ect.

Day: Are people's mental abilities affected by old age?

Mckay: Certain changes do take place as we grow older, but this happens

throughout life. These changes are very gradual, and happen at different

times with different people. But, in general, if you know a person well in

his middle age and have seen how he deals with events and problems, you will

easily recognize him in old age.

　



Day: So that someone who enjoys new experiences--travel, education, and so on--in

his middle years will usually continue to do so into old age?

Mckay: Exactly. We have carried out some very interesting experiments in which a

group of people aged 60 to 70 and a group aged 30 to 40 had to learn the

same things. For example, in one experiment they began learning a new

language. In another, they learnt how to use three machines in order to make

a piece of furniture. The first thing we discovered was that the young

group tended to be quicker at learning than the old group. However,

although the old group took longer to learn, eventually they performed

as well as the young group. And when we tested the two groups several weeks

later, there was again no difference between the two groups.

　



Day: That's very interesting indeed. What else did your experiments show?

Mckay: Well, one group of old people agreed to attend evening classes for a year to

study English and Mathematics. In fact, most of this group became so

inteiested in their studies that they continued them for another year.

Anyway, we discavered that they did best in the English classes, and that

most of them steadily improved their ability to communicate in both the

written and the spoken language. This didn't really surprise us because

other studies have had similar results. And, of course, you can think of a

dozen writers who continued working almost to the day they died.

　



Day: What about the group who studied Mathematics?

Mckay: Well, that's a different story. There seems to be no doubt that people find

maths more difficult as they grow older. Though why this is so, I cannot

say.

Day: Perhaps cheap pocket computers will solve this problem.

Mckay: I think you're right. In fact, I'm sure that you are.

　



2. The Oldest People in the World

Thousands of people in the world are a hundred years old--or more. There are about two thousand centenarians in Britain alone, and certain parts of the world are famous for the long lives of their inhabitants: Georgia in the Soviet Union, the Vilacamba Valley in Ecuador, and the home of the Hunzas in the Himalayas. But the oldest person in the world is Japanese. In 1983 Mr.

Shigechiyo Izumi, aged 118, held first place in The Guinness Book of Records . He was born on June 29th, 1865 and beat the previous record on his 114th birthday. Before Mr. Izumi broke the record, the longest life was that of an American woman, Mrs. Eveline Filkins. She lived for 113 years, 214 days, from 1815 to 1928. During her lifetime she saw the invention of the first camera, the first telephone, the first car, the first aeroplane and the first television. There are official papers to prove the date of birth of Mr. Izumi and Mrs. Filkins, but many other people claim to be as old or older.

3. The Secret of a Long Life

Why do so many people live to a healthy old age in certain parts of the world? What is the secret of their long lives? Three things seem to be very important: fresh air, fresh food and a simple way of life. People work near their homes in the clean, mount.ain air instead of travelling long distances to work by bus, car or train. They do not sit all day in busy offices or factories, but work hard outdoors in the fields. They take more exercise and eat less food than people in the cities of the West. For years the Hunzas of the Himalayas did not need policemen, lawyers or doctors. There was no crime, no divorce and not much illness in thier society. They were a happy, peaceful people, famous all over India for their long, healthy lives.

4. How Long Will You Live?

Do you want to live to be a hundred? Here are some rules for success. First, choose your parents and grandparents carefully. If they lived to a good old age, so will you. Secondly, live in the right place. If you were not born in Georgia or Ecuador, there are other healthy places in the world, like East Anglia in Britain. Thirdly, c.hoose the right kind of job. Doctors, dentists and bus-drivers die young. Farmers, priests and orchestral conductors live much longer. If you are in the wrong kind of job, you can still improve your way of life.

An old man in the Caucasus was talking about his past life. "I was young then," he sai

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