More than a third of the babies born this year could receive a 100th birthday message from whoever happens to be on the throne in the second decade of the 22nd century, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It forecasts that 35% of the 826,000 people born in 2012 will live to bee centenarians.
But a long life is not unalloyed good news. David Sinclair, head of policy and research at the International Longevity Centre UK, warned that for many the future may mean social isolation(隔离）as they live longer than friends and members of their families.
It is of course good news that so many more people are living longer, he said, but there is a big 'but1. We will be older, but in worse health, and at high risk of living alone. The other problem is that we are very poor at forward planning. We deal with the problems that are under our noses, but even problems two or three years away seem quite distant enough to put off.When you're talking about forecasts for a time half a century away and more, I see no evidence that we are putting in place the measures to deal with it.
This year there will be 14,500 centenarians in the UK, a number which is expected to increase to 110,000 in 2035.
Women have higher life expectancies than men at every age: the likelihood of a girl born this year reaching her century is estimated to be 39%; for boys the figure is 32%.
The estimated number of female centenarians has risen from 500 in 1961 to more than 10,000 in 2010，a figure which is projected to reach 71,000 by 2035 and 276,000 by 2060.
Men are also living far longer, although their numbers are far fewer. There were an estimated 92 male centenarians in 1961 and just below 2,000 in 2010.
【小题1】The underlined word centenarians probably means people who .A．are born this yearB．live longer than their friendsC．are in poor healthD．are a hundred or more years old【小题2】From what David Sinclair said, we can learn .A．he doesn't believe so many people are living longerB．the older we are, the more likely we are to live alone and in poor healthC．the people who are good at forward planning are likely to live longerD．too distant planning is not always necessary for most of us【小题3】Which of the following statement is true?A．About 289，100 people born in 2012 will live to 100.B．More men will reach their century than women in the future.C．The number of the female centenarians was 1,000 in 1970sD．More than 600 people reached their century in 1961.【小题4】What does this passage mainly talk about?A．A long life is not always good news.B．A long life also means social and physical isolationC．In the future, more people will live to 100 in the UK.D．It is good to live to 100.D
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(答案→)D
解析：世界上长寿的百岁老人越来越多。长寿并不是不让人恼火的事。因为我们比家人和朋友长寿，这可能导致与社会隔离，更孤单。因为年老身体状况会更差。而我们对未来的计划准备得还不够充分。平均女性比男性更长寿。但是男性长寿的人数比以前也增加了。
【小题1】词意猜测题。文章第一段的意思：根据ONS发表的数字判断：今年出生的三分之一的婴儿可能会收到来自谁将成为二十二世纪第二个十年里的百岁老人的百岁祝贺信息。2012年出生的826,000中有35%的人将成为世纪老人。再结合该单词的词根centen 推测，centenarians 为世纪老人。故选D。
【小题2】推理判断题。根据第二、三段David Sinclair所说的话判断：他认为长寿不一定是好消息。因为年龄越大身体状况越差，比家人和朋友活得长就意味着孤独与社会隔绝。其他选项和他的观点不符。故最佳选B。
【小题3】细节判断题。最后一段的意思：女性比男性长寿，所以B错；C想在文中没提；根据文章倒数第二段的1961年有500多人到百岁判断，D错；根据第一段最后一句话计算：826,000×35% =289，100，故选A。
【小题4】大意归纳题。根据第一段和后面的介绍判断，文章要告诉读者一个事实：美国有越来越多的人将成为世纪老人。这个消息的好与坏是个别人对这一事实的分析评价，属于个人观点，偏离主题。故选C。