Background introduction: longevity

The word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography. However, the term longevity is sometimes meant to refer only to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas life expectancy is always defined statistically as the average number of years remaining at a given age. For example, a population's life expectancy at birth is the same as the average age at death for all people born in the same year (in the case of cohorts). Longevity is best thought of as a term for general audiences meaning 'typical length of life' and specific statistical definitions should be clarified when necessary.

Evidence-based studies indicate that longevity is based on two major factors, genetics and lifestyle choices. 

Para. 1

Q: What is the function of Para.1?

The first paragraph is the lead-in of this article. It explains the title - ‘The secrets of a very long life’. And this also is a preparation of the following paragraphs.

public health experts:大众健康专家

longevity: “long life or long duration of life”. The suffix -ity is usually put after an adjective to form a noun. More examples are like reality, activity, humidity, possibility.

 

Para. 2

Q: What are the reasons for the good health in Hunza?
  Hunza is in the Himalayan Mountains of Asia. The people there are always have a longer life. That is because they work with animals in the field, where the environment is healthy and with clean air and water. Besides, their diets are high in vitamins and nutrition but low in fat, cholesterol, sugar, and chemicals.

in good physical health: （保持）健康的身体状态。 The preposition “in” can be used to describe a state. More examples are in sleep, in a daze.  

benefit: It is a noun in the passage, which means “something that gives you advantages or improves your life in some way”. Some common phrases are have the benefit of , for sb’s benefit. It can be a verb meaning “to bring advantages to someone or improve their lives”.

healthful: benificial to good health of body or mind; a healthful climate, a healthful environment, healthful nutrition, healthful sleep. It has the same meaning with healthy as in a healthy diet.

Vitamins：维他命

Cholesterol:胆固醇

chemicals: It is used as a noun in the passage, which means “a substance used in  

chemistry or produced by chemistry”.
It can also be a noun meaning “related to chemics or used in chemistry” as in chemical reaction andchemical weapon.

 

Para. 3

Q: What is the physical status of the people in the Caucasus Mountains in Russia?

The people there are usually live a longer life and live very well. They almost never get ill and when they die, they have not only their own teeth but also a full head of hair, and good eyesight. Some people could live until 168 years old.

long-lived: existing for a long time. long-lasting friendship

This is a compound word, consisting of an adjective and the past participle of a verb hyphenated in-betwwen. This is one of the many compounding methods of word formation in English. Words like white-washed (粉刷的) and ready-made（现成的） belong to the same type. They function as adjectives.

Birth records: 出生记录

 

Para. 4

Q: What are the reasons why there is little disease in Vilcabamba, Ecuador?

Vilcabamba, Ecuador is like Hunza and the Caucasus, far away from the city. One reason for the good health is the clean, beautiful environment: The temperature is about 70° Fahrenheit all year long; the wind always comes from the same direction; and the region is rich in flowers, fruits, vegetables, and wildlife.

70° Fahrenheit： Farenheit is the other measurement ot temperature besides Celsius. A Celsius is about 33.8 Farenheit. So 70° Fahrenheit is about 21° Celsius.

wildlife: all living things (except people)that grow in natural conditions. E.g. Chemicals could kill all the wildlife

 

Para. 5 - Para.6

Q: What are the differences of the diets of the inhabitants in the three regions?

The people in Hunza eat mainly raw vegetables, fruit, and meat and drink the local red wine daily. In Vilcabamba, people eat a small amount of meat each week, but the diet consists largely of grain, corn, beans, potatoes, and fruit. However the people in Ecuador, even the very old, consume a lot of coffee, drink large amount of alcohol, and smoke forty to sixty cigarettes in one day.

a small amount of meat: 少量的肉  a small/large amount of water. Like a great/good deal of, the phrase which indicates the quantity of something is used to describe uncountable matter.

consists largely of: 主要包括  mainly consists of

daily: It is used as an adverb in the passage meaning “without missing a day.”

It is also an adjective meaning “occurring every day or measured by the day quota”; a daily newspaper, average daily wage. The word can also be a noun meaning a daily newapaper as in China Daily. Words of the similar uses are weekly, monthly, and yearly.  consume: As a verb in the passage, it means “eat or drink immoderately”.

 

Para.7 - Para.8

Q: What are the similarities of these diets?

The fruits and vegetables that the inhabitants of the three areas eat are all natural; that is, they contain no chemicals; and the people consume fewer calories than people do in other parts of the world. That is because of the environment, the food, the daily work. Their lives are quiet. And the most important secrets of longevity are exercise and freedom from worry.

calorie: It is also spelled as calory. A calorie is a unit of heat equal to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree at one atmosphere pressure. It is used by nutritionists to characterize the energy-producing potential in food. The phrase count your calories means “to control your weight”.

consume fewer calories: since calorie is used to characterize the energy-producing potential in food, consume fewer calorie means to use less energy. consume: As a verb in the passage, it means “eat or drink immoderately”.

have more in common than calories: The lives of the inhabitants in the three regions have some other similarities besides the fact that they consume fewer calories(less energy)than the city residents,

consequently: as a result.

freedom from worry: 无忧无虑