U. S. Life Expectancy Hits New High
Life expectancy rates in the United States are at an all-time high, with people born in 2005 projected to live for nearly 78 years, a new federal study finds.
The finding reflects a continuing trend of increasing life expectancy that began in 1955, when the average American lived to be 69.6 years old. By 1995, life expectancy was 75.8 years, and by2005, it had risen to 77.9 years, according to the report released Wednesday.
"This is good news." said report co-author Donna Hoyert, a health scientist at the National Center for Health Statistics. "It's even better news that it is a continuation of trends, so it is a long period of continuing improvement."
Despite the upward trend, the United States still has a lower life expectancy than some 40 other countries, according to the U. S. Census (人口普查)Bureau. The country with the longest life expectancy is Andorra at 83.5 years, followed by Japan, Macau, San Marino and Singapore.
Much of the increase owes to declining death rates from the three leading causes of death in the country-heart disease, cancer and stroke.
In addition, in 2005, the U. S. death rate dropped to an all-time low of less than- 800 deaths per100,000.
Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine, said, "News that life expectancy is increasing is, of course, good. But the evidence we have suggests that there is more chronic disease than ever in the U. S."
Adding years to life is a good thing, Katz said. "But adding vital life to years is at least equally important. If we care about living well, and not just longer, we still have our work cutout for us." he said.
6. Since 1955, life expectancy rates in the U. S. have ___________.
A. moved up and down
B. been declining
G. remained steady
D. been on the rise
7. Compared with the country with the longest life expectancy, the U. S. is__________.
A. nearly 3 years behind
B. nearly 4 years behind
C. nearly 6 years behind
D. nearly 8 years behind
8. The increase in the U. S. life expectancy is mostly due to __________.
A. declining death rates from heart disease, cancer and stroke
B. increasing life expectancy rates in some other countries
C. a rise in the rate of chronic disease
D. a declining birth rate
9. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. The U. S. life expectancy is at an all-time high.
B. The U. S. death rate was at an all-time low in 2005.
C. Chronic disease appears to be at an all-time high in the U. S.
D. The annual death rate in the U. S. is over 800 deaths per 100,000.
10. The expression "adding vital life to years" in the last paragraph means__________.
A. living longer
B. living well
C. living longer and well
D. living at any cost
答案及解析:
6.D。細節(jié)題。題干:自1955年以來,美國的預期壽命__________。利用題干中的時間數(shù)字可以定位到短文的頭兩段,即自從1955年起,美國人均預期壽命不斷增加這一趨勢一直
在延續(xù)。
7. C。細節(jié)題。題干:與壽命最長的國家相比,美國__________。利用題目順序與段落順序一致的原則和題干關鍵詞可以定位到短文的第四段,即預期壽命最長的國家是安哥拉,為83.5歲,而美國只有78歲,因此相差大約6歲。
8. A。細節(jié)題。題干:美國人壽命增加主要是因為__________。利用題目順序與段落順序一致的原則和題干關鍵詞可以定位到短文的第五段,即美國預期壽命的增加很大程度上歸功于三大主要疾病——心臟病、癌癥和中風——導致的死亡率下降。
9.D。細節(jié)題。題干:下列那一項是不對的?利用題目順序與段落順序一致的原則和選項關鍵詞可以定位到短文的第六段,即在2005年,美國的死亡率降至有史以來最低水平,每10萬人中只有不到800人死去。短文并沒有說美國的年死亡率為每10萬人超過800人。
10.B。詞匯題。題干:短語“adding vital life toyears”的意思是__________。這個短語指的是“生活質量的提高”。