Excerpt

Declines in death rates from most major causes — including heart disease and cancer — have pushed Americans' life expectancy to a record 77.6 years. Women are still living longer than men, but the gap is narrowing.
Women now have a life expectancy of 80.1 years, 5.3 more than men. That's down from 5.4 years in 2002 and continues a steady decline from a peak difference of 7.8 years in 1979, the National Center for Health Statistics said Monday in its annual mortality report.

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Vocabulary

Try to guess what these words mean from reading the article.
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New words you will see in this article:

baby boomer(s)

chronic

crisis

decline(s)

expectancy

flu

gap

hypertension

kidney

mortality

peak

pneumonia

respiratory

sociology

speculation

statistic(ally)

suicide

Talking Points

With your tutor, conversation partners, or classmates, you may wish to discuss the following:

1. What is the life expectancy rate in your country? For men / women?

2. As people live longer, what difficulties do they face?

3. What challenges must society face when dealing with a growing elderly population?

4. Who has the primary responsibility to care for senior citizens?

5. Who will take care of your parents (or grandparents) when they can no longer care for themselves?

Pretend you are over 80 years old. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of living alone (in contrast to living with your children or in a nursing home).