Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to…

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Could genes play a more important role than diet and exercise in living longer? Scientists have begun looking at the genes of small, isolated communities to understand the illnesses of old age and how they might be avoided.

In Italy, researcher Giuseppe Passarino met 106-year-old Salvatore Caruso. When asked about the reasons for his long life, the centenarian smiled and said in Italian, “No drinking, no smoking, no women.” He added that he’d hardly ever eaten any red meat. Passarino heard much the same from 103-year-old Domenico Romeo, who described his diet as “a little bit, but of everything.” Passarino is working out the reasons that Calabrians live such long lives. He found that their genes give them a taste for bitter foods like broccoli — vegetables that promote health and digestion.

In Ecuador, Laron people, who carry a gene that sometimes causes short stature, lived in an isolated area until the 1980s because of a lack of roads, phones, and electricity. As a result, the genetic mutation was passed down through the generations. Surprisingly, a 2006 study revealed that no one from this group developed diabetes, and only one person developed cancer.

However, genes alone are unlikely to explain all the secrets of living to 100. Passarino says genes are only about 25% responsible for a long, healthy life. The environment and luck also play important roles. For example, Caruso avoided going to war because of a broken leg, which may have saved his life.

(Adapted from Reading Explorer 4, p. 171)

In the first paragraph, what does he refer to?