Beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, Japan began developing a reputation for its longevity. By the 1970s, the Japanese were the lon

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问题    Beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, Japan began developing a reputation for its longevity. By the 1970s, the Japanese were the longest lived of any population in the world. Although genetic predispositions and cultural factors like diet certainly contributed to the long life span of the Japanese, it was the country’s kaihoken, or universal health care, that was largely responsible for boosting quality of life and increasing the country’s life expectancy. In recognition of 50 years of kaihoken, the medical journal Lancet recently published a special issue exploring Japanese longevity. Unfortunately, it’s not all good news.
   Even though Japan continues to have the highest life expectancy in the world, it is on track to be outpaced by other long-lived countries, like Sweden, Italy and Australia. Researchers believe that relatively high rates of tobacco use, changes in diet that have raised body-mass index, and the rising rate of suicide are contributing to Japan’s slowing declines in rates of adult mortality (死亡率). "If recent trends continue, other nations are likely to achieve lower rates of adult mortality than Japan," said Professor Christopher Murray of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle. He added that Japan’s universal health care system may not be sufficiently nimble enough to address mounting 21st-century health problems. "In an era of economic stagnation, political turmoil (混乱), aging populations and inadequate tobacco control, Japan does not seem to be effective in addressing its new set of health challenges. It will take more than universal access to a low-spending, high-volume health system to tackle these challenges."
   Physical illness is not the only drag on the country’s life expectancy: more than 30 000 Japanese people take their own lives each year, perhaps the continuing aftereffect of the 1997 financial crisis. Still, the biggest health challenge facing the Japanese is related to lifestyle factors like cigarette smoking, obesity and uncontrolled blood pressure—all of which contribute to chronic health problems that tax the public health care system. That system is already strained by the demands of an aging populace (人口) and by injuries associated with recent natural disasters.
What do we know about Japan’s life expectancy according to the second paragraph?

选项 A、Some negative factors are affecting it.
B、It has been outpaced by other countries.
C、Higher rates of tobacco use threaten it most.
D、It always goes down with the financial crisis.

答案A

解析 由题干中的the second paragra]ph定位到第二段。本段介绍了日本“长寿之国”的地位正在被动摇,而新出现的各种健康问题使日本全民医疗保健体系受到挑战。通过定位段可知,相对较高的吸烟率、提高体重指数的饮食变化以及攀升的自杀率等因素正在影响日本人的预期寿命,故A)为正确答案。
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