Life expectancy data packed with surprises

Level 1

Elementary

1 Key words
Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text. The paragraph numbers are given to
help you.

autopsy

global

immune

life expectancy

fever

1. A persons _________________________ is the length of time that they will probably live. (para 1)
2. If something is _________________________, it includes or affects the whole world. (para 2)
3. An _________________________ is a medical examination of a dead persons body to find out why they died.
(para 3)
4. If you are _________________________, you are safe from a disease because you cannot be infected by it.
(para 4)
5. A _________________________ is a medical condition in which the temperature of your body is very high and
you feel ill. (para 4)

communicable

fertility

stroke

diabetes

anaemia

6. _________________________ is a womans ability to have babies. (para 6)

7. A _________________________ disease is one that can be passed from one person to another. (para 7)
8. A _________________________ is a medical condition in which blood is suddenly blocked and cannot reach
the brain. (para 7)
9. _________________________ is a medical condition in which your body does not produce enough insulin to
reduce the amount of sugar in the blood. (para 7)
10. _________________________ is a medical condition in which your blood contains too few red blood cells.
(para 8)

2 Find the information

Find the following information in the text as quickly as possible.
1. What is the average life expectancy for women in the UK?
2. How long can a man expect to live in Andorra?
3. What is the average life expectancy for women in the Central African Republic?
4. How many deaths of under-fives were there in 2010?
5. How many people die of malaria each year?

O
P
H

NEWS LESSONS / Life expectancy data packed with surprises / Elementary

CA

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2013

N T
O
FR BE C
O DO O
M W P
W N IA
EB LO B
SI A L
TE DE E
D

6. What is life expectancy in Brazil now?

Life expectancy data packed with surprises

Elementary

2 Over the past five years, the Institute of

Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in
Seattle has led a very big project to look
at the global effects of disease. If we know
how many children die and why, the world
can try to keep them alive. The big IHME
database will help global organizations and
governments to better care for us all.
3 The project has been controversial. IHME
has been very radical in some of its
methods. When they didnt have death
registries or medical records they decided
the cause of death by an interview with the
family called a verbal autopsy. The most
surprising result has been with malaria.
IHME said 1.2 million die of the disease
every year this is twice as many as people
believed. The big increase is in adult deaths.
It is commonly believed that malaria kills
mostly children under five.
4 We are taught, as doctors, that in areas
with malaria, you become semi-immune as
an adult, said Dr Christopher Murray, IHME
Director. But he says the evidence tells them
that may not be right. African doctors write
on hospital records that adults are dying
of malaria a lot. But their fever could be
something different, he adds. The results
have led to more studies.

6 Reduced fertility and longer life have

led to an increase in the average age of
the worlds population in ten years from
26 years old to almost 30. The change
has been dramatic in Latin America, for
example, where countries like Brazil and
Paraguay had life expectancy of below
30 in 1970 and almost 64 in 2010. That is
a 35-year increase in the average age of
death in forty years.
7 Also important is the change outside Africa
from communicable diseases to lifestyle
diseases, such as heart disease, stroke,
diabetes and cancer. That change is very
obvious in Latin America, the Middle East
and south-east and even south Asia,
Murray said.
8 The third big result was, he said, a surprise
to us. The study showed that there are
lots of people with disabilities and it has a
big effect on people who are living longer
but not healthier lives. The main causes
of disability are different from the ones that
kill you, he said. They were mental health
problems, such as anxiety and depression,
disorders, such as arthritis and lower back
pain, anaemia, sight and hearing loss
and skin disease. Also, there was drug
abuse. The number of people with these
problems is not reducing over time, he said.
We are making no progress in reducing
these problems.

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2013

NEWS LESSONS / Life expectancy data packed with surprises / Elementary

Guardian News and Media 2013

First published in The Guardian, 13/12/12

1 On average, a girl born today in the UK will

live to the age of nearly 82 and her brother
will live to 78. They would have a longer
life in Andorra (the girl 85 and the boy 79)
but will live a little longer than in the US (81
and 76). If they lived in the Central African
Republic, they would die in middle age (49
and 44). Almost everywhere in the world,
except countries such as Lesotho, which
have problems with HIV and violence, life
expectancy is increasing. The best news is
that small children die much less often than
forty years ago. There has been a reduction
in deaths of under-fives of nearly 60%, from
16.4 million in 1970 to 6.8 million in 2010.

N T
O
FR BE C
O DO O
M W P
W N IA
EB LO B
SI A L
TE DE E
D

Sarah Boseley, health editor

13 December, 2012

5 Although the Director General of the World

Health Organization was happy about
the IHME study, other people are not so
sure. We need to be very careful, said
Colin Mathers, a senior scientist. He thinks
scientists need to find out if the numbers are
correct. One of the most important things
in the study, said Murray, was the very fast
change in the main causes of death and the
speed of that change is a lot faster than
we thought.

P
H

Life expectancy data packed

with surprises

CA

Level 1

Life expectancy data packed with surprises

Level 1

Elementary

3 Comprehension check
Match the beginnings and endings to make statements about the text.
1. Life expectancy is increasing

a. they may not be living healthier lives.

2. There has been a 60% reduction

b. because of reduced fertility and longer life.

3. The average age of the worlds population has

increased

c. lifestyle diseases.

4. There has been a move from communicable

diseases to

d. in almost every country in the world.

5. People are living longer lives but

e. in reducing mental health problems.

6. Scientists are not making progress

f.

in deaths in children under five

4 Chunks
Rearrange the words to make phrases from the text.
1. in almost the everywhere world

4. believed as twice many people as

2. the years past over five

5. effects global disease of the

3. the population the age worlds of average

5 Two-word phrases
Match the words in the left-hand column with the words in the right-hand column to make phrases from the text.
1. medical

a. expectancy

2. life

b. health

3. communicable

c. immune

4. semi-

d. cause

5. main

e. records

6. mental

f.

disease

6 Word-building
Complete the table.
adjective
1.

noun

violent

2.

globe

3.

surprise

4.

fertile

5.

disabled

6.

anxious

7 Discussion

O
P
H

NEWS LESSONS / Life expectancy data packed with surprises / Elementary

CA

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2013

N T
O
FR BE C
O DO O
M W P
W N IA
EB LO B
SI A L
TE DE E
D

Should we spend more money on treating diseases such as malaria? Why? Why not?

Life expectancy data packed with surprises

Level 1

Elementary

KEY
1 Key words

5 Two-word phrases

1. life expectancy
2. global
3. autopsy
4. immune
5. fever
6. fertility
7. communicable
8. stroke
9. diabetes
10. anaemia

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

2 Find the information

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

nearly 82
to 79
49
6.8 million
1.2 million
almost 64

e
a
f
c
d
b

6 Word-building
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

violence
global
surprising
fertility
disability
anxiety

3 Comprehension check
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

d
f
b
c
a
e

4 Chunks

O
H
P

CA

NEWS LESSONS / Life expectancy data packed with surprises / Elementary

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2013

O
FR BE C
O DO O
M W P
W N IA
EB LO B
SI A L
TE DE E
D

almost everywhere in the world

over the past five years
the average age of the worlds population
twice as many as people believed
the global effects of disease

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.