Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 26 to 30.

Illness is defined in a variety of ways, which depend on a (26) _________ of factors. One of these factors is age differences. Older people tend to accept as 'normal' a range of pains and physical limitations which younger people would define as (27) _________ of some illness or disability. As we age, we gradually redefine health and accept greater levels of physical discomfort.

In Blaxter’s (1990) national survey of health definitions, she found that young people tend to define health in terms of physical fitness, (28) ________ gradually, as people age, health comes to be defined more in terms of being able to (29) _________ with everyday tasks. She found examples of older people with really serious arthritis, (30) _________, nevertheless, defined themselves as healthy, as they were still able to carry out a limited range of routine activities.

(Adapted from Get ready for IELTS reading)