核心词汇 (Target Vocabulary)

掌握百岁老人遗传密码与现代抗衰老核心词汇，点击语音按钮听美音发音，掌握权威释义与真题例句。

C
chronic [ˈkrɒnɪk] adj. B2
Persisting for a long time or constantly recurring.
慢性的；长期的
"Centenarians in isolated valleys rarely suffer from chronic illnesses like diabetes or heart disease."
E
elderly [ˈeldəli] adj. B1
Old or aging, used politely as a descriptor for people.
年长的；上了年纪的
"Elderly villagers in Calabria remain actively engaged in gardening and community life well into their 90s."
E
epidemic [ˌepɪˈdemɪk] n. B2
A widespread occurrence of an infectious disease or undesirable phenomenon.
流行病；泛滥
"Global health agencies battle an unprecedented obesity epidemic driven by ultra-processed foods."
H
homogeneous [ˌhɒməˈdʒiːniəs] adj. C1
Of the same kind; alike, uniform in nature or character.
同种类的；同质的
"Centuries of geographical isolation created a genetically homogeneous population in rural Sardinia."
I
immune [ɪˈmjuːn] adj. B2
Resistant to a particular infection or toxin; exempt from a requirement.
免疫的；免受…影响的
"Individuals carrying the Laron gene appear strikingly immune to cancer and adult-onset diabetes."
L
lifespan [ˈlaɪfspæn] n. B2
The length of time for which a person, animal, or organism lives.
寿命；预期存活期
"Caloric restriction and antioxidant-rich legumes noticeably extended the biological lifespan of test subjects."
M
mandatory [ˈmændətəri] adj. C1
Required by law or rules; compulsory.
强制的；法定的；必修的
"Public health specialists propose mandatory nutritional labels on high-sugar processed goods."
P
passed down [pɑːst daʊn] phr. v. B2
Transferred or inherited from older generations to younger ones.
世代相传；传承；遗传
"Protective longevity alleles were quietly passed down through tightly knit ancestral genealogies."
R
relocate [ˌriːləʊˈkeɪt] v. B2
To move to a new place and establish one's residence or business there.
迁移；搬迁
"Sephardic Jewish families relocated to the remote valleys of southern Ecuador centuries ago."
S
slightly [ˈslaɪtli] adv. A2
To a small degree; not considerably.
略微；微小地
"Even slightly elevated daily physical activity dramatically reduces cardiovascular mortality."
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Living Longer

从意大利卡拉布里亚到厄瓜多尔偏远山谷：解密基因、环境与长寿的终极因果链

Paragraph A
Scientists have begun looking at the genes of small, isolated communities to better understand the illnesses of old age and how they might be avoided. In Italy, Ecuador and the United States, studies are revealing information related to genes that may one day help everyone reach their old age in good health. Taste for life. On a cool January morning in 2013, Giuseppe Pasorino drove on a mountain road through orange trees into Calabria in the far south of Italy. Pasorino, a geneticist at the University of Calabria, was headed for the small village of Malokio, a remote town with four centenarians and four 99-year-olds among its 2,000 inhabitants. Soon after, he found 106-year-old Salvador Carruso in his home. Carruso told the researcher that he was in good health and his memory seemed excellent. He recalled the death of his father in 1913 when Salvador was a schoolboy. How his mother and brother had nearly died during the great flu epidemic of 1918 to 1919.
Paragraph B
And, how he'd been dismissed from the army in 1925 after accidentally falling and breaking his leg into places. When asked about the reasons for his long life, the centenarians smiled and said in Italian, no drinking, no smoking, no women. He added that he'd eaten mostly figs and beans while growing up and hardly ever any red meat. Pasorino heard much the same from 103-year-old Domenical Romeo, who described his diet as a little bit, but of everything. Pasorino is working to understand the reasons that Calabrians live such long lives. In the dim cool hallway outside his university office, stand several freezers full of blood taken from elderly Calabrians. The DNA from this blood has revealed that people who live into their 90s and beyond may have such long lives owing to a gene that affects their sense of taste. This gene gives people a taste for bitter foods, like broccoli and field greens, vegetables that promote cellular health and aid digestion.
Paragraph C
Size matters. The quest to understand more about genetic influences on aging has brought scientific attention to people like Nicholas Anniosko, known as Paharito, little bird in Spanish. Nicholas, 17, said he became aware of the reason for his nickname at age 6 when he looked around at his classmates. I realized that I was going to be smaller than them. Because of a single gene, Nicholas looks like an eight-year-old and is 115 cm tall. That gene causes a condition called La Ronsandrome. It is due to this rare condition that he is so small. Nicholas is one of Ecuador's La Ronsandrome people, descendants of Europeans who traveled to Ecuador in the 16th century.
Paragraph D
These travelers carried a gene that sometimes causes short stature. The same genetic mutation has been discovered in other places where these Europeans relocated. In Ecuador, the La Ronsandrome people settled in small towns and villages scattered across the countryside. Because of a lack of roads, phones, and electricity, the area remained isolated until the 1980s. Over the centuries, the genetic mutation was passed down through the generations. In an interview, little bird and some friends, all with La Ronsandrome, talked about their lives. Victor Rivera, now 23, was the subject of a famous photograph shown at many scientific meetings taken when he was four. He was so small that the ear of corn he was holding was slightly larger than his arm.
Paragraph E
Luis Sanchez, an elder among the group, laughed along with his friends when someone asked if they knew the latest scientific reports about their condition. We are laughing, he explained, because we know we are immune to cancer and diabetes. Indeed, he is partly right. Researchers have found that people with La Ronsandrome have a good chance of living a long life. A 2006 study revealed that no one from a group of people with La Ronsandrome developed diabetes and only one person developed cancer. In a control group of people without La Ronsandrome, 5% developed diabetes and 20% died of cancer. The same gene that causes short stature may also protect people with La Ronsandrome from disease. The gene hunt.
Paragraph F
Protective genes have also attracted the attention of researchers in the United States. In one study of an isolated homogenous population, university of Hawaii researchers have found a gene related to long life in Japanese American men on the island of a Wahoo. In yet another study in La Jolla, California, physician, Eric Topel and colleagues are searching through the DNA of about a thousand people they call The Wellerly. People over the age of 80 who have no chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes, and have never taken prescription drugs. There must be modifying genes that explain why these individuals are protected from the deleterious genes that affect the aging process. Topel says The Hunt is on. But genes alone are unlikely to explain all the secrets of living to 100.
Paragraph G
As geneticist Pasorino explains, it's not that there are good genes and bad genes. It's certain genes at certain times, and in the end genes are probably responsible for only 25% of living a long and healthy life. It's the environment too, but that doesn't explain all of it either, and don't forget chance. This brought to mind Salvador Caruso, still going strong at 106 years old. Because he broke his leg 88 years ago, it wasn't mandatory for him to go to Russia with the other soldiers and fight in the war. Not a single one of them came back, he said. It's another reminder that while genes may be an important factor in living longer, a little luck doesn't hurt.

课文配套练习 (Reading Exercises)

严格对应教材 Page 170–175 官方练习：Before You Read、Reading Comprehension 及因果关系信号词辨析。

1.
Definitions (p.170) a part of a cell’s DNA
2.
Definitions (p.170) people who live to be 100 years old or older
3.
Definitions (p.170) a disease in which a person has too much sugar in their blood
4.
Predicting (p.170) According to geneticist Giuseppe Passarino, what percentage of life expectancy depends on genes?
5.
Gist (p.174) What is the reading mainly about?
6.
Detail (Para D, p.174) What does the gene that Passarino discovered in older Calabrians do?
7.
Detail (p.174) According to the writer, what is true for both the people of Molochio and the Laron people of Ecuador?
8.
Detail (Para F, p.174) What is NOT true about the Laron people?
9.
Inference (Paras J–K, p.174) Which statement would Giuseppe Passarino probably agree with the most?
10.
Coherence (Para D, p.174) [P]eople who live into their 90s … may have such long lives owing to a gene that affects ______ sense of taste.
11.
Coherence (Para G, p.174) “We know we are immune to cancer and diabetes.” ______, he is partly right.
12.
Coherence (Para J, p.174) But genes alone are unlikely to explain all secrets of living to 100. ______ geneticist Passarino explains...
13.
Cause and Effect Signal (Para C, p.175) Signal words for Caruso's diet: 'When asked about ______ for his long life, he said he avoided drinking...'
14.
Cause and Effect Signal (Para D, p.175) Signal words for Calabrians' taste gene: '...may have such long lives ______ a gene that affects their taste...'
15.
Cause and Effect Signal (Para E, p.175) Signal words for Nicolas Añazco's height: '...short stature ______ a gene that causes Laron syndrome.'
16.
Cause and Effect Signal (Para F, p.175) Signal words for Laron isolation: '...settled in remote areas ______ a lack of roads, phones, and electricity.'
17.
Cause and Effect Signal (Para G, p.175) Signal words for Luis Sanchez's happiness: '...he is happy ______ he knows he is immune to cancer and diabetes.'

Critical Thinking · Interviewing Centenarians
If interviewing a panel of 100-year-old citizens, what essential lifestyle and psychological questions would you ask to unlock their secrets of long life?