How Long Can People Live?

She took up skating at age 85, made her first movie appearance at age 114, and held a concert in the neighborhood on her 121^at birthday.

When it comes to long life, Jeanne Calment is the world’s record holder. 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, 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, 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," he says with．a smile．

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．

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

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 Miler      D．George Martin

What can we infer from the last three paragraphs?

       A．Most of us could be good at sports even at 150．

       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

Cell Phones Are the New Cigarettes
When you get in your car, you reach for it．When you’re at work, you take a break to have a moment alone with it．When you get into a lift, you play with it．
Cigarettes? Cup of coffee? No, it’s the third most addictive thing in modern life, the cell phone．And experts say it is becoming more difficult for many people to curbtheir longing to hug  it more tightly than most of their personal relationships．
With its shiny surface, its smooth and satisfying touch, its air of complexity, the cell phone  connects us to the world even as it disconnects us from people three feet away．In just the past  couple of years, the cell phone has challenged individuals, employers, phone makers and  counselors（顾问）in ways its inventors in the late 1940s never imagined．
The costs are becoming even more evident, and I don’t mean just the monthly bill．Dr．Chris  Knippers, a counselor at the Betty Ford Center in Southern California, reports that the overuse of  cell phones has become a social problem not much different from other harmful addictions: a barrier to one-on-one personal contact, and an escape from reality．
Sounds extreme, but we’ve all witnessed the evidence: The person at a restaurant who talks on the phone through an entire meal, ignoring his kids around the table; the woman who talks on the phone in the car, ignoring her husband; the teen who texts messages all the way home from school, avoiding contact with kids all around him．
Is it just rude, or is it a kind of unhealthiness? And pardon me, but how is this improving the quality of life?
Jim Williams, an industrial sociologist based in Massachusetts, notes that cell-phone addiction is part of a set of symptoms in a widening gulf of personal separation．He points to a study by Duke University researchers that found one-quarter of Americans say they have no one to discuss their most important personal business with．Despite the growing use of phones, e-mail and instant messaging, in other words, Williams says studies show that we don’t have as many friends as our parents. “Just as more information has led to less wisdom, more acquaintances via the Internet and cell phones have produced fewer friends,” he says．
If the cell phone has truly had these effects, it’s because it has become very widespread．Consider that in 1987, there were only 1 million cell phones in use．Today, something like 300 million Americans carry them．They far outnumber wired phones in the United States．
【小题1】Which of the following best explains the title of the passage?

Cell Phones Are the New Cigarettes
When you get in your car, you reach for it．When you’re at work, you take a break to have a moment alone with it．When you get into a lift, you play with it．
Cigarettes? Cup of coffee? No, it’s the third most addictive thing in modern life, the cell phone．And experts say it is becoming more difficult for many people to curbtheir longing to hug  it more tightly than most of their personal relationships．
With its shiny surface, its smooth and satisfying touch, its air of complexity, the cell phone  connects us to the world even as it disconnects us from people three feet away．In just the past  couple of years, the cell phone has challenged individuals, employers, phone makers and  counselors（顾问）in ways its inventors in the late 1940s never imagined．
The costs are becoming even more evident, and I don’t mean just the monthly bill．Dr．Chris  Knippers, a counselor at the Betty Ford Center in Southern California, reports that the overuse of  cell phones has become a social problem not much different from other harmful addictions: a barrier to one-on-one personal contact, and an escape from reality．
Sounds extreme, but we’ve all witnessed the evidence: The person at a restaurant who talks on the phone through an entire meal, ignoring his kids around the table; the woman who talks on the phone in the car, ignoring her husband; the teen who texts messages all the way home from school, avoiding contact with kids all around him．
Is it just rude, or is it a kind of unhealthiness? And pardon me, but how is this improving the quality of life?
Jim Williams, an industrial sociologist based in Massachusetts, notes that cell-phone addiction is part of a set of symptoms in a widening gulf of personal separation．He points to a study by Duke University researchers that found one-quarter of Americans say they have no one to discuss their most important personal business with．Despite the growing use of phones, e-mail and instant messaging, in other words, Williams says studies show that we don’t have as many friends as our parents. “Just as more information has led to less wisdom, more acquaintances via the Internet and cell phones have produced fewer friends,” he says．
If the cell phone has truly had these effects, it’s because it has become very widespread．Consider that in 1987, there were only 1 million cell phones in use．Today, something like 300 million Americans carry them．They far outnumber wired phones in the United States．

1. 1.

   Which of the following best explains the title of the passage?

   1. A.
      Cell phone users smoke less than they used to．
   2. B.
      Cell phones have become as addictive as cigarettes．
   3. C.
      More people use cell phones than smoke cigarettes．
   4. D.
      Using cell phone is just as cool as smoking cigarettes．
2. 2.

   The underlined word “curb” in Paragraph 2 means ______.

   1. A.
      rescue
   2. B.
      ignore
   3. C.
      develop
   4. D.
      control
3. 3.

   The example of a woman talking on the phone in the car supports the idea that ______.

   1. A.
      women use cell phones more often than men
   2. B.
      talking on the phone while driving is dangerous
   3. C.
      cell phones do not necessarily bring people together
   4. D.
      cell phones make one-on-one personal contact easy