Narrator: The elderly are found across all countries and cultures.

And 1 Are increasing

their numbers (1)……………… as people live longer.
2 9 billion
There are over seven billion people in the world today. And this number
could reach (2)……………… by the year 2050. There will be more elderly in 3 See aging population
the world than ever before. We will (3)…………….. all over the world in the
21st century. 4 Much older much faster

Andrew Zolli: In places like the United States, Europe, even China, we see 5 Live
populations that are getting (4)……………………………
6
Narrator: But how old is old? In the natural world, there are animals that
(5)……………………Some researchers believe that some whales can live for 7
(6)…………………… Giant tortoises are known to live for 150 years or more.
Elephants are known to live for up to 70 years. 8

(7)………………… live longer than most animals. They can live to a maximum 9
of (8)………………. Of course, most humans (9)…………………. But there are
places in the world where people live longer – and healthier – lives. 10

This is Sardinia, an island off the coast of Italy. It has a very high number 11
of (10)…………………………………... These are people who live to see their
100th birthday. One example is Antonio Bruno, who was still healthy and 12
happy at 103 years old.
13
Japan also has a very high number of centenarians. (11)………………………….
may be found on the Japanese island of Okinawa, where people live 14
longer and healthier lives than anywhere else in the world.
15
In some ways, centenarians in Okinawa and Sardinia have similar
lifestyles, even if their cultures are different. They tend to (12)……………… 16
and (13)……………………They have hobbies, like this Okinawan woman who
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(14)…………………. every day. Most centenarians also have (15)………………….,
and they have (16)……………...
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These centenarians seem to be (17)………………. – but how much longer will
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such healthy lifestyles last? Younger people are (18)…………………………, may
be (19)………………… than their parents and grandparents. With increasing
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globalization, these traditional lifestyles (20)………………………..
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People today are turning to (21)……………………… to help live longer lives.
Some scientists have started to treat aging (22)……………. instead of (23)
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…………… of human life.
23
For now, though, there are few centenarians like this 102-year-old in the
world. However, if (24)………………… – eat healthy, stay active, and keep 24
our families close – then we may (25) ………………. in our future. And our
future may be very long indeed.
25