2 Supercentenarians 3
a Read the article again. Match the words in
1 Who is the oldest person you know? What do
you know about their life and character?
2 a Do you agree with the following statements?
1 There’s no point in worrying about things you
can’t change.
2 You should stop eating before you are full.
3 A few cigarettes a day can help deal with stress.
4 People who deal well with stress live longer.
5 People should work for as long as they can.
6 Olive oil rubbed into the skin keeps you looking
younger.
7 Men tend to live longer than women.
Which statements in 2a are true according to
b
people in the text? Whose opinions are they?
the writer  ​Jeanne Calment  ​Jean-Marie Robine  
​Walter Breuning  ​Tom Perls
extra reading:
Supercentenarians: what can we learn
Photocopiable
from the oldest people in the world?
We are living longer than ever before. There are said to be
about 75 people living (mostly women) who are 110 or older.
Most of these people – known as supercentenarians – live in
Japan, France, Italy, Britain and the USA.
Jeanne Calment (1875–1997) was born
before the invention of the light bulb, the
phonograph, the aeroplane and the
automobile. She lived to the age of 122
in Arles, France, staying there her entire
life. She ate more than two pounds of
chocolate a week, drank port wine and
rode a bicycle until she was 100. She
believed her youthful appearance was due to the olive oil she
rubbed into her skin and poured on her food. She also smoked
from the age of 21 and only gave up her two-cigarette-a-day
habit when she was 117; not for health reasons, a doctor said,
but because she could no longer see well enough to light up
and hated asking others to do it for her. Jean-Marie Robine,
one of the authors of a book about Calment, said her great
strength was her attitude to life. “I think she was someone who
was immune to stress,” he said. “She once said, ‘If you can’t
do anything about it, don’t worry about it.’”
Walter Breuning (1896–2011), from Minnesota, USA, lived to
the age of 114. For the last 35 years of his life, he ate only
6 longevity  7 skipping  8 factor  3b   Jeanne  relaxed, independent, physically fit; Walter serious, disciplined, conscientious
2b   1T (JC)  2T (WB)  4T (TP)  5T (WB)  6T (JC)  3a   1 phonograph  2 vastly  3 stroke  4 immune  5 centenarians
214 face2face Second edition Upper Intermediate Photocopiable
bold with these meanings.
1 old word for a record player
2 a great deal
3 a sudden illness which affects the brain and can
cause death or paralysis
4 not affected by something
5 people who are over 100
6 long life
7 missing, not taking part in
8 one of several things that cause or influence
something
Which three adjectives best describe Jeanne
b
Calment or Walter Breuning?
serious  ​adventurous  ​relaxed  ​
disciplined  ​
independent  ​anxious  ​physically fit  ​conscientious
4 What can you learn from the people in the
article? Whose lifestyle appeals to you most?
two meals a day, skipping supper and
limiting himself to a big breakfast of
eggs, toast or pancakes and lunch. “I
think you should push back from the
table when you’re still hungry,” he said.
He also ate a lot of fruit, drank plenty of
water and a bit of coffee. “I drink a cup
and a half of coffee for breakfast and a
cup with lunch,” he said. While he believed that his two-meal-a-
day diet contributed to his longevity, Breuning also believed in
hard work, and continued working until he was 99.
The Japanese are known for their longevity and, in particular,
the Japanese island of Okinawa, with a population of a million,
has around 900 centenarians. Older Okinawans eat an
average of seven servings of vegetables and fruits daily, grain,
tofu and soya products. In addition, Okinawans tend to eat until
they are about 80% full. The Sardinians too are known for their
long lives. Their Mediterranean diet, rich in olive oil, fish and red
wine, differs vastly from that of the Japanese, but whatever
they’re doing, it’s working.
Dr Tom Perls, an ageing specialist, says the secret to a long
life is now believed to be a mix of genetics and environmental
factors such as diet and exercise. His research recognises
another factor that may protect people from illnesses such as
heart attacks and stroke: “They seem to manage their stress
better than the rest of us,” he said.
 
© Cambridge University Press 2012 Instructions p207 214