Passage Six

Questions 26-30 are based on the following passage.

     There are several places in the world that are famous for people who live a very long time. These places are usually in mountainous areas, far away from modern cities. Doctors, scientists and public health experts often travel to these regions to solve the mystery of a long, healthy life. The experts hope to bring to the modern world the secrets of longevity.

     Hunza is high in the Himalayan Mountains of Asia. There, many people over one hundred years of age are still in good physical health. Men of ninety are new fathers, and women of fifty still have babies.

     People in the Caucasus Mountains are also famous for their longevity. In this area, there are amazing examples of very long-lived people. Although birth records are not usually available, a woman called Tsurba probably lived until age 160; a man called Shirali may have lived until age 168.His widow was 120 years old. In general, the people not only live a long time, but they also live well. They are almost never sick, and when they die, they have not only their own teeth but also a full head of hair and good eyesight.

     Vilcabamba, Ecuador, is another area famous for the longevity of its people. This region—like Hunza and the Caucasus—is also in high mountains, far away from cities. In Vilcabamba, too, there is very little serious disease. One reason for the good health of the people might be the clean, beautiful environment. The temperature is about 70° Fahrenheit all year long; the wind always comes from the same direction; and the region is rich in flowers, fruit, vegetables and wildlife.

     In some ways, the diets of the people in the three regions are quite different. Hunzukuts eat mainly raw vegetables, fruit and chapattis—a kind of pancake; they eat meat only a few times a year. The Caucasian diet consists mainly of milk, cheese, vegetables, fruit and meat; most people there drink the local red wine daily. In Vilcabamba, people eat a small amount of meat each week, but the diet consists largely of grain, corn, beans, potatoes and fruit.

     Experts found one surprising fact in the mountains of Ecuador: most people there, even the very old, drink a lot of coffee, large amounts of alcohol, and smoke forty to sixty cigarettes daily!

     However, the diets are similar in two general ways: (1) the fruits and vegetables that the people of the three areas eat are all natural; that is, they contain no chemicals; and (2) the people take in fewer calories than people do in other parts of the world. A typical North American takes in an average of 3,300 calories every day; a typical inhabitant of these mountainous areas, between 1,700 and 2,000 calories.

     Inhabitants in the three regions have more in common than calories, natural food, their mountains and their distance from modern cities. Because these people live in the countryside and are mostly farmers, their lives are physically hard. Thus, they do not need to go to health clubs because they get a lot of exercises in their daily work. In addition, although their lives are hard, the people do not seem to have the worries of city people. Their lives are quiet. So, some experts believe that physical exercise and freedom from worry “might be the two most important secrets of longevity.