Have you ever wondered why some people live long, but others don’t? Many scientists have studied the secret of a long life for years.

Thousands of studies support the idea that a long life is influenced by two major things.

It’s no surprise that the gene (基因) is a major influence. Some people’s bodies simply have special advantages. They have parents and grandparents who lived long lives. Their parents have passed on these positive genes to them. Howard Friedman is a health scientist. With his research partner, he wrote a book about living a long life. He says genes explain about 1/3 of why people live to an old age.

The other major influence is basic health care. Good food, clean water and medical care all help a lot. For example, a person getting vaccines (疫苗) has a better chance of avoiding many serious diseases and staying healthy.

People cannot change their genes. And it’s difficult to improve a whole community's health care system. However, the new research results show there are things each of us can do to help improve how long we live.

Many studies show that having a sense of purpose is important. For example, in Okinawa, Japan, plenty of people are over the age of 100. They have an idea called ikigai or life purpose. Scientists believe it’s one of the reasons why Okinawa has so many long - lived people.

Staying active is the second important personal quality (品质). It’s not the same as doing difficult exercise. Instead, it’s the most important to remain active in a natural way, doing something you enjoy.

Another quality is helping people. When researching the effects of love, scientists expected to find that people who felt loved would live longer. But this wasn't what they found. Feeling loved made people feel better. However, loving and caring for others did make people live longer.

The final one is conscientiousness (尽责). Conscientious people plan for things and think about details. Of all the personal qualities, conscientiousness shows the strongest link (联系) to a long life. Some people believe being conscientious means living a boring life. However, the opposite is true. Scientists say that being conscientious and hard-working makes many wonderful chances.

If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?

According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles(肌肉).

The study also found the effect(效果) is greater when the younger people learn a second language. A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners. Scans showed that grey matter density(密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference. “Our findings suggest that the structure(结构) of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.

It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn. Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and math skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible(灵活的),” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”

The findings had the same result in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and thirty-four. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.