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OET –Reading test
• Complete the following summary using the information in the four texts provided.
• You do not need to read each text from beginning to end to complete the task. You should
scan the texts to find the information you need.
• Gaps may require 1, 2 or 3 words.
• You should write your answers next to the appropriate number in the right-hand column.
• Please use correct spelling in your responses
PART A:
Background:
The condition is named after a German doctor, Alois Alzheimer – not because he
had the worst memory of anyone in Europe, but because he was the first to
describe the symptoms, in 1906.
It was later shown that people with Alzheimer's also have lower-than-normal
levels of neurotransmitters, especially acetylcholine, in the cortex of their brains.
Neurotransmitters are chemicals that help transmit messages from one nerve cell
to another.
Text 2:
Symptoms
• Alzheimers's disease begins slowly and insidiously. The first sign is mild
forgetfulness – the person has trouble remembering recent events,
activities, or the names of familiar people or things.
• They forget things like the names of family members, common words,
where they live, and what activities they experienced earlier in the day.
• As the disease progresses, they get more and more confused. They may
lose the ability to manage their own finances or take their medications.
Cooking or writing a letter, once second nature, becomes a major task.
They may do meaningless things (often things that are socially
embarrassing to friends and family).
Text 3:
Ginkgo biloba the herbal remedy gingko may slow the progress of
Alzheimer's, although there is a lack of good-
quality, long-term trials.
Text 4:
1. Who eat diet that is rich in antioxidants, that is, with plenty of fruit and
vegetables. People who eat the so-called 'Mediterranean diet'.
2. people who exercise regularly.
3. People who keep mentally active – read, do crosswords, play board
games, go to the theatre and so on.
4. the more education the person has, the lower the risk seems to be.
Part B : Passage 1:
Most parents have waged epic battles with their kids over eating vegies. But if
they don't clean their plate of the last brussels sprout, does it really matter?
Vegetables are behind some of the greatest battles between parents and
children. Most parents have dinnertime horror stories involving small bits of
vegetable and lots of screaming, and while these stories can be entertaining, the
research showing how few vegies our kids are eating is not.
The 2009 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare national report card found
that a whopping 78 per cent of 4-8 year olds, 86 per cent of 9-13 year-olds and
95 per cent of 14-16 year-olds are not eating the recommended daily servings of
vegetables. Take out potatoes, which most kids eat as chips, and the percentage
of kids not getting the nutrition they need jumps to 97, 98 and 100 per cent
respectively. Other research has made similar findings.
But Australian children are hardly going to starve if they don't eat vegetables and
it's not easy for parents to keep cooking meals that are left on the plate or worse,
tipped on the floor. Does it really matter if our kids don't eat their greens?
In the short-term, children who don't eat vegetables can end up with dental
issues, constipation (especially if they skip on fruit as well) and on rare occasions
nutritional deficiencies, Baur says. But perhaps more importantly, we tend to
develop our eating habits in childhood, so if you're not eating vegetables and
other healthy foods as a child then you are less likely to do so as an adult.
Excess weight is also a problem; between 6-8 per cent of school age children in
Australia are obese and at least another 17 per cent are overweight. You won't
automatically put on weight if you don't eat vegetables, Baur says, but children
who don't eat vegetables are often eating foods that are high in saturated fats,
sugar and salt. Children who are overweight are more likely to become
overweight or obese adults, who are then at greater risk of chronic diseases.
And while the most hardened young vegie hater might enjoy an apple, banana or
piece of watermelon, Baur says fruit doesn't contain the iron and other minerals
found in vegetables, and it also contains more sugars. While fruit is an important
part of a healthy diet, the dietary guidelines suggest kids under 12 only need one
to two serves a day.
So we know that kids need their vegies, but getting them to eat a mouthful, let
alone several cups can be a challenge.
"Vegetables have traditionally been eaten mainly at dinner and with many
families no longer having a family meal, many kids get themselves something to
eat - often instant noodles, pizza or some kind of pasta dish (rarely with vegies),"
Stanton says.
Children are also more likely to eat and enjoy vegetables, and other healthy
foods, if they find them interesting, says Stanton.
"Several studies show that when kids grow vegies or attend a school with a
kitchen garden, they tend to eat more vegies… For those in flats, there are
community gardens in some areas, or if they have a balcony lettuces, herbs,
cherry tomatoes etc …can all be grown in pots."
But perhaps the most important thing parents can do is model healthy eating.
Research has shown children's eating patterns are affected by the family's eating
behaviour.
She says there are many easy and crafty ways to get vegies off your children's
plates and into their mouths:
• serve vegie sticks with dips (think avocado, pumpkin or sweet potato) and other
snacks
• make muffins using vegetables - corn, pumpkin and sweet potato all work well.
She also suggests the scattergun approach: offering a wide variety of vegetables
(the more different colours the better) in small amounts throughout the day, not
just at dinner time. There's no denying these suggestions require time, effort and
creative 'marketing'. Ultimately, says Renn, "you do what you can do, get them in
where you can, be as inventive as possible and be persistent".
1. According to the passage what is the reason behind the battle between
parents & children?
a. over eating of vegies
b. not cleaning
c. vegetables
d. not eating vegies
2. Who stand first is avoiding vegies from daily servings?
a. 4-8 years
b. Teen years
c. 14-16 years
d. Kids
3. Why do parents feel discomfort in cooking vegetables?
Part B: Passage 2:
If you're in pain, the last thing you may want is someone sticking needles in you.
But plenty of people turn to acupuncture for pain relief. So what's the evidence?
You can also think of acupuncture as a way of defusing pain trigger points, says
Cohen. "If you can find a trigger point that reproduces the pain you're
experiencing... that's a point where you put the needle [to relieve it]," he says.
Interestingly, these acupuncture 'trigger' points are not always in the same spot
as your pain. For example, says Cohen, people who have eye pain often find a
tender spot between their first and second toes. The acupuncture point for frozen
shoulder, a painful condition that immobilises the shoulder joint, is on your chin.
Scientific evidence
But although acupuncture has been practiced for several thousand years,
scientists struggle to explain how it works.One theory suggests the needling
encourages the release of endorphins natural pain killers produced by the brain)
and sets off an inflammatory response that allows the body to heal itself. Another
theory is that acupuncture has a powerful effect on the mind, says Cohen, which
may also help to activate the body's pain-relieving mechanisms.
For chronic lower back pain, a 2007 German study of 1162 participants found
that the effectiveness of acupuncture after six months was almost twice that of
conventional therapy (drugs, physical therapy and exercise). A 2009 American
study of 638 people found similar results. However, the most current reviews
pooling all available evidence on chronic lower back pain don't paint such a
conclusive picture: they found that while acupuncture is a useful addition to
conventional therapies, there isn't sufficient evidence that it's any more effective
than other treatments.
In addition, a 2009 review of acupuncture for various types of pain found that
while acupuncture has a small analgesic effect, we can't be sure this isn't caused
by the psychological impact of the treatment.
"[A GP] will have recourse to western medicine and will be covered by Medicare,
whereas a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner will put… more emphasis on
the traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis and philosophy, including tongue
diagnosis and pulse diagnosis," says Cohen. Sessions generally go for 15-30
minutes, and an initial course of once a week for sixweeks is normal for chronic
pain, says Cohen. You may need fewer sessions for acute pain. You should feel
some immediate benefit for acute pain, says Cohen. For chronic pain, you should
feel some immediate benefit that might initially wane off between sessions before
getting better.
But you do need to give acupuncture a chance to work. "Give it at least three or
four treatments, up to six treatments before you say it doesn't work," says Cohen.
If you do decide to try acupuncture for your pain, it's important that you still
initially seek medical treatment so that you don't miss any underlying conditions.
Answers:
Part A:
1. Dementia
2. Alzheimer
3. 5
4. Dr. Alois Alzheimer
5. memory and concentration
6. degenerative changes
7. levels of neurotransmitters
8. nerves
9. aging
10. mild forgetfulness
11. memory loss
12. more confusion
13. tend
14. themselves
15. a.eating
15.b. bodily functions
16. patients
17. a. tacrine
17.b. trade name
18. boost neurotransmitters
19. acetylcholinesterase
20. Anti- anxiety
21. is uncertain
22. herbal
23. prevention
24. cure
25. antioxidants
26. exercise regularly
27. mentally
28. more education
Part B
Passage 1:
1. d
2. b
3. b
4. b
5. c