Skills

Levels

Life Expectancy





Excerpt

Declines in death rates from most major causes — including heart disease and cancer — have
pushed Americans' life expectancy to a record 77.6 years. Women are still living longer than men,
but the gap is narrowing.

Women now have a life expectancy of 80.1 years, 5.3 more than men. That's down from 5.4 years
in 2002 and continues a steady decline from a peak difference of 7.8 years in 1979, the National
Center for Health Statistics said Monday in its annual mortality report.

This is an excerpt. For full article, click here.


Vocabulary

Try to guess what these words mean from reading the article.
If you need help, check out OneLook Dictionary Search.

New words you will see in this article:

baby boomer(s)
chronic
crisis
decline(s)
expectancy
flu
gap
hypertension
kidney
mortality
peak
pneumonia
respiratory
sociology
speculation
statistic(ally)
suicide



Talking Points

With your tutor, conversation partners, or classmates, you may wish to discuss the following:

1. What is the life expectancy rate in your country? For men / women?

2. As people live longer, what difficulties do they face?

3. What challenges must society face when dealing with a growing elderly population?

4. Who has the primary responsibility to care for senior citizens?

5. Who will take care of your parents (or grandparents) when they can no longer care for themselves?

For Additional Practice

Pretend you are over 80 years old. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages
of living alone (in contrast to living with your children or in a nursing home).
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Last updated: 15 February, 2010 02:43:16
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