Test Paper
Grade: IX th
I. Read (and listen to) the article ‘A long and healthy life?’ then do the follow-up activities
How long will a baby born today live? A
hundred years? A hundred and twenty years?
Scientists are studying genes that could mean
long life for us all. There are already many, many
people who live to more than a hundred. In fact, there
are now so many healthy elderly people that there's a
name for them: the wellderly. These are people over
the age of eighty who have no major illnesses, such
as high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes.
There are many scientific studies of
communities where a healthy old age is typical.
These include places like Calabria in southern Italy
and the island of Okinawa in Japan. In Calabria, the
small village of Molochio has a population of about
2,000. And of these 2,000 people, there are at least
eight people over a hundred years old. Researchers
ask people like this the secret of their long life. The
answer is almost always about food and is almost
always the same: 'I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables';
'I eat a little bit of everything'; 'I never smoke, I don't
drink'.
So, in the past, scientists looked at things
such as diet and lifestyle for an explanation of long
life. But these days they are also looking at genetic
factors. Researcher Eric Topol says that there are
probably genes that protect people from the effects
of the ageing process. The new research into long life
investigates groups of people who have a genetic
connection. One interesting group lives in Ecuador.
1 What do scientists investigate to try to
understand long life?
a) people's lifestyles and where they live
b) genetic factors and environmental factors
c) people’s diet and what kind of activities they
do
2 What do diabetes, heart problems and high
blood pressure have in common?
a) They are common illnesses in old age.
b) Scientists can learn a lot about age when
they study these illnesses.
c) People in Ecuador don’t suffer from these
illnesses.
Name, Surname _________________
Date __________________
In one area of the country there are a number of
people with
the same
genetic
condition. It's
called Laron
syndrome.
These people
don't grow
very tall – just
over one metre. But Laron syndrome also gives them
protection against cancer and diabetes. As a result,
they live longer than other people in their families.
On the other side of the world, on the Hawaiian
island of Oahu, there's another group of long-lived
men. They are Japanese-Americans but they have a
similar gene to the Laron syndrome group.
In Calabria, researchers constructed the
family trees of the 100-year-old people. They looked
at family information from the 19th century to today.
They think that there are genetic factors that give
health benefits to the men. This is interesting because
generally, in Europe, women live longer than men.
So what really makes people live longer?
Probably, it's a combination of genes, the
environment and one more thing – luck.
1. Circle the correct option (2 p per answer):
20p/
3 What do some people from Ecuador and
Okinawa have in common?
a) They have diabetes.
b) They have a genetic syndrome.
c) They live long, healthy lives.
4 According to the article ...
a) scientists are investigating people who are
120 years old.
b) scientific advances mean we will all live to
at least 100 years.
c) scientists have found genes that might
influence how long we live.
5 The 'wellderly' are ...
a) over 100 years old.
b) over 80 years old.
 c) elderly people with health problems.
6 According to the article ...
a) some places have an unusual number of very
old people.
b) Italy and Japan are very healthy places to
live.
c) people who live in small villages live longer.
7 The typical reason people give for their long
life is:
a) diet.
b) a secret.
c) there are many different reasons.
8 Laron syndrome ...
a) is a problem for people with diabetes.
b) is only found in Ecuador and Hawaii.
c) is the result of a genetic condition.
9 Laron syndrome shows scientists that ...
a) some people don't grow tall.
b) there is a genetic reason for old age.
c) some conditions only affect men.
10 Scientists think that ... a healthy old age.
a) different factors lead to
b) more European men than women live to
c) in the past, more people lived to

2.Match the words to the definitions: 20p/

diabetes (n) the way that a person lives and the activities they do
diet (n) the careful study of something in order to learn facts about it
disease (n) a cause of something or an influence on a result
elderly (adj) a problem with your health
factor (n) an illness that affects the way your blood moves around your body
healthy (adj) strong and not ill
high blood pressure (n) quite old, or very old
illness (n) the food an animal or person usually eats
lifestyle (n) a serious problem that affects someone's body and health
research (n) a medical condition which affects the amount of sugar in a person's blood

II. Grammar
1. Complete the table with words from the text (2p per gap). 16 p/

2. Complete the sentences with words from the table in Exercise 1. 6p/
1 My grandparents are elderly but they are very __________ – they never go to the doctors.
 2 I want to __________ until I’m at least 90 years old.
3 When I was a child, I had the typical __________ , but now I’m never ill.
4 Good __________ with your exam tomorrow!
5 The university department does interesting __________ into the problems of old age.
6 Scientists think that diabetes has a __________ cause.

II. Creativity
Comment on the statement in 12 sentences. You will get 12p for writing 12 sentences, 12p for the proper
tense use and spelling, 12p for the words order per sentence, 2p bonus. 38p/
Most problems do have a solution, sometimes we just need to think in a different way
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Score ……. out of 100; Mark_____________