In the Caucasus region（高加索地區(qū)）, nearly 50 out of every 100,000 people live to celebrate their 100^th birthday, and many don’t stop at 100! By comparison, in America only 3 people in 100,000 reach 100. But these Caucasus people aren’t alone. The Pakistani Hunzas, who live high in the Himalaya Mountains, and the Vilcabambans of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador seem to share the secret of long life too.
　　These peoples remain healthy in body and spirit despite the passage of time. While many older persons in industrial societies become weak and ill in their 60s and 70s, some Caucasus people aged 110-140, work in the fields beside their great-great-grandchildren. Even the idea of aging is foreign to them. When asked, “At what age does youth end?” most of these old people had no answer. Several replied, “Well, perhaps at age 80.” The very youngest estimate was age 60.
　　What accounts for this ability to survive (live) to such old age, and to survive so well? First of all, hard physical work is a way of life for all of these long-lived peoples. They began their long days of physical labor as children and never seem to stop. For example, Mr. Rustam is 142 years of age. He remembers his life experience: the Crimean War of 1854; the Turkish War of 1878; the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. His wife is 116 years old. They have been married for 90 years. Mr. Rustam has no plan of retiring from his life as a farmer. “Why? What else would I do?” he asks. Oh, he’s slowed down a bit. Now he might quit (stop working) for the day after 6 hours in the field instead of 10.
　　All these people get healthful rewards from the environment in which they work. They all come from mountainous regions. They live and work at elevations（海拔）of 5,000 to 12, 000 feet(1,660 to 4,000meters) above sea level. The air has less oxygen and is pollution-free. This reduced oxygen environment makes the heart and blood vessel（血管）system stronger.
　　Another factor（因素）that may lead to the good health of these people is their isolation. To a great extent, they are separated from the pressure（壓力）and worries of industrial society.
　　Inherited（遺傳的） factors also play some role. Most of the longest-lived peoples had parents and grandparents who also reached very old age. Good family genes may, therefore, be one factor in living longer.
　　Finally, although these three groups don’t eat exactly the same foods, their diets are similar. All of them eat little animal meat. Their diets are full of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, cheese and milk. They never eat more food than their bodies need.
　　It is clear that isolation from urban pressure and pollution, clean mountain air, daily hard work, moderate diets, good genes, and a youthful approach to life all lead to the health and remarkable long life of all these people.
【小題1】 What is the main idea of this article?

The world has many beautiful sounds. We can hear the songs of birds and the laugh of people. We can listen to cool music and news reports. And it’s all because of our ears! They bring us a world of sounds.
But some people can’t hear any sound at all. Some are born deaf. Others can hear well in their childhood, nut too many loud sounds hurt their ears later on.
Many people in China can’t hear ordinary sounds clearly. Lots of them are children. Most of them are born with good hearing. But six children of every 1,000 have hearing problems when they are born. And if a children has hearing problems, he or she usually will also have some learning problems at school.
A lot of things can cause fearing problems, like, too much earwax is not good for our hearing. And noise louder than 85 decibels (分貝) can hurt our ears and make us lose our hearing for a short time or even for ever.
Hearing is important for all of us. So we should do our best to give our ears special care. Don’t forget to do the following:
◎ Try to stay away from places with too much noise. If you have to go, wear earplugs.
◎ When swimming, remember to put earplugs into your ears to stop water from getting in.
◎ Never put anything sharp into your ears. If you think you have too much earwax, ask your parents to help you clean it out.
Keep these things in mind. Then you won’t be saying “WHAT? WHAT?” when you are older.
【小題1】What does the underlined word “earwax” mean in the passage?

The world has many beautiful sounds. We can hear the songs of birds and the laugh of people. We can listen to cool music and news reports. And it’s all because of our ears! They bring us a world of sounds.

But some people can’t hear any sound at all. Some are born deaf. Others can hear well in their childhood, nut too many loud sounds hurt their ears later on.

Many people in China can’t hear ordinary sounds clearly. Lots of them are children. Most of them are born with good hearing. But six children of every 1,000 have hearing problems when they are born. And if a children has hearing problems, he or she usually will also have some learning problems at school.

A lot of things can cause fearing problems, like, too much earwax is not good for our hearing. And noise louder than 85 decibels (分貝) can hurt our ears and make us lose our hearing for a short time or even for ever.

Hearing is important for all of us. So we should do our best to give our ears special care. Don’t forget to do the following:

◎ Try to stay away from places with too much noise. If you have to go, wear earplugs.

◎ When swimming, remember to put earplugs into your ears to stop water from getting in.

◎ Never put anything sharp into your ears. If you think you have too much earwax, ask your parents to help you clean it out.

Keep these things in mind. Then you won’t be saying “WHAT? WHAT?” when you are older.

1.What does the underlined word “earwax” mean in the passage?

A．耳膜             B．耳鳴             C．耳垢             D．耳疾

2.Which of the following is NOT talked by the writer?

A．Illness and hearing problems.              B．people with hearing problems.

C．Ways to protect our ears.                 D．Danger of loud noise.

3.____________ is/are bad for our ears.

A．A little earwax      B．Earplugs           C．All noise          D．Noise louder than 85 decibels

4.The underlined sentence means ___________.

A．When you get older, you know it’s not polite to ask “What?”.

B．When you get older, you still have good hearing.

C．When you get older, you won’t ask questions.

D．When you get older, you will have fewer questions.