Reading Quiz (End of Term Review)

Reading I Critical Reading Section:1

Name: __________________________ Date: _____________

Reading Comprehension: True/False

Mark each statement as T (true) or F (false) according to the information in the reading passage.
Read this passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Insight into the Brain

Advancements in brain imaging technology are providing insights for scientists into the effects
of a variety of diseases on the brain. Remarkable work is being done in researching
schizophrenia's effect on the brain. Understanding how the brains of schizophrenics are different
from healthy brains plays an essential role in the treatment of the disease.

Through the use of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and MRS (Magnetic Resonance
Spectroscopy) technology, scientists have been able to make a few general observations about
structural differences between schizophrenic brains and healthy brains. For example, individuals
who have schizophrenia tend to have enlarged lateral ventricles (the sacs filled with fluid that
surround the brain). Also, the cerebral cortex is smaller, and the overall volume of the brain is
lower.

In addition to structural observations, scientists have been able to use the technology to
determine how the disease causes the brain to deteriorate over time. Paul Thompson of the
Department of Neurology at the UCLA School of Medicine led a group of scientists in a
comprehensive study that involved a new way of analyzing MRI images. The MRIs were of the
brains of teenagers with schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia showed loss of gray matter
(brain tissue) in approximately 10% of the brain. The loss was distinctive in the outer areas of the
brain. Patients with greater loss of gray matter showed more profound symptoms of the disease.
The increased loss seemed to trigger a rise in symptoms such as hallucinations, psychotic
thinking, depression, the hearing of voices, delusions, distorted speech, and other unusual
behaviors.

Thompson and his team tracked the loss of gray matter over a period of time and found that as
the disease began to show symptoms, individuals had about 10% of their brain affected. As the
disease progressed, the entire brain was affected to varying degrees. Thompson compared the
phenomenon to a forest that was being overrun by a fire.

This progression of brain deterioration can take as little as five years, causing sufferers of the
disease to experience more and more visual, auditory, and mental complications. What scientists
have not been able to do is figure out how to reverse the deterioration caused by the disorder.
The more they know about what causes it, however, the better they will be able to treat the
sufferers of the disease.

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Most research in this area is directed at prevention of the disease rather than at finding a cure.
There seems to be no scenario presently anticipated in which medical science will be able to
induce a regrowth of lost gray matter. Since the progressive loss of gray matter matches the
progressive worsening of the symptoms, it seems clear that loss of gray matter is a contributing
cause of the disease. And since gray matter never grows in the human body after the brain
achieves its full size, prevention is the sphere of research that seems to be the most promising.

1. Images taken of schizophrenic brains show that the disease leads to the loss of gray
matter.
A) True

B) False

2. The article describes possible scenarios for why schizophrenia is likely to occur in some
people and not in others.
A) True

B) False

Reading Comprehension: Multiple Choice

Choose the option that best completes each sentence.

3. By using MRI and MRS imaging, doctors are able to see all of the following except
___.
A) enlarged ventricles

B) brain volume

C) loss of gray matter

D) hallucinations

4. Thompson's study focused on ___.

A) observing the various symptoms caused by schizophrenia

B) observing the size differences in the brains of schizophrenic and healthy individuals

C) observing the rate of loss of gray matter in the brains of schizophrenic teenagers

D) developing drugs to help alleviate the symptoms of schizophrenia

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Vocabulary: Word Families
Choose the word form that correctly completes each sentence.

5. It was important for the committee to make the ____ between “performing well” and
“performing adequately” when they gave performance reviews.
A) distinctive

B) distinctively

C) distinction

6. The most ____ symptom of Alzheimer's disease is forgetfulness.

A) distinctive

B) distinctively

C) distinction

7. Once the ____ interview was completed, the candidate had to go through a series of
psychological evaluations.
A) initials

B) initialized

C) initial

8. They had to sign the contract in three different places and ____ it in six places.
A) initials

B) initialized

C) initial

Vocabulary: Multiple Choice

Choose the option that best completes each sentence.

9. The pharmaceutical company was most interested in the _____ the research because
they knew they would be questioned on that by the ethics committee.
A) distinction between

B) integrity of

C) attachment to

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 D) insights about

10. Nurses are showing Mr. Simpson how the heart monitor ____ to his skin so that he can
do it himself at home.
A) triggers

B) internalizes

C) visualizes

D) attaches

11. MRIs offer ____ the nature of a disease by giving more accurate information about its
growth patterns.
A) distinction from

B) internalization of

C) trigger to

D) insight into

12. Dr. Jones provided the patient with a likely ____ for what might happen if he refused to
have the surgery.
A) scenario

B) sphere

C) insight

D) attachment

13. After the surgery, Marcia's doctors declared her completely cured and well. She felt as if
she were about to start a whole new ____ in her life.
A) chapter

B) scenario

C) sphere

D) visualization

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 14. After treating the patient for a particular disease for several weeks with no
improvement, the doctors were convinced that the ____ diagnosis was wrong and that
he was actually suffering from a different ailment.
A) attached

B) initial

C) induced

D) internal

Vocabulary: Fill in the blank

Use the words below to complete the sentences. Use each word one time.

internalize minor
insightful obviously visual

15. As the patient was giving her psychiatric history, the therapist was observing
______________ clues such as posture, body movements, and facial expressions.

16. Although it was considered a ______________ setback by the doctors, Luisa was upset
that the first drug they tried didn't work.

17. Her therapist determined that Nancy was inclined to ______________ her anger, which
was the cause of her stomach problems.

18. The high-school counselor proved to be extremely ______________. She could usually
find out the root causes of a student's problems quickly and offer constructive advice for
resolving them.

19. The patient was screaming, crying, and moving around wildly. She
was______________ psychotic and in need of immediate help.

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