HKDSEE English Language Paper 4 – Secrets to having a long life:  Many people wish for longevity (i.e. having a long life) on their birthday. To uncover the secrets to long life, Professor Yang Zhimin, Vice-President of the Guangdong Province Hospital for Traditional Chinese Medicine, led a research team and interviewed 128 elderly people between 100-110 years old in Guangzhou., Singapore

Hong Kong Examinations And Assessment Authority Hong Kong Diploma Of Secondary Education Examination 2013:

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PAPER 4

PART A Group Interaction 

Below is an extract taken from an article about the secrets to a long life: 

                        Secrets to having a long life

 Many people wish for longevity (i.e. having a long life) on their birthday. To uncover the secrets to long life, Professor Yang Zhimin, Vice-President of the Guangdong Province Hospital for Traditional Chinese Medicine, led a research team and interviewed 128 elderly people between 100-110 years old in Guangzhou. They discovered many common factors: 

Factors  :

1. 80% are women;
2. 60% live with their spouses or children, emphasising the importance of family care and support; 
3. 84% are non-smokers and 68% are non-drinkers; 
4. Fresh fruits and vegetables are the most common parts of their daily diet, while fatty and preserved food is avoided; 
5. 90% have three meals at regular times every day;
6. 63% sleep at least eight hours every day; 
7. Doing housework and going on walks are their main sources of physical exeroise; and 
8. 55% hold a positive attitude and do not view themselves as being a burden to their families.

Based on the survey results, Yang summarised that having a long life requires observing four rules, namely, a proper diet, regular habits, exercise and a positive mindset.

Your teacher has assigned your group to give a short talk to the school during the school’s Live Well Week about achieving long life. Discuss with your group what to include in your talk. You may want to talk about:

• which four of the eight factors to include in your talk and why
•  which rule is the most important for achieving a long life
•  activities that can be included in the Live Well Week
• anything else you think is important

PART B Individual Response
The examiner will ask you one or more questions based on Part A. You will have up to 1 minute to respond.

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