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（壽命）? 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 （進(jìn)化） their way to longer life? "It's pretty cool to think about," he says with．a(chǎn) 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

書面表達(dá)（滿分25分）

假如你叫李華，從某網(wǎng)站看到下面調(diào)查統(tǒng)計(jì)表，感觸很深，從而決定寫信給某英語報(bào)社，反映這一現(xiàn)象，并簡(jiǎn)要分析原因，呼吁教育部門和家長(zhǎng)改變目前局面。

要求：1．語言要連貫、準(zhǔn)確，可適當(dāng)發(fā)揮；

2．詞數(shù)100左右。

Dear editor,

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

I have been told that our teacher has _____the deadline for the composition ______ two days and we have to hand it in tomorrow morning.

A. made; by           B. cut; to          C. advanced; by           D. suggested; for

Many animals sleep a lot when young, but sleep much less when they get older, just       

is the case with human being.

       A．a(chǎn)s     B．which       C．what  D．it

Whatever the cause of the heat may be, we do know that the earth gets hotter       down we dig.

         A．further       B．the farther         C．the farthest       D．the furthest

_________ by the teacher, Tom got into the classroom from the back door quietly.

A. To avoid being seen    B. Avoiding seen    C. Avoid being seen   D. Avoided seeing

Fill in the blanks with the CORRECT form of the word.

Benjamin Franklin discovered that l_________ is actually electrcity by his kite experiment.

Kunming is the capital of Yunnan Proveince in s_________ China.

We decided to make a v_________ down the Yellow River to the sea.

It is because his v_________ is not big enough that he can’t express himself well in English.

www.expo2010.cn is the o_________ website of the 2010 Expo in Shanghai China.

Now the weather is becoming colder _________. (逐漸的)

He practises speaking English every day so he speaks _________ (流利的) English.

When you are facing an earthquake, the first thing you have to do is to stay _________. (鎮(zhèn)定的)

It rains _________ (經(jīng)常性的) these days, which makes him very upset.

From his strong _________ (口音) we can easily tell he is from London.

The chairman asked many questions ________ the education of the homeless children in that area.

A. concerned         B. concerning         C. to concern        D. having concerned

Every Monday morning, students in our school would stand at attention, watching the national flag ______.

A. raising       B. rising       C. being risen       D. being raised

共5小題；每小題2分，滿分10分）

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文后的選項(xiàng)中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)。選項(xiàng)中有兩項(xiàng)為多于選項(xiàng)。(請(qǐng)把答案填在答案卷的橫線上)

Today we begin a series of programs about learning disabilities．These are disorders in the ways that people understand or use language．They can affect the ability to listen or think, or to speak or to read and write．They can also affect the ability to do mathematics． Researchers believe that learning disabilities are caused by differences in the way that the brain works with information． They say children with learning disabilities are not unintelligent or do not want to work．

Researchers say that as many as one out of every five people in the United States has some  kind of learning disability．Almost three-million children in the United States receive some kind of help in school for a learning disability．

  Expels look for a difference between how well a child does in school and the level of intelligence or ability of the child．But there is no one sign of a disorder．A few signs of learning disability include not connecting letters with their sounds or not understanding what is read．A person with a learning disability may not be able to understand a funny story．They may not follow directions．They may not read numbers correctly or know how to start a task．  One  person may have trouble understanding mathematics．Another may have difficulty understanding what people are saying．Still another may not be able to express ideas in writing．These different kinds of learning disabilities are known by different names．For example，a person who has difficulty reading may have dyslexia(誦讀困難癥)．

Experts say learning disabilities cannot be cured．   Teachers and parents can help young people with learning disabilities to learn successfully．

A. Different people have different kinds of learning disabilities．

B. Their brains just process information differently than other people．

C. People with learning disabilities have difficulty in communicating with others

D. But people who have them can be helped．

E. Why does a person have a learning disability.

F. A person with a learning disability has unusual difficulty in developing these skills．

G. How can you tell if someone has a learning disability?