Verbal Practice Exercise-08

Reading Comprehension:

A pair of legal developments could let drug makers pitch products to treat ailments not listed on the medicine bottle, a practice long outlawed by federal regulators in the False Claims Act. The drug companies, many of who have paid billions of dollars in fines to federal regulators, now contend that any speech used in drug marketing is a form of expression protected by the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment and should not be arraigned.

Federal regulators in the FDA contest to this argument by providing evidence on how this may be misused. For example , estrogen was sold for decades as a medicine beneficial to heart health, but later more research showed that estrogen can be beneficial or detrimental, depending in part on the age of the woman using it. Similarly , Medtronic Inc.’s bone-growth protein Infuse, a widely used off-label medicine by orthopedic surgeons, has recently been discovered to cause life-threatening swelling in the neck and throat that causes difficulties swallowing and breathing. The FDA is concerned that heavy marketing for unproven uses will multiply the number of such cases and cause harm to consumers.

On the other hand , many off-label uses haven’t triggered safety concerns. Government reports and medical journal articles have estimated that half or more cancer patients receive off-label drugs because studies required for drug approval can take too long. Yet companies cannot market for these uses. While the benefits to drug companies if they win are clear, they should be careful of the potential liabilities too. Over the past 2 years the 15 drug cases that drug companies settled cost $8.7 billion—a majority involved unintended effects and the related charge of misbranding, according to a September article in Archives of Internal Medicine.

1. In what is contextual meaning of highlighted text in first paragraph?

A. To encourage
B. To punish
C. To excuse
D. To ignore
E. None of the above

2. What does the highlighted text in the last paragraph mean in the context of the passage?

A. Positive effects
B. Negative effects
C. Success
D. Failure
E. None of the above

3. What is the role of last paragraph in the whole passage?

A. To show that drug makers should definitely embrace the change if it happen.
B. To show how such marketing will fail to achieve its goal due to liabilities.
C. To advise that even drug makers are allowed to do such marketing, they should avoid from this due to liabilities.
D. To suggest that drug makers should keep liabilities in consideration while embracing such marketing.
E. To suggest drug makers that they should accept the liabilities and perform such marketing to serve nation.

It is hard to find a politician who doesn’t have some sort of plan for energy independence, but we will never see true independence from foreign sources of energy without making the kind of sacrifices that elected officials are loath to mention. For example, virtually every politician campaigning for national office touts biofuels, especially ethanol, as a solution to our nation’s energy dependence. However, the actual energy that can be harvested from these sources is minuscule compared to our current level of consumption—about 20 million barrels of oil and gasoline per day.

We need to take serious, even drastic, steps now. Nuclear fuel, despite all its promise, is understandably controversial, and the problem of dealing with radioactive waste will not go away anytime soon. We might find an acceptable method of drilling for oil in environmentally sensitive areas such as the Alaskan wilderness, but this too will take some time, and will only take us so far down the road to energy independence. Thus, it is the level of consumption, rather than our sources of energy, that needs to change; putting our resources into developing alternative energy sources will only obscure this unavoidable fact. One way policymakers might affect the level of energy consumption is by increasing taxes on gasoline. In accordance with the principles of a free-market economy, such as that of our own nation, if the price of gasoline were to double due to the addition of such taxes, oil consumption would drop by 3 to 5 million barrels per day.

We also need to overhaul the way in which we move goods around the country. Using gas-guzzling trucks for cross-country trips is extremely inefficient. Moving away from the use of trucks for long-haul trips will require significant governmental and private investment in new water transport and electric railway infrastructure. Once this infrastructure is in place, however, these methods of shipping will be much more energy efficient for all but local transportation of goods.

These and other real solutions to our energy dependence issues will be unpopular in many quarters. Car and truck manufacturers will use their considerable political muscle to fight not only significant gas tax hikes, but also stringent fuel efficiency requirements on vehicles. The move away from trucking will be resisted by both the “big-box” retail outlets, which depend on trucks for the delivery of goods, and by the trucking industry itself. The farming industry will do everything it can to push for the widespread use of ethanol and other plant-based fuels. But it is consumer resistance that most needs to be overcome. Too many of us believe that the guarantee of cheap fuel is an inalienable right, and balk at funding public transportation.

4. The purpose of the second paragraph of the passage is to ____________.

(A) dismiss some alternative forms of energy that are unpopular with big business
(B) show that there are not enough new alternatives for becoming less dependent on foreign sources of energy
(C) provide historical background for the problem of energy-dependence
(D) show the problems inherent in two sources of energy that could help us be come more energy-independent
(E) ridicule any attempt to solve the problem of energy-dependence that does not take into account consumption levels

The historical literature of American conservatism is at a crossroad. Over the past two decades it has been one of the most dynamic subfields in American history, the subject of dozens of journal articles, books, and dissertations to the extent that today, instead of decrying the absence of scholarship on conservatism, people are asking whether there is anything left to study in the history of the Right.

The answer is yes. The new work on conservatism has illuminated the history of a powerful and diverse political movement that organized throughout the postwar era alongside other social movements that received much more attention. Written during a time when conservatism often seemed to be the dominant force in American politics, this new scholarship has reversed the earlier vision of the Right as a marginal part of American life. The literature has described a range of different constituencies for the conservative movement, from aggrieved working-class white people living in cities such as Boston to prosperous sun belt suburbanites. It has explored a variety of different reasons for the growing power of the Right, ranging from anti-communism to civil rights opposition to the reaction against labor unions to discomfort with changing sexual norms. The questions that this new work on the conservative movement raises should be of great concern to any scholar working in twentieth-century American history and to anyone who cares about contemporary American politics.

Before the new work was done in the 1990s, it was still possible to see the story of the twentieth century in terms of the triumph and expansion of liberalism, from the New Deal to the civil rights movement, feminism, the gay rights movement, and environmentalism. Today, most historians accept that significant parts of the American population always dissented from the liberalism of the mid-twentieth century, and that the country’s rightward turn after 1980 had been building throughout the postwar period.

With this work done, the field has arrived at a new maturity. As a result, we now have the opportunity to move beyond the closely focused studies of movement history that have dominated the scholarship thus far and to reconsider our ideas about the relationship of the Right to the broader trends of American political history. While we now know a great deal more than we once did about the internal history of the conservative movement, we are just beginning to rethink the broad sweep of the twentieth century in light of what we have learned.

5. What is the meaning of highlighted text in the first sentence of first paragraph?

A. There may be a change in direction of subject
B. Beyond this point, there will be an increase in activity
C. Beyond this point, there will be an decrease in activity
D. To bypass a point
E. None of the above

6. What does the author try to imply when he said “instead of decrying the absence of scholarship on conservatism” in first paragraph?

A. Conservatism was always studied properly
B. There was never shortage of knowledge of conservatism
C. There was never a shortage of funds to study conservatism
D. Conservatism was not studied extensively in past
E. None of the above

7. It can be inferred that when the “new work on conservatism”, as mentioned in second paragraph, could have been done?

A. Before the past two decades
B. Over the past two decades
C. At present
D. There’s no clues to determine when this work was done

8. When did “Right” have impression of being “marginal part of American life”, as mentioned in second paragraph?

A. Before the past two decades
B. In the past two decades
C. Always
D. Never

9. What is the summary of highlighted text “The literature has described…” in second paragraph?

A. The finding of research on conservatism done over the past two decades have been presented.
B. How conservatism impacted working class white people has been explained
C. How conservatism grew because of anticommunism ideas has been explained
D. The impact of conservatism on living standard of American people

10. What is the significance of question raised by “new work”, as mentioned at end of second paragraph?

A. The new work raised some questions that have been answered by some other research
B. The new work raised questions that it has answered itself
C. The new work has raised questions that have not been answered yet and more research should be done for this
D. The new work has raised questions that is hard to answer.

11. Why does the author mentioned two different time frames as highlighted in third paragraph?

A. To indicate how research on conservatism has been at a steady pace in the two time frame
B. To show the contrast of opinion about conservatism before 1990s and today.
C. To show conservatism grew significantly from 1990s to today and how it has shaped so many aspects since postwar period.
D. To compare the conservatism work in two different eras

12. What is the summary of third paragraph?

A. It presents facts that indicate the significance of research done on conservatism.
B. It shows how conservatism was not liked in early 1990s but how it started to be accepted today.
C. It presents the facts that indicate how in reality conservatism had no significant impact in the early 1990s
D. It shows why conservatism has lead to societal change from 1990s to today.

13. How the last paragraph summarized?

A. It suggests that conservatism should reconsider its relationship to the broader trends of American political history.
B. It suggests that more study should be done in order to understand the history of conservatism to a great extent.
C. It suggests that more study should be done to understand the relationship of Conservatism and American political history.
D. It suggests that conservatism should be updated to the new field of study with modern thoughts.

The collision between present and past has its signature in many of the ailments of modern life. The leading causes of death in humans -heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and stroke-have some sort of genetic basis and, likely, a historical one. During our history as fish we were active predators in ancient oceans and streams. During our more recent past as amphibians, reptiles, and mammals, we were active creatures preying on everything from reptiles to insects. Even more recently, as primates, we were active tree-living animals, feeding on fruits and leaves. Early humans were active hunter-gatherers and, ultimately, agriculturalists. The common thread is the word “active”. The bad news is that most of us spend a large portion of our day being anything but active.

Anthropologist Jame Neel formulated the “thrifty genotype” hypothesis, suggesting that that our human ancestors were adapted for a boom-bust existence. As hunter-gatherers, early humans would have experienced periods of bounty, when prey was common and hunting successful These periods of plenty were punctuated by times of scarcity, when our ancestors had considerably less to eat. Neel hypothesized that this cycle of feast and famine had a signature in our genes and in our illnesses. Hence, genetically we are prone to store fat as it allowed our ancestors to survive during times of scarcity. This apportionment works well in a boom-bust world, but it fails miserably in an environment where rich foods are available 24/7 and we are anything but active.

It is not surprising that today obesity and its associated maladies-age-related diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease- have become the natural state of affairs. Our circulatory system originally appeared in more active animals. Our heart pumps blood, which is carried to our organs via arteries and returned to the heart by way of veins. Because arteries are closer to the pump, the blood pressure in them is much higher than in veins. Blood from the fret needs to go uphill, up the veins of our legs to our chest. Our leg muscles he the blood move up. When we walk we contract them, and this contraction serves to pump the blood up our leg veins. This system works superbly in an active animal, which uses its legs to walk, run, and jump. It does not work well in a more sedentary creature – todays humans. Problems develop as blood pools in the veins, because that pooling can
cause veins to get bigger and bigger, swelling and taking tortuous paths in our legs, leading to damage to valves.

14. What does “collision between present and past” in first line of the paragraph refer to?

A. Accidents that happen in the past and in the present.
B. Certain difference between past and present.
C. Similarities between past and present
D. Some overlapping in past and present.

15. Which of the following most closely resembles the contextual meaning of highlighted word ‘active’ mentioned in second paragraph?

A. Physically active
B. Engage in work
C. Powerful
D. Smart

16. Why does the author present the information about what fish, amphibians or primates, etc. did in the past?

A. To show the difference between past and present lifestyle activeness of human and primates.
B. To show the similarities between human today and primates of past.
C. To show the reader that human was originated from fish.
D. To show that why human is the most intelligent creature in the world.

17. Which of the following summarizes the first paragraph?

A. Heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and stroke are the modern ailments that are the leading causes of death in human.
B. The leading causes of death in present day human may be due to certain genetic adaptations and a lack of active lifestyle.
C. The evolution of modern human started from fish to reptiles to primates and finally to modern human.
D. The discussion of study on modern human thought process that originated from its primates.

17. In the context of the whole passage, what are “periods of bounty”?

A. When the prey was accessible and there was enough to eat.
B. When the prey was difficult to hunt due to harsh weather.
C. When hunter gathers had invented a tool to make hunting prey relatively easier.
D. When human were healthy and strong enough to prey for food.

18. According to the second paragraph, what is the boom-bust existence?

A. The era when the population of hunters sometimes increase and sometimes reduce.
B. Cycle of plentiful punctuated by scarcity.
C. Climatic cycles that brought plentiful rainfall to grow enough food punctuated by cycles of drought.
D. When human were healthy and strong enough to prey for food.

19. What does “punctuated” means in the context of the passage?

A. continue.
B. ignored.
C. interrupted
D. uninterrupted.

20. Which of the following summarizes the second paragraph?

A. It describes how our ancestors collected food to survive
B. It describes why we have certain genetic adaptations that may be the reason for leading causes of death
C. It describes genetic adaptations that have made it difficult for modern human to survive in present environment
D. It shows the problem associated with modern human lifestyle that originated from its ancestors.

21. Why has the author explained the mechanism of how blood flow moves in the body and get pumped through the body?

A. He wants the reader to know how blood is pumped through the body
B. He describe the reason of effective system in human that keep him healthy and fight against diseases
C. He provides a case in point to prove how modern lifestyle has led to illness.
D. He want to prove that human heart can hardly pump blood from its leg.

22. What is the primary purpose of the author in writing this passage?

A. To show how human is genetically different from its ancestors
B. To explain how tense lifestyle today leads to stress related ailments
C. To prove how modern lifestyle has led to illness
D. To explain why human ancestors needed to hunt for survival
E. To show why human primates were never got some diseases

Answer Sheet:

1. B
2. B
3. D
4. D
5. A
6. D
7. B
8. A
9. A
10. C
11. B
12. A
13. C
14. B
15. A
16. A
17. A
18. B
19. C
20. B
21. C
22. C