Page 77 - READING COMPANION TO ENGLISH EXAMS

Answer the questions 21–23 according to the
passage below.

The discovery of penicillin, the first naturally 22. According to the passage, why could doctors
derived antibiotic, is one of the greatest scientific do little for people in the past?
advancements in therapeutic medicine. In
the past, there was no effective treatment for A) They did not know how to apply a naturally
derived antibiotic.
contagious diseases; hence, hospitals were full of
people suffering from blood poisoning caused by B) Effective care for contagious diseases was
even a cut or scratch, and doctors were not able under development.
to do much for them but wait and hope. However, C) Waiting and hoping were the only ways of
today, those ailments are treated in a short time healing the ailments.
via medicine, usually antibiotics. Antibiotics are
substances produced by bacteria and fungi D) There were no successful healing methods
that have the ability to kill detrimental microbial for infectious diseases.
species or prevent their growth. Despite the fact E) The number of people suffering from
that the effect of mould, a type of fungus that diseases was increasing.
grows on rotten food or objects, has long been
known, it may explain why the ancient Egyptians
applied mouldy bread to infected wounds. Still,
the first true antibiotic was discovered by Dr
Alexander Fleming in 1928. He incidentally
noticed that the mould on a dish seemed to
be preventing the bacteria around it from growing.
He soon described how the mould created a
self-defence chemical capable of killing bacteria,
which he named penicillin.

21. Dr Alexander Fleming realised that ----. 23. One can understand from the passage that
penicillin ----.
A) the fungus on the dish absorbed the bacteria,
hindering their growth A) became arguably the world’s most effective
life-saving antibiotic but still needs more trust
B) the mould consisted of chemical substances
protecting itself from bacteria B) was discovered first by the ancient
Egyptians, healing wounds with mouldy
C) detrimental microbial species could cause bread
infectious diseases
C) is one of the most breakthrough and
D) the ancient Egyptians used mouldy bread to pioneering scientific advancements in human
recover infected wounds
history
E) the impact of mould on bread could have the D) has been used effectively for ages in a
same influence on diseases
variety of medical conditions and hospitals
E) prevented harmful bacteria from growing,
which caused the number of patients to
decrease

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