One indisputable fact is that a greater number of people are now hitting the eighty-year mark than ten years ago, moreover more and more people are passing the one-hundred-year mark. This phenomenon almost cannot be imagined several decades ago. In fact, the life expectancy of the human being has increased significantly throughout last century, and this trend is continuing. The major reason is due to the improvements in medicine and the development of cured for fatal illnesses. As medical science advanced toward greater understanding of the nature and prevention of disease, new maternal-care and public-health practices contributed to rapid increase in people’s average age. In the second half of the nineteenth century, such discoveries as antiseptics and anesthesia made possible other life-prolonging medical treatments. Another reason why the average life span is lengthening now is due to the developing of knowledge. Today, people’s knowledge about nutrition is more abundant and the knowledge system is more integrated than before. For this, people now take more care of their health and also pay more attention to the arrangement of a variety of nutrition. For instance, scientists recognized that the marriage of Vitamin D and Calcium is capable of strengthening the bones, so drinking milk and going out of room to get sunshine at times can permit people to have strong bodies. Additionally, the public now is familiar with the importance of the diet and exercise and tends to arrange them better so that they can have a more regular life and a longer life span. Before I come to my conclusion, it is necessary to point out another reason that contributes the continuing life expectancy—a better mood. There are several factors that cause a better mood. For example, during the Second World War, for the people in suffering countries, even whether can survive while undergoing the starvation and the threat from the invaders is a problem, not to say a longer life span. Today, however, most people are now living in a peaceful period, allowing much more people to have a steady life and a better living condition. Developed transportation and communication is another factor that causes a better mood. People now can see or communicate with their family members and friends much more easily even if they were separated by a long distance, letting people suffer less pain from the separation. Consequently, living in today’s peaceful and convenient world, people are happier and live longer than before. To sum up, the medicine improvement, people’s knowledge development and a better mood help to extend the life span of human beings, and the life expectancy is expected to rise into the future. |