READING 3 B1+

born in Ireland, who get what is known as still working 3-5 days a week at 108.
Living to 100
In 2012, the US town of Tubac held
an exhibition of new paintings by the
artist Trudi Fletcher. This collection
represented an exciting new direction in
her artistic style. Nothing unusual in that,
you might think. But Fletcher was 100
years old at the time.
Living to be 100 is still unusual, and
something to be celebrated and
discussed. In Japan, centenarians
receive a silver cup and a certificate
from the prime minister. In the US, it's a
letter from the president. But perhaps
the luckiest of all 100-year olds are those
the 'Centenarian's Bounty' – the sum of
2,540 euros!
However, the number of people reaching
this great age is increasing very quickly,
especially in rich countries, where good
diet and medical care are available. So,
if 100 becomes a normal, average life
length, will we soon start seeing people
reach 120 or even 150? Life expectancy
has increased steadily for the last 165
years, so there seems to be no reason
why this would not be possible. There
are currently thought to be around 70
'supercentenarians' – people over 110 –
in the world, mostly in the US and Japan.
Japan is certainly a good place to live if
you want to reach 100. With an average
of 84.6, according to a United Nations
report, the only place with a higher life
expectancy is the tiny Mediterranean state
of Monaco, where citizens can expect to
live to 86.5. The US, on the other hand,
only makes it to 35th on the list, with an
average of 79.8, proving that money can't • Eat something red. Red food such as
necessarily buy you a long life.
The question is, even if you could
buy yourself 100 years on this planet,
would you really want to? Can you be
over 100 and still have fun? Well, take
Marge Jetton, riding an exercise bike
and lifting weights at 104, or Irving Kahn, much point in living to be 100!
They and people like Trudi Fletcher are
certainly a good advert for a long and
active life.
So how do they do it?
We all know that we should take more
exercise, give up smoking, and eat a
healthy diet, but here are some more
unusual tips:
• Read a magazine upside down. Many
experts think that giving our brains a
challenge helps to keep them healthy.
• Have the right parents! The genes that
are passed to us from our parents have
a lot to do with how healthy we are.
• Tell the truth. Research has shown that
lying causes stress, which is bad for us.
• Keep your teeth clean – amazingly, bad
teeth can lead to heart disease, and
regular brushing could give you more
than six extra years!
• Be a woman. Many more women than
men live to 100. However, the gap is
now closing quite fast.
peppers, beetroot and red grapes are
full of health-giving substances.
Most of all, though, researchers have
found that centenarians generally have
a positive, optimistic view of life. After all,
if you don't have that, there's really not

1 Read the text quickly. What ages are mentioned in the article for these people?
1 Trudi Fletcher 2 Marge Jetton 3 Irving Kahn

2 Read the text again and choose the correct words to complete the sentences.
1 It is common / not common / usual to live to 100.
2 Irish people who live to 100 get silver / money / a card.
3 It is impossible / certain / likely that people will live to 150 in the future.
4 Japan has the highest / second highest / 35th highest life expectancy in the world.
5 Centenarians like Marge Jetton and Irving Kahn show that life can be boring / lonely / enjoyable for very old people.
6 It's good for your brain to be turned upside down / exercised / rested.
7 The health of your parents doesn't have much / has no / has a big effect on your own health.
8 Nowadays, more / fewer / the same number of men are living to 100 than in the past.

3 Match the sentence halves.

1 If something represents a new direction,
2 If something is to be celebrated,
3 If someone lives to a great age,
4 Your life expectancy is
5 If someone is a good advert for something,
6 If a gap is closing,
A we are glad about it and want to do something to make the occasion special.
B the age you will probably live to.
C it is very different from what happened before.
D they show how good or enjoyable it can be.
E the difference between two things is becoming smaller.
F he or she lives for many, many years.

Skills Boost B1+ READING 3 © Richmond 2014 Photocopiable