内江市2014高考英语阅读理解、作文训练（四）及答案.docVIP

内江市2014高考英语阅读理解、作文训练（4）及答案 A段 How Long Can People Live? She took up skating at age 85, made her first movie appearance at age 114, and held a concert in the neighborhood on her 121st birthday. When it comes to long life. Jeanne Calment is the worlds recordholder. She lived to the ripe old age of 122. So is 122 the upper limit to the human life span(寿命)? If scientists come up with some sort of pill or diet that would slow aging, could we possibly make it to 150——or beyond? Researchers dont entirely agree on the answers. Calment lived to 122, so it wouldnt surprise me if someone alive today reaches 130 or 135, says Jerry Shay at the University of Texas. Steve Austad at the University of Texas agrees. People can live much longer than we think, he says. Experts used to say that humans couldnt live past 110. When Calment blewpast that age, they raised the number to 120. So why cant we go higher? The trouble with guessing how old people can live to be is that its all just guessing. Anyone can make up a number, says Rich Miller at the University of Michigan. Usually the scientist who picks the highest number gets his name in Time magazine. Wont new anti-aging techniques keep us alive for centu ries? Any cure, says Miller, for aging would probably keep most of us kicking until about 120. Researchers are working on treatments that lengthen the life span of mice by 50 percent at most. So, if the average human life span is about 80 years, says Miller, adding another 50 percent would get you to 120. So what can we conclude from this little disagreement a mong the researchers? That life span is flexible (有弹性的) but there is a limit, says George Martin of the University of says. But a flys never going to live 150 years. Of course, if you became a new species(物种) , one that ages at a slower speed, that would be a different story, he adds. Does Martin really believe that humans could evolve (进化) their way to longer life? its prett