Question 1
The author is primarily concerned with discussing
This is a classical question for the Precise approach: we've read the entire passage, now let's think: what is it about? If the first paragraph establishes the claim that drugs sometimes have negative side effects and discusses the importance of having accurate information on these, the second us about the way these are currently monitored in the US, the third is about programs for monitoring them in other countries, and the fourth is about what steps should be taken to find out information about these in the future,
it is clear that the author is concerned with how important it is to have good information about the adverse effects of drugs. Looking at the answers, this is exactly what B states
Another method is
using the answers and asking ourselves:
if this is his concern, what sort of passage would we expect?(A) methods for testing the effects of new drugs on humans
- simple, we'd expect a list of many different methods of testing drugs on humans. But this is not what we have - rather, we have a review of different ways of collecting information in general, not specially testing(B) the importance of having accurate information about the effects of drugs -
we'd expect a focus on the ways to collect information about drugs - exactly what we have!(C) procedures for determining the long-term effects of new drugs
this would mean a focus on long-term effects, but this is not mentioned. we care about short term effects as well(D) attempts to curb the abuse of prescription drugs.
This is not discussed at all(E) the difference between the therapeutic and nontherapeutic actions of drugs.
if this were the topic, this would be discussed throughout the entire paper. yet it is only mentioned in one paragraph!Question 2
2. The author implies that a drug with adverse side effects
Since the topic mentioned here is very general and could refer to any part of the passage, we'll
go straight to the answers(A) will not be approved for use by consumers without a doctor’s prescription -
the firs paragraph explicitly mentions the possibility that a drug is sold without a prescription - no! (B) must wait for approval until lengthy studies prove the effects are not permanent -
the author may wish this were the case, but he tells us it definitely isn't - not all drugs are studied, and the ones that are have a "short duration" - no! (C) should be used only if its therapeutic value outweighs its adverse effects -
this is not explicitly stated, but it is implied both by the fact that some adverse effects are quite trivial, and by the fact that knowledge of adverse effects is important for drug labelling; this means the physician of patient will have information about both the therapeutic and adverse effects, and should base their decision on the weighing of these against one another (D) should be withdrawn from the marketplace pending a government investigation
This is not stated, nor is it implied - some adverse effects are quite trivial, and they can safely be used(E) could be used in foreign countries even though it is not approved for use in the United States -
while this is possible, it is not discussed or impliedQuestion 3
3. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
We definitely have to
use the answers here:
(A) Drugs with serious side effects are never approved for distribution.
definitely not true, as the example of thalidomide shows(B) A centralized drug oversight function would improve public health.
not necessarily: the author says it would be "inappropriate" to do as the present(C) Most physicians are not aware that prescription drugs have side effects.
the opposite is implied, by the fact that physicians are described as both reporting on adverse side effects, and using information about them in their regular prescribing(D) Some rare adverse drug effects are not discovered during the limited testing.
This is indeed implied, by the example of thalidomide (E) Consumers are seldom unable to understand directions for proper use of a drug.
As with (C), the reverse is trueQuestion 4
4. The author introduces the example of thalidomide to show that some
this is a question which can be solved in the Precise fashion of using the information in the passage, since this refers to a specific place in the text. Thalidomide is mentioned in this context:
Animal toxicology studies are, of course, done prior to marketing in an attempt to identify any potential for toxicity, but negative results do not guarantee the safety of a drug in humans, as evidenced by such well known examples as the birth deformities due to thalidomide. the text tells us specifically that Thalidomide shows that what is true for animals isn't always true for humans - answer A Question 5
5. The author of the passage regards current drug investigation procedures as
this topic is discussed all throughout the passage. Can we figure out what direction the answer will be? Say, what connotation? Well, going over the many different procedures which are mentioned, we can see none of the are described negatively. Rather, they are all described as working well ("its side effects are usually well described"), but needing to be combined together, as the last paragraph, which describes future steps, says they must all be combined. [color=#0000ff
]Looking over the answers, the only one with a. positive connotation is (C)[/color]
Question 6
6. The author is most probably leading up to a discussion of some suggestions about how to
This question naturally sends us to the last paragraph, which is about future steps. The last sentence says:
the challenge is to improve each segment of the system and to take advantage of new computer strategies to improve coordination and communication. this logically leads us to expect methods to achieve this - improving coordination and communication, answer (C).