PRE-EXAM QUIZ P1 - READING STRATEGIES

PRE-EXAM QUIZ P1

UNIT 1

​Objective

Ther aim of this quiz is to review the topics checked in unit 1 in order for you to realize what you need to imrpove to get a better grade in the exam.

​INSTRUCTIONS:

• ​Before you start, grab a pen and a notebook. You will need to take some notes.

• Read the text carefully and answer the following questions.

​ANTIBIOTICS: HELPFUL OR HARMFUL?

​¹     A recent government report claims that one of the biggest dangers facing the world today comes from a type of medicine that has saved millions of lives: antibiotics. The widespread use of antibiotics has resulted in the growth of drug-resistant bacteria. Scientists warn us that infections caused by these new bacteria could become a global threat in the near future.

²     Antibiotics revolutionized medicine when they were discovered in the first half of the twentieth century. Alexander Fleming was the first scientist to conduct research into antibiotics, and he discovered penicillin in 1929. Since 1945, antibiotics have been widely used in the fight against potentially fatal infections, and they have helped countless people around the world.

​³     However, according to many researchers, antibiotics are widely overused. Doctors often prescribe these drugs even though they may not be necessary or effective. Of course, antibiotics are essential for some patients, but one recent study reported that almost 50 percent of all antibiotic use is inappropriate or unnecessary. Some patients take antibiotics for minor infections that would eventually clear up on their own, or for infections that are caused by viruses rather than bacteria. Antibiotics have no effect on viral infections.

⁴     Another major use of antibiotics is in agriculture. The Natural Resources Defense Council reports that 80 percent of the antibiotic use in the U.S. is on animals. Many farmers add antibiotics to the food they give their animals. These drugs are used in order to prevent the spread of infection among animals, especially those that live in crowded conditions. However, farmers also use antibiotics, even for healthy animals, because they help animals to gain weight quickly. These antibiotics eventually reach the human food supply, sometimes with dangerous results.

​⁵     Despite the fact that antibiotics are unquestionably very effective against a number of diseases, both in animals and in humans, there is a risk involved in in their widespread use. The problem is that every time a person takes antibiotics to combat an infection, although most of the bacteria are killed, a few of the strongest survive. Consequently, only these stronger, drug-resistant bacteria are able to reproduce. This sets up a cycle in which increasingly powerful antibiotics are needed to fight bacterial infections, eventually resulting in the development of superbugs – bacteria that can resist even the most powerful drugs.

​These resistant bacteria have adapted with deadly efficiency. Doctors in many parts of the world have seen an increase in new forms of tuberculosis and E-coli bacteria in the past ten years. They warn that these new and very dangerous bacteria are becoming more common, and that the infections that they cause may be much more difficult, or even impossible, to treat. Although scientists are trying to develop new, more powerful antibiotics, very few currently available drugs can combat the deadliest bacteria. According to some scientists, unless we stop overusing antibiotics, drug-resistant bacteria could become an even bigger problem than climate change.

⁷     What can be done to stop this cycle? Experts maintain that as individuals, we can make a difference with simple steps, such as regular hand washing. However, it’s also important for patients to understand that antibiotics are not always the right course of treatment, so they should not insist on them when they visit the doctor for viral infections or even for mild bacterial infections. Finally, it is crucial to take antibiotics out of the food supply. With these steps, it may be possible to stop superbugs before it is too late.

Multiple Choice

Read the claims and the evidence and choose the paragraph that corresponds to them.

CLAIM: Antibiotics are widely used in agriculture.

EVIDENCE: Antibiotics are sometimes given to patients with viral infections.

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

• 5

Multiple Choice

CLAIM: Superbugs can be stopped by taking a few specific steps.

EVIDENCE: After antibiotic use, only the drug-resistant bacteria are left to reproduce.

• 4

• 5

• 6

• 7

Multiple Choice

CLAIM: Antibiotics are a very important type of drug.

EVIDENCE: Antibiotics can make animals gain weight quickly.

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

• 5

Multiple Choice

CLAIM: Doctors are prescribing too many antibiotics.

EVIDENCE: Infections caused by some superbugs have no treatment.

• 2

• 3

• 4

• 5

• 6

Multiple Choice

CLAIM: Superbugs are dangerous and their threat is increasing.

EVIDENCE: Patients should not ask for antibiotics for infections that are not serious.

• 4

• 5

• 6

• 7

Multiple Choice

CLAIM: Antibiotics can promote the spread of superbugs.

EVIDENCE: Doctors have used antibiotics successfully for many years to cure deadly infections.

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

• 5

Open Ended

Review Paragraph 1. Write the cause and effect in the second and third sentences. Also, write the words that signal either cause or effect.

Open Ended

Order the events in a logical sequence that shows causes and effects:

a.    Drug-resistant bacteria reproduce.

        b.    Antibiotics kill weaker bacteria but not stronger bacteria.

        c.     Doctors prescribe too many antibiotics.

        d.    Superbugs spread with no treatment to stop them.

Open Ended

Use clues to guess the meaning of clear up. Write the meaning here.

Open Ended

Use clues to guess the meaning of unquestionably. Write the meaning here

Open Ended

Use clues to guess the meaning of combat. Write the meaning here.

Multiple Choice

Look back at your notes (and the reading if it is necessary) to answer the following questions.

An appropriate use of antibiotics is _____.

• to promote the growth of farm animals

• to combat serious bacterial infections

• to prevent the spread of resistant bacteria

• to combat deadly viral infections

Multiple Choice

The most widespread use of antibiotics in the U.S. is ______.

• on farm animals

         

• to cure bacterial infections

         

• to prevent diseases from spreading to humans

Multiple Choice

Some bacteria can survive against antibiotics.

• True

• False

• There's no information about it in the text.

Multiple Choice

Drug-resistant bacteria reproduce more quickly than non-resistant bacteria.

• True

• False

• There's no information about it in the text.

Multiple Choice

There are still a few powerful drugs that can combat superbugs.

• True

• False

• There's no information about it in the text.

Multiple Select

What steps can be taken to stop the superbug cycle? (Choose all that apply.)

• Stop feeding antibiotics to farm animals.              

   

•   Only take antibiotics for serious infections.          

         

• Find more powerful drugs to combat drug-resistant bacteria.

        

• Educate the public about the appropriate use of antibiotics.

Fill in the Blanks

After the weaker bacteria are killed by the antibiotics, stronger bacteria continue to _.

Multiple Choice

Even when doctors are _____ to prescribe antibiotics, some patients demand them, especially for their children.

• ev

• reluctant

• adequate