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

Dutch treat is a late-nineteenth-century term, and it originally refers to a dinner where everyone is expected to pay for his own share of the food and drink. If people go “Dutch treat”, or simply “go Dutch”, it means that they will share the expenses of a social engagement.

   There are many other “Dutch” expressions in English, many of which were invented in Britain in the seventeenth century, when the Dutch and the English were commercial and military rivals. The British used “Dutch” to refer to something bad, cheap and shameful. A “Dutch bargain” at that time was an uneven, one-sided deal; “Dutch reckoning” was an unitemized(未逐条记载的) account; and “Dutch widow” was slang for prostitute. Later centuries brought in “Dutch courage”, for bravery caused by drink; “Dutch concert”, for noisy music; “Dutch nightingale”, meaning a frog; and “double Dutch”, for incomprehensible language or talk.

   Some of the expressions are still in use today, but some are not. In fact, in American English, some “Dutch” expressions have nothing to do with the Dutch, but something with the German. It was probably because of the similar spelling and pronunciation that people made a mistake in distinguishing between “Dutch” and “Deutsch” (the German word for German), when German immigrants came to America in the 1700s. For instance, “the Pennsylvania Dutch” refers to the German descendants, instead of the Dutch descendants, living in Pennsylvania.

1.Many of the “Dutch” expressions were invented with negative sense, because ___________.

A. The Dutch were underdeveloped people.

B. Britain and Holland were competitors at that time.

C. The Dutch had many bad habits.

D. The British were superior to the Dutch.

2. With the information you get from Paragraph 2, make a guess at the meaning of the sentence “You are in Dutch”. It probably means ____________ .

A.You are in Holland.                                              B. You are welcome.

C. You are in trouble.                                              D. You are lucky.

3.According to the passage, some native American “Dutch” expressions were related to the German instead of the Dutch, simply because ______________.

A. People hated the German as much as the Dutch.

B. People made a mistake at the beginning.

C. People made a joke about the German.

D. The German immigrants proclaimed that they were Dutch.

Attempt a guess at the following question: In the English-speaking world, which country has the least affordable homes? You are wrong if you guessed the US, even with the housing bubble （气泡） and main sadness． Nor is it the UK, where prices have risen because demand is far from supply． According to a recent survey of 227 cities around the globe, you must go south of the equator （赤道） to Australia to find the priciest homes．

The report measured a city’s housing market along the following guidelines． An “affordable” home required three times or less of the average family’s income to purchase． At four times earnings, a home fell into the “unaffordable” category． And a “seriously unaffordable” home needed five times a family’s income． In Australia, homes in the least affordable city cost just about 9．5 times the average income． Sydney, Perth, and Melbourne were only a little under this figure．

Australian officials offered little comment, apart from a general statement on the dismal findings． These prices make the possibility that many Australians will one day own a home largely unbelievable． Land rationing （配给制） and excessive development charges have raised prices, and the problem will only be solved through urgent action by the Rudd government．

Some American cities were also included on the least affordable list, four of which were in California． America is still involved in a mortgage（抵押）crisis, though, affecting the affordability of homes． Yet a number of US cities garnered “affordable” status, namely Dallas and Kansas． Australia had no cities listed in the top fifty places with affordable homes．

The survey suggests that you can find affordable homes in most places, just not if you’re Australian and choose to live down under．

1. To buy an affordable house, you should pay _____．

   A． 3 times or less of the average family’s income

    B． 4 times or less of the average family’s income

    C． 5 times or less of the average family’s income

    D． 9．5 times or less of the average family’s income

2. What caused the prices of houses to increase in Australia?

   A． The rising family’s income．                     B． The demand over supply．

   C． The excessive development charges． D． The decrease of land．

3. The underlined word “dismal” in Paragraph 3 may mean _____．

   A． cheerful                        B． satisfactory

   C． difficult                       D． gloomy 

4. What might be the most suitable title for the passage?

    A． Affordable Houses               B． A House is a Dream First

    C． Housing Bubble      D． Homes Too Expensive

The history of nomenclature (命名) in Britain is so old that no one knows the beginning of the story. Since written history began， people have had names. It is therefore impossible to do more than guess at how the earliest given names were chosen. Most names appear to have had some sort of original meaning， usually descriptive， rather than being simply a pleasing collection of sounds.

These descriptive names developed both from nouns and adjectives. The Irish Gaelic people  used descriptive nouns and adjectives which were meaningful. Early in prehistory some descriptive names began to be used again and again until they formed a name pool for that particular culture. Parents would choose names from the pool of existing names rather than invent new ones for their children.

With the rise of Christianity (基督教)， Christians were encouraged to name their children after the holy people of the church. These early Christian names can be found in many cultures today， in various forms. The pool of names in use in England changed basically after the Norman came in 1066. Then French names of Germanic origin became popular within three generations. As a result names like Emma， Matilda， Richard， and William， became common in English nomenclature. At the same time a few Old English names， like Edward and Alfred remained because they were names of holy people or kings； others were kept because they were used with slight changes by Germanic names from the Normans like Robert.

Surnames developed from bynames， which are additional ones used to differentiate people with the same given name.  These bynames fall into particular patterns.  These started out as specific  to a person and were taken down from father to son between the twelfth and sixteenth century. The noble usually used taken-down surnames early or the peasants did so later.

1.We can infer from the text that　　　　.

A.the first given names had not any actual meanings

B.people probably had names when there was no written language

C.the history of nomenclature is shorter than written history

D.names began to be used long after there was written language

2. The underlined word “they” (in Para.3) refers to “　　　　”.

A.Old English names               B.other names

C.names of Germanic origin  D.names of holy people

3.According to the text， which of the following statements is TRUE？

A.Robert is a Germanic name from the Normans.

B.Church didn’t encourage nomenclature used in the church.

C.Names like Emma and William were the most popular in 1066.

D.Names like Edward and Alfred were French names of Germanic origin.

4. Give the right order of surname development in history.

(a)People used bynames to differ people with the same given names.

(b)People chose given names from the pool of existing names.

(c)Bynames started out as specific to a person.

(d)Surnames became popular with common people.

(e)Surnames were taken down from father to son in noble families.

A.b-a-e-c-d          B.a-b-c-d-e   C.a-b-c-e-d         D.b-a-c-e-d

5. Which group of words can best describe the development of British nomenclature？

A.Additional， Particular and Various

B.Meaningful， Christian and Foreign

C.Descriptive， Meaningful and Germanic

D.Old English-styled， Christian and Original

Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment－to draw a picture of something for which they were __31__.

Most of the class might be considered economically __32__，but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These，the teacher thought，would be the __33__ of most of her students’ art. And they were.

But Douglas made a different kind of __34__.Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of misery，weak and __35__.As other children played at break，Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the __36__ Douglas felt behind those sad eyes.

Yes，his picture was __37__.When asked to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful，he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an __38__ hand.

His abstract image __39__ the imagination of his peers. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer，because farmers __40__ turkeys. Another suggested a police officer，because the police protect and __41__ people. Still others guessed it was the hand of God，for God feeds us. And so the __42__ went－until the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.

When the children had gone on to other assignments，she __43__ at Douglas’desk，bent down，and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and __44__，“It’s yours，teacher.” She __45__ the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here or there，__46__ she had the other students. How often had she said，“Take my hand，Douglas，we’ll go outside.” Or，“Let me show you how to __47__ your pencil.”Or，“Let’s do this together.” Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’s hand.

Brushing aside a tear，she went on with her work.

The story speaks of __48__ thankfulness. It says something about teachers teaching and parents parenting and friends showing __49__，and how much it means to the Douglases of the world. They might not always say thanks，but they’ll remember the hand that __50__.