How long will a baby born today live? 100 years? 120 years? Scientists are studying genes that could mean long life for us.
Recently, there are already so many healthy elderly people that there’s a new term for them: the wellderly.
These are people over 80 who have no diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes.
There have been many studies of communities where a healthy old age is typical. These include places like Calabria in Italy and the island of Okinawa in Japan. The small village of Molochio in Calabria has about 2,000 inhabitants. And of these, there are at least eight centenarians. When researchers ask people like this the secret of their long life, the answer is almost always to do with diet: ‘I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.’ ‘No smoking, no drinking.’
While in the past, scientists looked at diet and lifestyle as an explanation for longevity, these days they are investigating genetics. One researcher, Eric Topol, says, ‘There must be genes that explain why these individuals are protected from the aging process.’
The new research looks at groups of people who have a genetic connection. For example, in one area of Ecuador, there are a number of people with the same genetic condition. It’s called Laron syndrome, which means that they don’t grow to more than about one metre, but it seems to give them protection against cancer and diabetes. As a result, they live longer than other people in their families.
Back in Calabria, scientists are trying to work out how much of the longevity is due to genetics and to environment. By checking public records since the 19th century and reconstructing the family trees of 202 nonagenarians and centenarians, researchers concluded that there were genetic factors involved. And they seemed to benefit the men more than the women – an astounding result because generally in Europe, there are five times more women centenarians than men.
So what really makes people live longer? It seems likely that it is an interaction of genes, the environment and probably a third factor – luck.
(Adapted from https://www.ngllife.com/long-and-healthy-life-0)

In an educational context, the term 'learner independence' has gained increasing importance in recent years. It is of particular (10) ______ to language learning and commonly refers to the way students confidently control and organise their own language learning process. While (11) ______ people seem to have an almost instinctive flaw for languages, others have to rely on strategies to maximise their skills and learn a foreign language more effectively.
The main thing to remember is that becoming a truly independent learner ultimately depends above all on taking responsibility for your own learning and being prepared to take every opportunity available to you to learn. You also increase your chances of (12) ______ by learning according to your own needs and interests, using all available resources. Research shows that learners (13) ______ adopt this approach will undoubtedly manage to broaden their language abilities considerably and, (14) ______, are more likely to achieve their objectives in the longer term.
(Adapted from Complete Advanced by Laura Mathews and Barbara Thoma)

Arriving in Freiburg by train, you might notice the solar panelled towers of the station building. These solar panels are everywhere; on the football stadium, hotels, the conference centre, and even a factory. With 1,800 hours of sunshine per year, solar power is the main source of energy in Freiburg, making it one of the most ecologically friendly cities in the world. In fact, some say that Freiburg generates nearly as much solar power as the whole of the UK.
In Freiburg it all began in the 1970s, when local people were strongly against plans for a nuclear power station nearby. The historic centre has been car-free since 1973, with over 400 km of cycle paths! However, it is the modern residential districts on the outskirts which most interest environmentalists. In the area called Rieselfeld, residents live in small blocks of south-facing flats called ‘passive houses’. The design of these houses keeps them warm or cool, without needing central heating or air conditioning at all. The houses cost around 10% more to build, but over many years they cut energy bills and energy loss by 90%. Vauban is another quiet area, with solar panels everywhere and a large number of passive houses. It’s a safe, clean area. It’s busy, but with people and bicycles instead of vehicles. Officially, only one person in four has a car and it costs around 18,000 euros a year to keep one outside town, in a 'solar-garage'.
In Freiburg, being green is part of the economy, and local people buy shares in different green projects, for example the solar football stadium. Not surprisingly, this remarkable eco-city has won many awards and other German cities are now competing to become more eco-friendly. So why aren't more countries around the world doing the same?
(Adapted from Gateway by Annie Cornford and Frances Watkins)