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DIRECTIONS: Choose the best answer for each question. Living Longer [A] When it comes to longer lifespans, could genes play a more important role than diet and exercise? Scientists have begun looking at the genes of small, isolated communities to better understand the illnesses of old age and how they might be avoided. In Italy, Ecuador, and the United States, studies are revealing information related to genes that may one day help everyone reach their old age in good health.Taste for Life[B] On a cool January morning in 2013, Giuseppe Passarino drove on a mountain road through orange trees into Calabria, in the far south of Italy. Passarino, a geneticist at the University of Calabria, was headed for the small village of Molochio, a remote town with four centenarians and four 99-year-olds among its 2,000 inhabitants.[C] Soon after, he found 106-year-old Salvatore Caruso in his home. Caruso told the researcher that he was in good health, and his memory seemed excellent. He recalled the death of his father in 1913, when Salvatore was a schoolboy; how his mother and brother had nearly died during the great flu epidemic of 1918-1919; and how he’d been dismissed from the army in 1925 after accidentally falling and breaking his leg in two places. When asked about the reasons for his long life, the centenarian smiled and said in Italian, “No drinking, no smoking, no women.” He added that he’d eaten mostly figs and beans while growing up and hardly ever any red meat. Passarino heard much the same from 103-year-old Domenico Romeo, who described his diet as “a little bit, but of everything.”[D] Passarino is working to understand the reasons that Calabrians live such long lives. In the dim, cool hallway outside his university office stand several freezers full of blood taken from elderly Calabrians. The DNA from this blood has revealed that people who live into their 90s and beyond may have such long lives owing to a gene that affects their sense of taste. This gene gives people a taste for bitter foods like broccoli and field greens – vegetables that promote cellular1 health and aid digestion.Size Matters[E] The quest to understand more about genetic influences on aging has brought scientific attention to people like Nicolas Aazco, known as “Pajarito” – Little Bird in Spanish. Nicolas, 17, said he became aware of the reason for his nickname at age six, when he looked around at his classmates: “I realized that I was going to be smaller than them.” Because of a single gene, Nicolas looks like an eight-year-old and is 115 centimeters tall. That gene causes a condition called Laron syndrome; it is due to this rare condition that he is so small. [F] Nicolas is one of Ecuador’s Laron people, descendants of Europeans who traveled to Ecuador in the 16th century. These travelers carried a gene that sometimes causes short stature; the same genetic mutation has been discovered in other places where these Europeans relocated. In Ecuador, the Laron people settled in small towns and villages scattered across the countryside. Because of a lack of roads, phones, and electricity, the area remained isolated until the 1980s. Over the centuries, the genetic mutation was passed down through the generations.[G] In an interview, Little Bird and some friends – all with Laron syndrome – talked about their lives. Victor Rivera, now 23, was the subject of a famous photograph shown at many scientific meetings, taken when he was four. He was so small that the ear of corn he was holding was slightly larger than his arm. Luis Sanchez, an elder among the group, laughed along with his friends when someone asked if they knew the latest scientific reports about their condition. “We are laughing,” he explained, “because we know we are immune to cancer and diabetes.” Indeed, he is partly right.[H] Researchers have found that people with Laron syndrome have a good chance of living a long life. A 2006 study revealed that no one from a group of people with Laron syndrome developed diabetes, and only one person developed cancer. In a control group of people without Laron syndrome, 5 percent developed diabetes and 20 percent died of cancer. The same gene that causes short stature may also protect people with Laron syndrome from disease.The Gene Hunt[I] Protective genes have also attracted the attention of researchers in the United States. In one study of an isolated, homogeneous population, University of Hawaii researchers have found a gene related to long life in Japanese-American men on the island of Oahu. In yet another study, in La Jolla, California, physician Eric Topol and colleagues are searching through the DNA of about a thousand people they call “the wellderly” – people over the age of 80 who have no chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease, or diabetes, and have never taken prescription drugs. “There must be modifying genes that explain why these individuals are protected from the deleterious2 genes that affect the aging process,” Topol says. “The hunt is on.”[J] But genes alone are unlikely to explain all the secrets of living to 100. As geneticist Passarino explains, “It’s not that there are good genes and bad genes … It’s certain genes at certain times. And in the end, genes are probably responsible for only 25 percent of living a long and healthy life. It’s the environment, too, but that doesn’t explain all of it either. And don’t forget chance.”[K] This brought to mind Salvatore Caruso, still going strong at 106 years old. Because he broke his leg 88 years ago, it wasn’t mandatory for him to go to Russia with the other soldiers and fight in the war. “Not a single one of them came back,” he said. It’s another reminder that while genes may be an important factor in living longer, a little luck doesn’t hurt.1 Cellular means relating to the cells of animals or plants.2 Something that is deleterious has a harmful effect.According to the passage, how does Passarino study the Calabrians?

DIRECTIONS: Choose the best answer for each question. In Search of Longevity [A] A long, healthy life is no accident. It begins with good genes inherited from your family, but it also depends on good habits. So what’s the formula for success? In a study funded in part by the U.S. National Institute on Aging, scientists focused on groups living in several regions where exceptional longevity is the norm: Sardinia, Italy; Loma Linda, California; and the islands of Okinawa, Japan. Groups living in these three areas offer three sets of guidelines to follow.Sardinians[B] Taking a break from farm work in the village of Silanus, 75-year-old Tonino Tola tickles the chin of his five-month-old grandson, Filippo, who watches from his mother’s arms. “Goochi, goochi, goo,” Tonino whispers. For this strong, healthy, 1.8-meter-tall man, these two things – hard work and family – form the foundation of his life. They may also help explain why Tonino and his neighbors live so long.[C] A community of 2,400 people, Silanus is located on the edge of a mountainous region in central Sardinia, where dry fields rise suddenly into mountains of stone. In a group of villages in the heart of the region, 91 of the 17,865 people born between 1880 and 1900 have lived to their hundredth birthday – a rate more than twice as high as the average for Italy.[D] Why do they live so long? Lifestyle is part of the answer. By 11:00 a.m. on this particular day, the industrious Tonino has already milked four cows, chopped wood, slaughtered1 a calf, and walked over six kilometers with his sheep. Now, taking the day’s first break, he gathers his grown children, grandson, and visitors around the kitchen table. Giovanna, his wife, unties a handkerchief containing a paper-thin flatbread called carta da musica, pours some red wine, and cuts slices of homemade pecorino cheese.[E] These Sardinians also benefit from their genetic history. According to Paolo Francalacci of the University of Sassari, 80 percent of them are directly related to the first Sardinians, who arrived in the area 11,000 years ago. Genetic traits made stronger over generations may favor longevity. Nutrition, too, is a factor. The Sardinians’ diet is loaded with fruits and vegetables, milk and milk products, fish, and wine. Most of these items are homegrown.Adventists[F] It’s Friday morning, and Marge Jetton is speeding down the highway in her purple Cadillac.2 She wears dark sunglasses to protect her eyes from the sun’s glare, though her head is barely higher than the steering wheel. Marge, who turned 101 in September, is late for one of several volunteer commitments she has today. Already this morning she’s eaten breakfast, walked one and a half kilometers, and lifted weights. “I don’t know why God gave me the privilege of living so long,” she says, pointing to herself. “But look what he did.”[G] Marge – like many other residents of Loma Linda, California – is a Seventh-Day Adventist. The Adventist Church has always practiced and been a proponent of healthy living. It forbids smoking, alcohol consumption, and certain foods, such as pork. The church also discourages the consumption of other meat, rich foods, caffeinated drinks, and most spices. Adventists also observe a sacred day of the week on Saturday, assembling and socializing with other church members, which helps to relieve stress.[H] A study found that the Adventists’ habit of consuming beans, soymilk,3 tomatoes, and fruit lowered their risk of developing certain cancers. It also suggested that eating whole wheat bread, drinking five glasses of water a day, and consuming four servings of nuts a week reduced their risk of heart disease. It found that not eating red meat had been helpful in avoiding both cancer and heart disease.[I] In the end, the study reached a surprising conclusion, says Gary Fraser of Loma Linda University: The average Adventist’s lifespan surpasses that of the average Californian by four to ten years. That compelling evidence makes the Adventists one of the most-studied cultures of longevity in the United States.Okinawans[J] The first thing you notice about Ushi Okushima is her laugh. It fills the room with pure joy. This rainy afternoon, she sits comfortably wrapped in a blue kimono. Her thick hair is combed back from her suntanned4 face, revealing alert green eyes. Her smooth hands lie folded peacefully in her lap. At her feet sit her friends, Setsuko and Matsu Taira, cross-legged on a tatami mat5 drinking tea.[K] Ushi has recently taken a new job. She also tried to run away from home after a dispute with her daughter, Kikue. A relative caught up with her in another town 60 kilometers away and notified her daughter. Not long ago, she started wearing perfume, too. When asked about the perfume, she jokes that she has a new boyfriend. Predictable behavior for a young woman, perhaps, but Ushi is 103.[L] With an average life expectancy of 81 years for men and 87 years for women, Okinawans are among the world’s longest-lived people. This is undoubtedly due in part to Okinawa’s warm and inviting climate and scenic beauty. Senior citizens living in these islands tend to enjoy years free from disabilities. Okinawans have very low rates of cancer and heart disease compared to seniors in the United States. They are also less likely to develop dementia6 in old age, says Craig Wilcox of the Okinawa Centenarian Study.[M] A lean diet of food grown on the island and a philosophy of moderation – “eat until your stomach is 80 percent full” – may also be factors. Ironically, this healthy way of eating was born of hardship. Ushi Okushima grew up barefoot7 and poor; her family grew sweet potatoes, which formed the core of every meal. During World War II, when the men of the island joined the army, Ushi and her friend Setsuko fled to the center of the island with their children. “We experienced terrible hunger,” Setsuko recalls.[N] Many older Okinawans belong to a moai, a mutual support network that provides financial, emotional, and social help throughout life. Ikigai may be another key factor. The word translates roughly to “that which makes one’s life worth living,” and it is something that is different for each person. “My ikigai is right here,” says Ushi with a slow sweep of her hand that indicates her friends Setsuko and Matsu. “If they die, I will wonder why I am living.”1 To slaughter animals such as cows and sheep means to kill them for their meat.2 A Cadillac is an American brand of car.3 Soymilk is a drink made from soybeans.4 If you are suntanned, the sun has turned your skin a darker color.5 Tatami mats, made of woven straw, are the traditional material for floors in Japanese homes.6 Dementia is a serious illness that affects the brain.7 Someone who is barefoot is not wearing anything on their feet.Does the following sentence from the passage provide quantitative or qualitative data?Adventists also observe a sacred day of the week on Saturday, assembling and socializing with other church members, which helps to relieve stress.

Which structure produces human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) during early pregnancy?

DIRECTIONS: Read each sentence, paying attention to the underlined words. Decide if the use of the word or words in each sentence makes the statement True (T) or False (F).If you are immune to a disease, you will not get that disease.

DIRECTIONS: Choose the best answer for each question. In Search of Longevity [A] A long, healthy life is no accident. It begins with good genes inherited from your family, but it also depends on good habits. So what’s the formula for success? In a study funded in part by the U.S. National Institute on Aging, scientists focused on groups living in several regions where exceptional longevity is the norm: Sardinia, Italy; Loma Linda, California; and the islands of Okinawa, Japan. Groups living in these three areas offer three sets of guidelines to follow.Sardinians[B] Taking a break from farm work in the village of Silanus, 75-year-old Tonino Tola tickles the chin of his five-month-old grandson, Filippo, who watches from his mother’s arms. “Goochi, goochi, goo,” Tonino whispers. For this strong, healthy, 1.8-meter-tall man, these two things – hard work and family – form the foundation of his life. They may also help explain why Tonino and his neighbors live so long.[C] A community of 2,400 people, Silanus is located on the edge of a mountainous region in central Sardinia, where dry fields rise suddenly into mountains of stone. In a group of villages in the heart of the region, 91 of the 17,865 people born between 1880 and 1900 have lived to their hundredth birthday – a rate more than twice as high as the average for Italy.[D] Why do they live so long? Lifestyle is part of the answer. By 11:00 a.m. on this particular day, the industrious Tonino has already milked four cows, chopped wood, slaughtered1 a calf, and walked over six kilometers with his sheep. Now, taking the day’s first break, he gathers his grown children, grandson, and visitors around the kitchen table. Giovanna, his wife, unties a handkerchief containing a paper-thin flatbread called carta da musica, pours some red wine, and cuts slices of homemade pecorino cheese.[E] These Sardinians also benefit from their genetic history. According to Paolo Francalacci of the University of Sassari, 80 percent of them are directly related to the first Sardinians, who arrived in the area 11,000 years ago. Genetic traits made stronger over generations may favor longevity. Nutrition, too, is a factor. The Sardinians’ diet is loaded with fruits and vegetables, milk and milk products, fish, and wine. Most of these items are homegrown.Adventists[F] It’s Friday morning, and Marge Jetton is speeding down the highway in her purple Cadillac.2 She wears dark sunglasses to protect her eyes from the sun’s glare, though her head is barely higher than the steering wheel. Marge, who turned 101 in September, is late for one of several volunteer commitments she has today. Already this morning she’s eaten breakfast, walked one and a half kilometers, and lifted weights. “I don’t know why God gave me the privilege of living so long,” she says, pointing to herself. “But look what he did.”[G] Marge – like many other residents of Loma Linda, California – is a Seventh-Day Adventist. The Adventist Church has always practiced and been a proponent of healthy living. It forbids smoking, alcohol consumption, and certain foods, such as pork. The church also discourages the consumption of other meat, rich foods, caffeinated drinks, and most spices. Adventists also observe a sacred day of the week on Saturday, assembling and socializing with other church members, which helps to relieve stress.[H] A study found that the Adventists’ habit of consuming beans, soymilk,3 tomatoes, and fruit lowered their risk of developing certain cancers. It also suggested that eating whole wheat bread, drinking five glasses of water a day, and consuming four servings of nuts a week reduced their risk of heart disease. It found that not eating red meat had been helpful in avoiding both cancer and heart disease.[I] In the end, the study reached a surprising conclusion, says Gary Fraser of Loma Linda University: The average Adventist’s lifespan surpasses that of the average Californian by four to ten years. That compelling evidence makes the Adventists one of the most-studied cultures of longevity in the United States.Okinawans[J] The first thing you notice about Ushi Okushima is her laugh. It fills the room with pure joy. This rainy afternoon, she sits comfortably wrapped in a blue kimono. Her thick hair is combed back from her suntanned4 face, revealing alert green eyes. Her smooth hands lie folded peacefully in her lap. At her feet sit her friends, Setsuko and Matsu Taira, cross-legged on a tatami mat5 drinking tea.[K] Ushi has recently taken a new job. She also tried to run away from home after a dispute with her daughter, Kikue. A relative caught up with her in another town 60 kilometers away and notified her daughter. Not long ago, she started wearing perfume, too. When asked about the perfume, she jokes that she has a new boyfriend. Predictable behavior for a young woman, perhaps, but Ushi is 103.[L] With an average life expectancy of 81 years for men and 87 years for women, Okinawans are among the world’s longest-lived people. This is undoubtedly due in part to Okinawa’s warm and inviting climate and scenic beauty. Senior citizens living in these islands tend to enjoy years free from disabilities. Okinawans have very low rates of cancer and heart disease compared to seniors in the United States. They are also less likely to develop dementia6 in old age, says Craig Wilcox of the Okinawa Centenarian Study.[M] A lean diet of food grown on the island and a philosophy of moderation – “eat until your stomach is 80 percent full” – may also be factors. Ironically, this healthy way of eating was born of hardship. Ushi Okushima grew up barefoot7 and poor; her family grew sweet potatoes, which formed the core of every meal. During World War II, when the men of the island joined the army, Ushi and her friend Setsuko fled to the center of the island with their children. “We experienced terrible hunger,” Setsuko recalls.[N] Many older Okinawans belong to a moai, a mutual support network that provides financial, emotional, and social help throughout life. Ikigai may be another key factor. The word translates roughly to “that which makes one’s life worth living,” and it is something that is different for each person. “My ikigai is right here,” says Ushi with a slow sweep of her hand that indicates her friends Setsuko and Matsu. “If they die, I will wonder why I am living.”1 To slaughter animals such as cows and sheep means to kill them for their meat.2 A Cadillac is an American brand of car.3 Soymilk is a drink made from soybeans.4 If you are suntanned, the sun has turned your skin a darker color.5 Tatami mats, made of woven straw, are the traditional material for floors in Japanese homes.6 Dementia is a serious illness that affects the brain.7 Someone who is barefoot is not wearing anything on their feet.Does the following sentence from the passage provide quantitative or qualitative data?With an average life expectancy of 81 years for men and 87 years for women, Okinawans are among the world’s longest-lived people.

DIRECTIONS: Choose the best answer for each question. Living Longer Size Matters[E] The quest to understand more about genetic influences on aging has brought scientific attention to people like Nicolas Aazco, known as “Pajarito” – Little Bird in Spanish. Nicolas, 17, said he became aware of the reason for his nickname at age six, when he looked around at his classmates: “I realized that I was going to be smaller than them.” Because of a single gene, Nicolas looks like an eight-year-old and is 115 centimeters tall. That gene causes a condition called Laron syndrome; it is due to this rare condition that he is so small. In the second sentence of paragraph E, what does them refer to?

Which hormone stimulates the release of cortisol from the adrenal cortex via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis?

The hormone secreted by the hypothalamus that targets the anterior pituitary and is responsible for the onset of puberty is:

What hormone is responsible for breast development and milk production?

DIRECTIONS: Choose the best answer for each question. Living Longer [A] When it comes to longer lifespans, could genes play a more important role than diet and exercise? Scientists have begun looking at the genes of small, isolated communities to better understand the illnesses of old age and how they might be avoided. In Italy, Ecuador, and the United States, studies are revealing information related to genes that may one day help everyone reach their old age in good health.Taste for Life[B] On a cool January morning in 2013, Giuseppe Passarino drove on a mountain road through orange trees into Calabria, in the far south of Italy. Passarino, a geneticist at the University of Calabria, was headed for the small village of Molochio, a remote town with four centenarians and four 99-year-olds among its 2,000 inhabitants.[C] Soon after, he found 106-year-old Salvatore Caruso in his home. Caruso told the researcher that he was in good health, and his memory seemed excellent. He recalled the death of his father in 1913, when Salvatore was a schoolboy; how his mother and brother had nearly died during the great flu epidemic of 1918-1919; and how he’d been dismissed from the army in 1925 after accidentally falling and breaking his leg in two places. When asked about the reasons for his long life, the centenarian smiled and said in Italian, “No drinking, no smoking, no women.” He added that he’d eaten mostly figs and beans while growing up and hardly ever any red meat. Passarino heard much the same from 103-year-old Domenico Romeo, who described his diet as “a little bit, but of everything.”[D] Passarino is working to understand the reasons that Calabrians live such long lives. In the dim, cool hallway outside his university office stand several freezers full of blood taken from elderly Calabrians. The DNA from this blood has revealed that people who live into their 90s and beyond may have such long lives owing to a gene that affects their sense of taste. This gene gives people a taste for bitter foods like broccoli and field greens – vegetables that promote cellular1 health and aid digestion.Size Matters[E] The quest to understand more about genetic influences on aging has brought scientific attention to people like Nicolas Aazco, known as “Pajarito” – Little Bird in Spanish. Nicolas, 17, said he became aware of the reason for his nickname at age six, when he looked around at his classmates: “I realized that I was going to be smaller than them.” Because of a single gene, Nicolas looks like an eight-year-old and is 115 centimeters tall. That gene causes a condition called Laron syndrome; it is due to this rare condition that he is so small. [F] Nicolas is one of Ecuador’s Laron people, descendants of Europeans who traveled to Ecuador in the 16th century. These travelers carried a gene that sometimes causes short stature; the same genetic mutation has been discovered in other places where these Europeans relocated. In Ecuador, the Laron people settled in small towns and villages scattered across the countryside. Because of a lack of roads, phones, and electricity, the area remained isolated until the 1980s. Over the centuries, the genetic mutation was passed down through the generations.[G] In an interview, Little Bird and some friends – all with Laron syndrome – talked about their lives. Victor Rivera, now 23, was the subject of a famous photograph shown at many scientific meetings, taken when he was four. He was so small that the ear of corn he was holding was slightly larger than his arm. Luis Sanchez, an elder among the group, laughed along with his friends when someone asked if they knew the latest scientific reports about their condition. “We are laughing,” he explained, “because we know we are immune to cancer and diabetes.” Indeed, he is partly right.[H] Researchers have found that people with Laron syndrome have a good chance of living a long life. A 2006 study revealed that no one from a group of people with Laron syndrome developed diabetes, and only one person developed cancer. In a control group of people without Laron syndrome, 5 percent developed diabetes and 20 percent died of cancer. The same gene that causes short stature may also protect people with Laron syndrome from disease.The Gene Hunt[I] Protective genes have also attracted the attention of researchers in the United States. In one study of an isolated, homogeneous population, University of Hawaii researchers have found a gene related to long life in Japanese-American men on the island of Oahu. In yet another study, in La Jolla, California, physician Eric Topol and colleagues are searching through the DNA of about a thousand people they call “the wellderly” – people over the age of 80 who have no chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease, or diabetes, and have never taken prescription drugs. “There must be modifying genes that explain why these individuals are protected from the deleterious2 genes that affect the aging process,” Topol says. “The hunt is on.”[J] But genes alone are unlikely to explain all the secrets of living to 100. As geneticist Passarino explains, “It’s not that there are good genes and bad genes … It’s certain genes at certain times. And in the end, genes are probably responsible for only 25 percent of living a long and healthy life. It’s the environment, too, but that doesn’t explain all of it either. And don’t forget chance.”[K] This brought to mind Salvatore Caruso, still going strong at 106 years old. Because he broke his leg 88 years ago, it wasn’t mandatory for him to go to Russia with the other soldiers and fight in the war. “Not a single one of them came back,” he said. It’s another reminder that while genes may be an important factor in living longer, a little luck doesn’t hurt.1 Cellular means relating to the cells of animals or plants.2 Something that is deleterious has a harmful effect.When did the Laron people move to Ecuador?