Supercentenarians: Supercentenarians: What Can We Learn From The Oldest People in The World?

2 Supercentenarians 3
a Read the article again. Match the words in

bold with these meanings.
1 old word for a record player
1 Who is the oldest person you know? What do 2 a great deal
you know about their life and character? 3 a sudden illness which affects the brain and can
cause death or paralysis
2 a Do you agree with the following statements? 4 not affected by something
1 There’s no point in worrying about things you 5 people who are over 100
can’t change. 6 long life
2 You should stop eating before you are full. 7 missing, not taking part in
3 A few cigarettes a day can help deal with stress. 8 one of several things that cause or influence
4 People who deal well with stress live longer. something
5 People should work for as long as they can.
6 Olive oil rubbed into the skin keeps you looking Which three adjectives best describe Jeanne
b
younger. Calment or Walter Breuning?
7 Men tend to live longer than women.
serious adventurous relaxed
disciplined
independent anxious physically fit conscientious
Which statements in 2a are true according to
b
people in the text? Whose opinions are they?
the writer Jeanne Calment Jean-Marie Robine
4 What can you learn from the people in the
article? Whose lifestyle appeals to you most?
Walter Breuning Tom Perls
extra reading:
Supercentenarians: what can we learn two meals a day, skipping supper and
Photocopiable
limiting himself to a big breakfast of

from the oldest people in the world? eggs, toast or pancakes and lunch. “I
We are living longer than ever before. There are said to be think you should push back from the
about 75 people living (mostly women) who are 110 or older. table when you’re still hungry,” he said.
Most of these people – known as supercentenarians – live in He also ate a lot of fruit, drank plenty of
Japan, France, Italy, Britain and the USA. water and a bit of coffee. “I drink a cup
Jeanne Calment (1875–1997) was born and a half of coffee for breakfast and a
before the invention of the light bulb, the cup with lunch,” he said. While he believed that his two-meal-a-
phonograph, the aeroplane and the day diet contributed to his longevity, Breuning also believed in
automobile. She lived to the age of 122 hard work, and continued working until he was 99.
in Arles, France, staying there her entire The Japanese are known for their longevity and, in particular,
life. She ate more than two pounds of the Japanese island of Okinawa, with a population of a million,
chocolate a week, drank port wine and has around 900 centenarians. Older Okinawans eat an
rode a bicycle until she was 100. She average of seven servings of vegetables and fruits daily, grain,
believed her youthful appearance was due to the olive oil she tofu and soya products. In addition, Okinawans tend to eat until
rubbed into her skin and poured on her food. She also smoked they are about 80% full. The Sardinians too are known for their
from the age of 21 and only gave up her two-cigarette-a-day long lives. Their Mediterranean diet, rich in olive oil, fish and red
habit when she was 117; not for health reasons, a doctor said, wine, differs vastly from that of the Japanese, but whatever
but because she could no longer see well enough to light up they’re doing, it’s working.
and hated asking others to do it for her. Jean-Marie Robine, Dr Tom Perls, an ageing specialist, says the secret to a long
one of the authors of a book about Calment, said her great life is now believed to be a mix of genetics and environmental
strength was her attitude to life. “I think she was someone who factors such as diet and exercise. His research recognises
was immune to stress,” he said. “She once said, ‘If you can’t another factor that may protect people from illnesses such as
do anything about it, don’t worry about it.’” heart attacks and stroke: “They seem to manage their stress
Walter Breuning (1896–2011), from Minnesota, USA, lived to better than the rest of us,” he said.
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 © Cambridge University Press 2012 Instructions p207 214

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2 Supercentenarians 3

a Read the article again. Match the words in

limiting himself to a big breakfast of

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