STAYING ALIVE

Today people are living a lot longer because of better diet and better medical care. Still, scientists say
the longest we can live is about 110. But Jeanne Calment and Antonio Todde lived longer. How did they
do it?
JEANNE CALMENT
Jeanne Calment was born in France in 1875. She lived in a small town called Arles and met the artist
Vincent Van Gogh there in 1888. He came to her uncle`s shop to buy some paints!
Jeanne had a n interesting life. She was more active than most people. She started fencing when she
was 85, and rode bicycle until she was 100. At 114 she was in the film Vincent And Me, and at 121 she
recorded a rap CD ‘Time`s Mistress’.
Jeanne`s husband, daughter and only grandson all died before her. But although Jeanne lived longer
than most people, her diet wasn`t healthier. She ate a lot of chocolate and she smoked until she was
120! However, Jeanne was never bored. ‘I dream, I think, I go over my life’, she said. Maybe this helped
her live longer. She died when she was 122.
ANTONIO TODDE
Antonio Todde was born in Sardinia in 1889 and lived until he was 112. Antonio was the third of twelve
children. He only went to school for a year then he worked as a shepherd in the mountains. Antonio
wasn`t the most intelligent member of the family, but he was very fit. He didn`t like cars and he never
learnt to drive, so he walked and cycled everywhere. When he was young, he often cycled 30 miles to
watch television in a nearby town.
Why did he live so long? Perhaps it was in his family: Antonio`s sister is 97 and his daughters are 77 and
80. However, Antonio thought his diet was the key to long life. His favourite meal was pasta with a small
piece of meat and a glass of red wine.

TWO`S COMPANY
The Palmer sisters-Ana and Laura-were born in 1985. They were in the same class at school and they
had the same friends. Now they are both at university, studying the same subject-history.
‘We look similar’, says Ana, ’but we`re not exactly the same. I`m taller than Laura, and Laura is thinner
than me – so there are some differences.’
‘We`ve also got very different characters,’ adds Laura. ‘Ana is older than me by a few minutes – that`s
probably why she`s more confident. She`s better than me at making friends, and I`m not as good as Ana
at organising things. In fact I`m quite lazy – I love watching TV.’
We asked the girls about the advantages of being twins. ’Well, you`re never lonely – there`s always
someone to talk to,’ says Laura. ‘And we share magazines and CDs. It`s less expensive than buying your
own.’
What about disadvantages?
‘At home we didn`t have our own rooms, so we shared a bedroom,’ says Ana. I`m tidier than my sister,
so I didn`t like it when she left her things everywhere! It`s better at college because we have separate
rooms.’
‘I think it`s worse,’ says Laura. ’Sharing a room is nicer because it`s easier to borrow each other`s
clothes.’
LANGUAGE SCHOOLS IN BRITAIN
THE VICTORIA ACADEMY
Learn English in Brighton, one of the most popular seaside towns in Britain. The Victoria Academy is in a
Quiet street in the centre of Brighton, near to the beach and the famous Brighton Pier.
1 SUMMER COURSES
We offer special summer courses for students aged 14-19. Choose the length of the course and how
many hours a week you want to study.
 1, 2, 3 or 4 weeks long
 15 or 25 lessons a week
2 ACCOMMODATION
Living with an English family can be an interesting part of your stay in England. We choose our families
carefully. They are all friendly and know the area well.
 Prices include breakfast and dinner
3 LEISURE ACTIVITIES
We think it is important for students to see something of the country they are visiting. Every Wednesday
we organise day trips. There is also a programme of things to do in the evenings and at weekends.
 sightseeing trips to London, Oxford, Canterbury, and more
 cultural and sporting afternoons
 evenings out at the cinema, theatre or disco
4 SCHOOL FACILITIES
The school has a library, a restaurant and an Internet cafe.

Strange encounters
There are many mysteries in the natural world and there’s a lot we don’t know. Some places are difficult
to get to and `new` animals often live there. Places like the tops of mountains, the bottom of the sea and
the centre of jungles are the final frontiers of the natural world. It’s often difficult to believe in the
strange animals people find.
*For many years Norwegian fishermen talked about a giant sea monster, but no one believed them.
Then in 1925 scientists found one inside a whale. Last year scientists found another one in the Antarctic
Ocean. It was over 18 meters in length (or twice the length of a bus), and very dangerous. It’s one of the
most frightening animals in the sea.
*Europeans wrote about them hundreds of years ago, but they didn’t see a real one until 1912. A Dutch
pilot crashed his plane on an island in Indonesia. When he was there he saw strange reptiles in the
jungle. They were over three meters long and they had long, powerful tails. They weren’t afraid of him
and one even tried to attack him!
*At first Europeans didn’t believe in the strange animal from Australia. It looked like a bird, a mammal
and reptile all in one. Then, in 1797, British settlers took one to England. Unfortunately, it died before it
got there. Scientists in England thought the animal was a joke. They thought someone made it from
other animals’ body parts!
*Today people often argue about an animal that lives in the Himalayan mountains. The animal is more
than two meters tall and it’s hairy. Scientists think it is a Himalayan brown bear. A climber first saw the
animal in 1951. Recently another climber found some hair from the same animal. When scientists
looked at the hair, they didn’t know what it was. `It isn’t human and it isn’t a bear`, said one scientists.
`It’s a mystery.`

Come and visit Loch Ness! Can you spot Nessie?

1 IS THERE A MONSTER IN THE LOCH?
Loch Ness is a beautiful place surrounded by the green hills of Scotland. It is also the home of one of the
most famous mysteries of the natural world – the Loch Ness monster, or ‘Nessie.’ There are many
stories about a giant monster living at the bottom of the loch. People say it`s similar to a dinosaur. Some
people laugh at these stories, but many others believe there is something strange out there ...

2 STOP: A MONSTER`S CROSSING THE ROAD!

People always talked about a mysterious animal in the loch, but in 1933 two people saw it out of the
water. Mr. and Mrs. Spicer were in their car when they saw a giant monster move slowly across the road
into the loch. They stopped the car and looked out of the window, but they were terrifief and they
didn`t follow it – they went home quickly!

3. MYSTERIOUS PHOTOGRAPHS
After this, many people looked for Nessie. Some people took photographs of strange things in the water,
although others said the photographs weren`t real. But later, in 1934, a doctor from London said he saw
Nessie, and he took perhaps the most famous photograph of her.

4. COME AND SEE FOR YOURSELF!

Today there are webcams all around the Loch Ness, watching the water for Nessie. Some scientists don`t
believe she`s in there, but others argue that maybe she doesn`t want us to find her. Nobody knows the
real answer. Why not come and see for yourself?