit to the human life span(寿命)?If scientists come up with some sort of pill or diet that would slow aging, could we possibly make it to 150－or beyond?
Researchers don’t entirely agree on the answers．“Calment lived to 122, so it wouldn’t surprise me if someone alive today reaches 130 or 135,”says Jerry Shay at the University of Texas．
Steve Austad at the University of Texas agrees．“People can live much longer than we think,”he says．“Experts used to say that humans couldn’t live past 110．When Calment blew past that age, they raised the number to 120．So why can’t we go higher?”
The trouble with guessing how old people can live to be is that it’s all just guessing．“Anyone can make up a number,”says Rich Miller at the University of Michigan．“Usually the scientist who picks the highest number gets his name in Time magazine．”
Won’t new anti-aging techniques keep us alive for centuries?Any cure, says Miller, for aging would probably keep most of us kicking until about 120．Researchers are working on treatments that lengthen the life span of mice by 50 percent at most．So, if the average human life span is about 80 years, says Miller,“adding another 50 percent would get you to 120．”
So what can we conclude from this little disagreement among the researchers?That life span is flexible(有弹性的)，but there is a limit, says George Martin of the University of Washington．“We can get flies to live 50 percent longer,”he says．“But a fly’s never going to live 150 years．”
“Of course, if you became a new species(物种)，one that ages at a slower speed, that would be a different story,”he adds．
Does Martin really believe that humans could evolve(进化)their way to longer life?“It’s pretty cool to think about it,”he says with a smile．
(1)
What does the story of Jeanne Calment prove to us?
[ ]
A．
People can live to 122．
B．
Old people are creative．
C．
Women are sporty at 85．
D．
Women live longer than men．
(2)
According to Steve Austad at the University of Texas, ________．
[ ]
A．
the average human life span could be 110
B．
scientists cannot find ways to slow aging
C．
few people can expect to live to over 150
D．
researchers are not sure how long people can live
(3)
Who would agree that a scientist will become famous if he makes the wildest guess at longevity?
[ ]
A．
Jerry Shay．
B．
Steve Austad
C．
Rich Miller
D．
George Martin
(4)
What can we infer from the last three paragraphs?
[ ]
A．
Most of us could be good at sports even at 120．
B．
The average human life span cannot be doubled．
C．
Scientists believe mice are aging at a slower speed than before．
D．
New techniques could be used to change flies into a new species．
