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Question 1
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Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
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Passage
In North America, therapies that are alternative to mainstream—modern, evidence-based—medicine, such as homeopathy and acupuncture, are gaining clout in medical clinics and increasingly receiving governmental funding. Yet many doctors strenuously oppose these therapies, believing them to be fraudulent. Not only are there no scientifically plausible explanations of how most alternative therapies could work, but controlled studies often reveal that the therapies are no more effective than placebo treatments that patients cannot distinguish from the therapies themselves.
But defenders of alternative therapies point out that many popular drugs and surgeries endorsed by mainstream medicine have never been proven to be more effective than placebos either. One recent study concludes that 85 percent of new prescription drugs on the market provide little or no benefit to patients. And research has revealed that some faked surgeries relieve arthritis and osteoporosis symptoms as effectively as real surgeries do—at far lower risk.
The most effective way to reduce the toll of most common chronic diseases is through lifestyle changes such as exercising more, improving diet, reducing stress, and quitting smoking. Studies have shown that patients are more likely to make such changes when doctors encourage them to do so. This type of intervention works best when doctors spend considerable time counseling patients sympathetically, listening to their concerns and easing their anxieties. Unfortunately, physicians usually lack the time and training to provide these services effectively. Most doctors see patients only briefly, interrupt them frequently, and discuss technical issues rather than patient feelings. When patients describe vague, undiagnosable complaints, doctors often state flatly that they cannot treat the problems.
Practitioners of alternative therapies, though often lacking medical credentials, usually spend far more time counseling patients and forging emotional connections. This often enables them to persuade patients to make desirable lifestyle changes. And even if they are only effective as placebos, some alternative therapies have been shown to produce larger placebo effects than placebos do in mainstream medicine, perhaps because extended, comforting rituals make patients feel better cared for. Furthermore, alternative practitioners more often offer hope and sympathy to patients with vague symptoms. For all these reasons, governmental spending on alternative therapies may sometimes yield better health outcomes, overall, than comparable spending on mainstream medicine.
⸻
Question 12
What is the main point of the passage?
A. Many mainstream doctors wrongly oppose alternative therapies as fraudulent and ineffective.
B. Practitioners of alternative therapies usually spend more time encouraging patients to make desirable lifestyle changes than mainstream doctors do.
C. Governments may sometimes be able to promote health more effectively by funding alternative therapies than by funding mainstream medicine.
D. Both mainstream and alternative medical treatments are often no more effective than placebos.
E. The majority of chronic medical conditions are most effectively treated by encouraging patients to change their lifestyle.
⸻
My reasoning
I chose C.
The final sentence of the passage states:
“For all these reasons, governmental spending on alternative therapies may sometimes yield better health outcomes, overall, than comparable spending on mainstream medicine.”
This appears to be the author’s overall conclusion, while the preceding discussion about placebos, lifestyle changes, and counseling functions as support for that conclusion.
However, the answer key says A.
I don’t understand how A can be correct because the passage never establishes that mainstream doctors are wrong to oppose alternative therapies. In fact, the author explicitly acknowledges that:
* there are no scientifically plausible explanations for most alternative therapies, and
* controlled studies often show they are no more effective than placebos.
The author’s argument seems to be:
Even if alternative therapies are largely placebo-based, they may still produce better overall health outcomes because they encourage lifestyle changes, provide emotional support, and generate stronger placebo effects.
Therefore, the author does not seem to argue that doctors are wrong; rather, the author argues that alternative therapies may still be worth funding.
Would you choose A or C, and why?
In North America, therapies that are alternative to mainstream—modern, evidence-based—medicine, such as homeopathy and acupuncture, are gaining clout in medical clinics and increasingly receiving governmental funding. Yet many doctors strenuously oppose these therapies, believing them to be fraudulent. Not only are there no scientifically plausible explanations of how most alternative therapies could work, but controlled studies often reveal that the therapies are no more effective than placebo treatments that patients cannot distinguish from the therapies themselves.
But defenders of alternative therapies point out that many popular drugs and surgeries endorsed by mainstream medicine have never been proven to be more effective than placebos either. One recent study concludes that 85 percent of new prescription drugs on the market provide little or no benefit to patients. And research has revealed that some faked surgeries relieve arthritis and osteoporosis symptoms as effectively as real surgeries do—at far lower risk.
The most effective way to reduce the toll of most common chronic diseases is through lifestyle changes such as exercising more, improving diet, reducing stress, and quitting smoking. Studies have shown that patients are more likely to make such changes when doctors encourage them to do so. This type of intervention works best when doctors spend considerable time counseling patients sympathetically, listening to their concerns and easing their anxieties. Unfortunately, physicians usually lack the time and training to provide these services effectively. Most doctors see patients only briefly, interrupt them frequently, and discuss technical issues rather than patient feelings. When patients describe vague, undiagnosable complaints, doctors often state flatly that they cannot treat the problems.
Practitioners of alternative therapies, though often lacking medical credentials, usually spend far more time counseling patients and forging emotional connections. This often enables them to persuade patients to make desirable lifestyle changes. And even if they are only effective as placebos, some alternative therapies have been shown to produce larger placebo effects than placebos do in mainstream medicine, perhaps because extended, comforting rituals make patients feel better cared for. Furthermore, alternative practitioners more often offer hope and sympathy to patients with vague symptoms. For all these reasons, governmental spending on alternative therapies may sometimes yield better health outcomes, overall, than comparable spending on mainstream medicine.
⸻
Question 12
What is the main point of the passage?
A. Many mainstream doctors wrongly oppose alternative therapies as fraudulent and ineffective.
B. Practitioners of alternative therapies usually spend more time encouraging patients to make desirable lifestyle changes than mainstream doctors do.
C. Governments may sometimes be able to promote health more effectively by funding alternative therapies than by funding mainstream medicine.
D. Both mainstream and alternative medical treatments are often no more effective than placebos.
E. The majority of chronic medical conditions are most effectively treated by encouraging patients to change their lifestyle.
⸻
My reasoning
I chose C.
The final sentence of the passage states:
“For all these reasons, governmental spending on alternative therapies may sometimes yield better health outcomes, overall, than comparable spending on mainstream medicine.”
This appears to be the author’s overall conclusion, while the preceding discussion about placebos, lifestyle changes, and counseling functions as support for that conclusion.
However, the answer key says A.
I don’t understand how A can be correct because the passage never establishes that mainstream doctors are wrong to oppose alternative therapies. In fact, the author explicitly acknowledges that:
* there are no scientifically plausible explanations for most alternative therapies, and
* controlled studies often show they are no more effective than placebos.
The author’s argument seems to be:
Even if alternative therapies are largely placebo-based, they may still produce better overall health outcomes because they encourage lifestyle changes, provide emotional support, and generate stronger placebo effects.
Therefore, the author does not seem to argue that doctors are wrong; rather, the author argues that alternative therapies may still be worth funding.
Would you choose A or C, and why?
Moderators:
