"Worms, Your Unlikely Allies" Nonfiction Review

PART A:

What is the central idea of the text?

• Inflammation is a function of the human body that contributes to healing in the body.

• Children infected with intestinal parasites have low incidents of inflammation-related diseases

  such as asthma and allergies.

• Using parasites to help calm inflammation could cause other serious problems.

• Researchers and scientists are studying ways to use parasites to help combat dangerous

  inflammation.

PART B:

Which quotation from the text supports the answer chosen in Part A?

• “Inflammation is usually a good thing. If you cut your foot, you might notice the area around the cut becoming warm and swollen.” (paragraph 3)

• “Scientists are now trying to put parasitic worms to work helping people with immune

  problems.” (paragraph 8)

• “Elliott says, ‘We asked, “What’s missing in developed countries?” We still had viruses and

  bacteria, but we were missing a whole class [of microbes] that used to be universal.’”

  (paragraph 13)

• “‘The problem with giving people [parasitic worms] is you’re introducing a foreign organism,

  and that has the [risk] of unforeseen consequences,’ says Derek McKay.” (paragraph 20)

Read the sentences from the text.

How does the author’s word choice impact the tone of the text?

• by supporting a compassionate tone

• by supporting a conversational tone

• by creating a persuasive tone

• by creating an uncertain tone

How does the author acknowledge and respond to a conflicting viewpoint about using parasites as medical treatments?

• by sharing that even those with intestinal parasites still mostly suffer from autoimmune

  diseases

• by providing the details of previously failed scientific studies

• by recognizing that introducing foreign organisms to humans has risks such as anemia

• by explaining the ways in which parasites damage humans as they grow

How does the author connect the benefits of parasites to the drawbacks of parasites?

• by using an analogy of asthma inflammation to explain how parasites keep lower-income

  children safe from diseases

• by using an analogy of Stone Age people to explain how parasites have been both hurting and

  working with humans for years

• by using an analogy of a burglar to explain how parasites may do harm but also do some

  good

• by using an analogy of a child cleaning his or her room to explain how parasites need motivation to help a host

Questions 6-8 ask about what you read in both the text from “An Unending Epidemic” and the text from “Worms, Your Unlikely Allies.”

Which statement distinguishes the position of “Worms, Your Unlikely Allies” on the

topic of parasites from the position in “An Unending Epidemic”

• “Worms, Your Unlikely Allies” discusses the regional differences in the spread of parasites.

• “Worms, Your Unlikely Allies” focuses on parasites as a solution rather than a problem.

• “Worms, Your Unlikely Allies” details how the immune system fights parasites.

• “Worms, Your Unlikely Allies” includes the results of scientific research to support ideas.

With which statement would the authors of both texts agree?

• Left unchecked, parasites can do harm.

• Parasites are an important part of our environment.

• Working together, scientists should strive to eliminate parasites.

• Eliminating poverty would impact the world’s overall parasite population.

Read the sentence from paragraph 11 of “Worms, Your Unlikely Allies.”

Which sentence from “An Unending Epidemic” expresses a similar idea in the spread of the malaria parasite?

• “When the mosquito bites a person, the parasites get into the new host’s bloodstream

  through the mosquito’s saliva.” (paragraph 2)

• “In mild cases, many just chalk the disease up to the flu and do not seek treatment at all.”

  (paragraph 4)

• “‘If people weren’t poor we wouldn’t have malaria,’ said [epidemiologist Don] Roberts.”

  (paragraph 5)

• “In fact, more than fifty percent of malaria cases in most villages occur in less than fifteen

  percent of the houses.” (paragraph 11)