how long will you live ?

How long will you live ?Page 1F.D.

The following life-expectancy quiz is one of many health questionnaires now used by doctors, medical centers and insurance groups. While quizzes can hardly be precise, they do give a more realistic picture of probable longevity than old-fashioned actuarial tables which relied almost exclusively on the subject's heredity patterns and medical history. Current computations try to measure risk in relation to environment, stress and general behavior though statisticians and experts do not always agree on how to weigh the components. A high salary may not be as detrimental to longevity - because of competitive stress - as many quizzes suggest. On the other hand, marriage or living together, usually assumed to increase one's chances of living longer, may actually increase stress, especially for notably embattled partners. National average life spans : 70.5 for white males, 65.3 for all other males, 78.1 for white females, 74 for all other females.

Start with the number 72

Personal facts :

If you are male, subtract 3.

If female, add 4.

If you live in an urban area with a population over 2million, subtract 2.

If you live in a town under 10,000 or on a farm, add 2.

If any grandparent lived to 85, add 2.

If all four grandparents lived to 80, add 6.

If either parent died of a stroke or heart attack before the age of 50, subtract 4.

If any parent, brother or sister under 50 has (or had) cancer or a heart condition, or has had diabetes since childhood, subtract 3.

Do you earn over $50,000 a year ? Subtract 2.

If you finished college, add 1. If you have a graduate or professional degree, add 2 more.

If you are 65 or over and still working, add 3.

If you live with a spouse or friend, add 5. If not, subtract 1 for every ten years alone since age 25.

Running Total 

Life-style status :

If you work behind a desk, subtract 3.

If your work requires regular, heavy physical labor, add3.

If you exercise strenuously (tennis, running, swimming, etc.) five times a week for at least a half-hour, add 4. Two to three times a week, add 2.

Do you sleep more than ten hours each night ? Subtract 4.

Are you intense, aggressive , easily angered ? Subtract3.

Are you easygoing and relaxed ? Add 3.

Are you happy ? Add 1. Unhappy ? Subtract 2.

Have you had a speeding ticket in the past year ? Subtract 1.

Do you smoke more than two packs a day ? Subtract8. One to two packs ? Subtract 6. One-half to one? Subtract 3.

Do you drink the equivalent of 1.5 oz. of liquor a day ? Subtract 1.

Are you overweight by 50 lbs or more ? Subtract 8. By 30 to 50 lbs ? Subtract 4. By 10 to 30 lbs ? Subtract 2.

If you are a man over 40 and have annual checkups, add 2.

If you are a woman and see a gynecologist once a year, add 2.

Running Total 

Age adjustment :

If you are between 30 and 40, add 2.

If you are between 40 and 50, add 3.

If you are between 50 and 70, add 4.

If you are over 70, add 5.

Add up your score to get your life expectancy. 

From the book Lifegain, by Robert F. Allen, Ph D., Appleton Books Inc.

TIME, NOVEMBER 2, 1991

How long will you live ?Page 1F.D.

Letters

How long will you live ?Page 1F.D.

You overlooked one important ingredient in the "How long will you live ?" quiz, namely : if you have one teen-ager, subtract 2. If you have two, subtract 4. If you have three or more, subtract 10.

Derrick A. Anderson
Santa Ana, Calif.

Recent studies show that people who have pets have a better chance for health and longevity than people who don't. Having three dogs, a cat and twelve birds, I took the liberty of adding three points to my score of 98 and reached 101, the time I need to accomplish all the things in life I wish to do.

Evajean Cusack
Plymouth Meeting, Pa.

Four of us communal-living, celibate, nonsmoking, diet-conscious Franciscan friars took TIME's life-expectancy quiz conjointly. It was a puzzlement. Friar No. 1, reasoning he lived with neither spouse nor friend, subtracted 1 point. Friar No. 2, claiming Friar No. 1 as his friend, added 5. Friar No. 3, a happy sort (add 1), was unhappy (subtract 2) that Friar No. 1 was friendless. Friar No. 4, to his consternation, had passed on last year.

(The Rev.) Edgar Holden,
O.F.M. Conv., New York City

TIME, NOVEMBER 23, 1991

How long will you live ?Page 1F.D.

Commentary

Name :Form :Date :

1. Introduce the document

(type of document, title, date, origin, number of parts ... )

2. This document is  British /  American. Find 12 clues to support your point of view.

3. Find 10 abbreviations and write their meanings.

abbreviation / line / meaning / abbreviation / line / meaning

4. Find at least 10 words connected with medicine.

5. Find 3 economic/financial words.

6. Find 4 words connected with education.

7. Find 4 words connected with mathematics.

8. Find 8 words connected with life style or behavior.

9. What is life expectancy ?

10. What is a life-expectancy quiz ?

11. What is the difference between old and new actuarial tables ?

12. On what two items do the experts who make the quizzes disagree ? Why ?

  • First, ...
  • Second, ...

13. What are the six fields/groups of factors which influence longevity ?

14. Is age (i.e. being old) a detrimental factor for longevity? Why ?

15. Last but not least, how long will YOU live ? Justify your answer.

from text to function

Name :Form :Date :

line 5 / while quizzes can hardly be precise ...
Function :
In other words : / contrasting/conceding
although quizzes are not very precise ...
line 6 / they do give a more realistic picture ...
Function :
In other words :
line13 / though statisticians and experts do not always agree on ...
Function :
In other words :
line 15 / A high salary may not be as detrimental ...
Function :
In other words :
line 16 / on the other hand, marriage or living together ...
Function :
In other words :
line 39 / if you are 65 or over and still working ...
Function :
In other words :
line 56 / Are you overweight by 50 lbs. or more ?
Function :
In other words :
line 65 / Add up you score to get your life expectancy ...
Function :
In other words :
line 78 / in the "How long will you live" quiz, namely :...
Function :
In other words :
line 84 / he lived with neither spouse nor friend ....
Function :
In other words :
line 68 / people who have pets have a better chance for ...
Function :
In other words :

To help you, just in case of need !

Expressing likelihood, expressing purpose, contrasting, expressing alternative, insisting, expressing hypothesis, explaining, expressing continuation, conceding, expressing excess

ABBREVIATIONS AND FIGURES / 1

Name :Form :Date :

ABBREVIATION / SECTOR / MEANING AND/OR TRANSLATION
  1. $
/ (finance) / dollar
  1. &Co (US)
/ (economy) / and company
  1. £
/ (finance) / pound
  1. 3D
/ (technology) / three dimension(s)
  1. A level
/ (education) / Advanced level (British exam)
  1. A$
/ (finance) / Australian dollar
  1. AIDS
/ (medicine) / acquired immunity deficiency syndrome
  1. b
/ (mathematics) / billion
  1. BBC
/ (communications) / British Broadcasting Corporation
  1. CAD, CAM,
/ (technology) / computer assisted design, manufacturing ...
  1. CEO (US)
/ (business) / Chief Executive Officer (PDG)
  1. CFC's
/ (technology) / chlorofluorocarbons
  1. COB (UK)
/ (business) / Chairman of the Board (PDG)
  1. cu m
/ (measure) / cubic meter
  1. CV
/ (business) / curriculum vitae
  1. DC(in Washington, DC)
/ (administration) / District of Columbia
  1. DP department
/ (business) / data processing (informatique)
  1. Dr. (as in Dr Matthews)
/ (society) / doctor
  1. EEC
/ (politics) / European Economic Community
  1. EU
/ (politics) / European Union
  1. FDA
/ (US politics) / Food and Drug Administration (US Dept)
  1. GATT
/ (politics) / General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
  1. HK$
/ (finance) / Hong Kong dollar
  1. IBM
/ (business) / International Business Machines
  1. ID (as in an ID photo)
/ (technology) / identity
  1. IDD (phone call)
/ (communications) / international direct dialling (automatique)
  1. IOU
/ (business) / I owe you (reconnaissance de dette)
  1. IRS (US)
/ (administration) / Internal Revenue Service (le fisc)
  1. Jr (as in Paul Staines Jr)
/ (society) / Junior (fils)
  1. £
/ (money) / pound sterling
  1. lbs
/ (unit of weight) / pound (about 0.450 kilograms)
  1. LCD
/ (technology) / liquid crystal display
  1. LDC's
/ (economy) / less developed countries
  1. Ltd (GB)
/ (economy) / SA (société anonyme)
  1. m (meaning 1)
/ (measure) / mile(s)
  1. m (meaning 2)
/ (measure) / meter(s)
  1. m (meaning 3)
/ (unit) / million
  1. MBA
/ (diploma) / Master of Business Administration
  1. MITI
/ (politics) / Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment
  1. MP (in the UK)
/ (politics) / member of Parliament (député)
  1. MP (in the USA)
/ (politics) / military police
  1. mph
/ (technology) / mile(s) per hour
  1. NATO
/ (politics) / North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (OTAN)
  1. No. (as in No 1)
/ number one
  1. NYSE
/ (economy) / New York Stock Exchange (bourse)
  1. O level
/ (education) / Ordinary level (British exam)
  1. OA
/ (technology) / office automation (bureautique)
  1. OK
/ All Correct
  1. OPEC
/ (politics) / Org° of Petroleum Exporting Countries
  1. OTC (pharmaceuticals)
/ (medicine) / over the counter (sans ordonnance)

ABBREVIATIONS AND FIGURES / 2

Name :Form :Date :

  1. oz. also : fl.oz.
/ (unit of measure) / ounce (about 40 grams), fluid ounce (for liquids)
  1. PAYE (UK)
/ (economy) / Paye as you earn (prélev. impôt source)
  1. PAYG (US)
/ (economy) / Paye as you get (prélev. impôt source)
  1. PLC
/ (business) / private limited company (SARL)
  1. PR
/ (management) / Public Relations
  1. R&D department
/ (business) / research and development
  1. RAF
/ (history) / Royal Air Force
  1. CD-ROM
/ (technology) / compact disk - read-only memory
  1. S$
/ (finance) / Singapore dollar
  1. Sr (John Petersen Sr)
/ (society) / Senior (père)
  1. SW1 (as in London SW1)
/ (geography) / south west one (N, E, S, W)
  1. TV
/ (technology) / television
  1. UK
/ (politics) / United Kingdom
  1. US
/ (politics) / United States
  1. VAT
/ (economy) / value added tax
  1. VCR
/ (technology) / video cassette recorder (magnétoscope)
  1. WWF
/ (environment) / World Wildlife Fund

FIGURES

WRITE IN FULL AND READ THE FOLLOWING FIGURES AND DATES :

in the 60's

1995

2001

1901

1999

in the 1990's

9,476,938 people

a 35% rate

2.7

0.5

0.99%

£50m

$1,000

40% alc. by vol.

TEL : 310 05 77

FAX : 123 01 11

on monday, Jan 21

$8.6 billion

8.3 fl. oz.

on Dec 31

1,350 mph

p. 172

How long will you live ?Page 1F.D.