Antibiotics and similar drugs, together called antimicrobial agents,

Question

Antibiotics and similar drugs, together called antimicrobial agents, have been used for the last 70 years to treat patients who have infectious diseases. Since the 1940s, these drugs have greatly reduced illness and death from infectious diseases. Antibiotics have been beneficial and, when prescribed and taken correctly, their value in patient care is enormous. However, these drugs have been used so widely and for so long that the infectious organisms the antibiotics are designed to kill have adapted to them, making the drugs less effective. Many fungi, viruses, and parasites have done the same. Some microorganisms may develop resistance to a single antimicrobial agent (or related class of agent), while others develop resistance to several antimicrobial agents or classes. These organisms are often referred to as multidrug-resistant or MDR strains. In some cases, the microorganisms have become so resistant that no available antibiotics are effective against them.

Antimicrobial drug resistance occurs everywhere in the world and is not limited to industrialized nations. Hospitals and other healthcare ettings are battling drug-resistant organisms that spread inside these institutions. Drug-resistant infections also spread in the community at large. Examples include drug-resistant pneumonias, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and skin and soft tissue infections.

People infected with drug-resistant organisms are more likely to have longer and more expensive hospital stays, and may be more likely to die as a result of the infection. When the drug of choice for treating their infection doesn’t work, they require treatment with second- or third-choice drugs that may be less effective, more toxic, and more expensive. This means that patients with an antimicrobial-resistant infection may suffer more and pay more for treatment.     1 
 1. Which of the following would the author be most likely to recommend regarding this passage?

a. A stronger focus in research should be implemented to combat multidrug-resistant strains.
b. An increase in funding should be given to third world countries in an effort to both treat and research new MDR strains. 
c. Staph and MRSA should be listed as deadly diseases.
d. Safe sex education should be reprioritized as paramount, as it’s a controllable variable whereas the spreading of soft tissue infections isn’t.
e. Healthcare professionals should lower their fees for people who suffer from MDR strains.

2 
 2. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?

a. Drug-resistant infections are causing an increase in hospital and medical fees. 
b. Drug-resistant pneumonia and fierce STDs are on their way to becoming a global epidemic unless preparedness action is aggressively taken. 
c. The longtime use of certain antibiotics has rendered them ineffective against the ever-adapting viruses they combat. 
d. The value of antibiotics has been underestimated; hence, its continuing development has been neglected. 
e. Antibiotics are frequently not taken correctly, weakening the immune system against MDR strains.

3 
 3. Of the following situations, which most resembles the information regarding antibiotics in the passage?

a. a superhero who has lost his invisibility powers 
b. a cucumber in a salt solution halfway on a course to being a pickle 
c. a sixteenth-century castle surrounded by a giant moat hosting a kingdom that is being attacked by a rival empire that has canoes 
d. two apple pies entered in a bake-off, one made with Granny Smith apples and one made with Red Delicious 
e. Buying tickets to a sold-out show on the street outside the venue rather than on the Internet through an overinflated third-party source

4 
 4. What is most likely the structural purpose of the fourth sentence?

a. to report more data regarding the author’s interest in the study 
b. to begin a comparison between two different ideas 
c. to introduce a rebuttal to a widely accepted opinion 
d. to vehemently denounce an institution’s stance 
e. to appeal to the reader’s sense of compassion

5 
 5. Based on the information in the passage, which of these statements is true?

a. As infectious organisms evolve, less effective and more expensive drugs will have to be used for treatment. 
b. Hospitals are the only institutions that benefit from the inefficacy of antibiotics since they’re likely to reap more capital with increased hospital stays. 
c. People who live in industrialized areas are more prone to contracting an MDR strain. 
d. If antibiotics were taken as prescribed more often, the viruses being fought would never have had the chance to adapt to them. 
e. We can expect a rise in sexually transmitted diseases in our society since we’ve lost the power to treat them.

6 
 6. The tone of this passage could be described as:

a. critical 
b. sarcastic 
c. admonishing 
d. infuriated 
e. resentful

RC Butler 2022  -  Practice Two RC Passages Everyday.   
Passage # 254 Date: 24-Jun-2022
 This question is a part of RC Butler 2022 .  Click here for Details

Solenja · Answer

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Hey Sajjad 
could you please explain questions 4 & 6

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

4. What is most likely the structural purpose of the fourth sentence?

Explanation

The first three lines of the passage state already accepted, studied, and proven information. The fourth line introduces new findings on the subject, suggesting are buttal of the previously widely believed information. The author isn’t reporting data that matches what has already been stated, therefore choice a is incorrect. Choice b is incorrect because the passage does not compare two different ideas. The initial information given is not an idea but proven material. There is nothing so drastic as vehemence suggested in the passage, and the author doesn’t seem to be begging for the reader’s compassion, so choices d and e are incorrect.

Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

6. The tone of this passage could be described as:

Explanation

Admonishing  is defined as warning or cautioning, which is suggestive of the author’s intent. The drug’s previous successes are mentioned, but the passage suggests that further study is needed or there could be potentially hazardous consequences such as a rise in illness and the upset of inflated drugs. The author is somewhat  critical  (choice a) of the current usefulness of antibiotics, but isn’t critical as a whole against any specific institution, only suggestive that further action is required. The author’s tone is not  sarcastic  (choice b) at all. The adjectives in choices d and e suggest emotional response, which the author does not imply.

Answer: C

Its_me_aka_ak · Answer

3. Of the following situations, which most resembles the information regarding antibiotics in the passage?

a. a superhero who has lost his invisibility powers 
b. a cucumber in a salt solution halfway on a course to being a pickle 
c. a sixteenth-century castle surrounded by a giant moat hosting a kingdom that is being attacked by a rival empire that has canoes 
d. two apple pies entered in a bake-off, one made with Granny Smith apples and one made with Red Delicious 
e. Buying tickets to a sold-out show on the street outside the venue rather than on the Internet through an overinflated third-party source

Got all right except for 3.
Kindly explain why it's C and not A.
My thought process:
A is not right because antibiotics haven't exactly lost their ability; it's just that viruses have developed more resistance.
On the other hand, C says that the castle has its guard on, but the attacker has a counter canoe, so attackers can still enter the castle, so A may still be better even if it ain't perfect.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Option (A)  suggests a superhero who has lost his invisibility powers, and you mentioned that antibiotics haven't exactly lost their ability, but the issue here is not that antibiotics have lost their ability, rather it's that infectious organisms have adapted and become resistant to them. The superhero analogy doesn't fully capture this concept, as losing invisibility powers doesn't quite mirror the development of resistance in microorganisms.

Option (C)  involves a sixteenth-century castle surrounded by a giant moat, hosting a kingdom that is being attacked by a rival empire using canoes. This analogy is more fitting because it illustrates the concept of a defense mechanism (antibiotics) that has been in place for a long time (70 years), but the attacking force (microorganisms) has adapted to overcome that defense, similar to how infectious organisms have developed resistance to antibiotics over time.

In  option (C) , the castle's defenses (antibiotics) have been effective in repelling attacks (infections) for a long period, but the attacking force (microorganisms) has developed new strategies (resistance) to breach the defenses. This mirrors the situation described in the passage where antibiotics have been beneficial in reducing illness and death, but over time, microorganisms have adapted and become resistant, making the drugs less effective.

While  option (A)  might capture the idea of a loss of ability, it doesn't fully encapsulate the broader context of the passage, which focuses on the gradual adaptation and resistance of infectious organisms to antibiotics. Therefore,  option (C)  is a more accurate analogy for conveying the main message of the passage.

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Antibiotics and similar drugs, together called antimicrobial agents,

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Antibiotics and similar drugs, together called antimicrobial agents,

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