The Neuron that Shaped Civilization (Listening)

1) What is the lecture mainly about?

A) The significance of one type of brain cell.
B) Amazing functions of the human brain.
C) The effect of civilization on brain development.
D) The complexities of human thought.


2) According to the speaker, what strange about mirror neurons?

A) They are able to give commands to the body.
B) They have more than 10,000 connections.
C) They react when observing other people in action.
D) They copy the actions of other neurons.


3) It can be inferred from the lecture that without mirror neurons,

A) New technological and cultural developments would not spread.
B) Evolution would be impossible.
C) People would be unable to perform simple actions.
D) The brain would be more efficient.


4) At 5:08 in the lecture, the speaker says, "Now, the question then arises: If I simply watch another person being touched, why do I not get confused and literally feel that touch sensation merely by watching somebody being touched?"

What does he mean when he says "the question then arises"?

A) He is presenting a problem that has stumped scientists.
B) He is about to ask the audience a question.
C) He emphasizing a common error.
D) He wants to explain a confusing issue.


5) Which of the following is NOT a result of mirror neuron function?

A) Feeling a touch experienced by another person.
B) A sense of connectedness to other people.
C) A loss of sensation in the arm of a patient in pain.
D) Relieving pain from the missing arm of a patient.

Cheese, Dogs and Malaria Pills (Listening)

1) What is the main topic of the lecture?

A) Ways that the spread of a disease can be prevented.
B) Various methods by which malaria spreads.
C) The connection between different mosquitoes and different types of malaria.
D) Differences between different types of mosquitoes.


2) At 2:31, why does the speaker say, "Well, in Africa, we have the equivalent of 7 jumbo 747s crashing everyday"?

A) He is comparing plane crashes in the United States and Africa.
B) He wants the listeners to understand the scale of the problem he is discussing.
C) He believes that plane crashes are a more serious problem in Africa.
D) He is emphasizing that malaria is just as preventable as plan crashes.


3) Which of the following is true about mosquito larvae? (choose two answers)

A) It is easier to kill them than adult mosquitoes.
B) It is even easier for dogs to find people who have malaria than for them to find the larvae.
C) Dogs can be trained to find and kill them.
D) They have a special scent that allows people to find the pools that they live in.


4) Why does the professor stick his arm in a cage of mosquitoes?

A) To demonstrate how hungry the mosquitoes are.
B) To show the audience how fast the drug works.
C) To kill some mosquitoes for the audience.
D) To explain an effective way of killing mosquitoes.


5) Decide if each of the following statements is true or false.

i) Not all people are bitten equally by mosquitoes.
ii) Different types of mosquitoes are attracted to different parts of the body because they taste different.
iii) Certain types of cheese attract mosquitoes better than people.
iv) Dogs are effective at finding adult mosquitoes.
v) The pill that the professor demonstrates is also effective against larvae.

Chronic Pain (Listening)

1) What is main topic of the lecture?

A) The issue of ongoing pain and how it can be managed.
B) What chronic pain feels like.
C) Effective ways of managing children's hospitals.
D) Different ways that people deal with pain.


2) Why does the speaker use a feather and a blowtorch as part of his lecture?

A) To introduce a problem that many patients have with feathers.
B) To help him illustrate a symptom of the problem he discusses in the lecture.
C) To explain that pain from injuries such as sprains can be managed with the gentle touch of something soft like a feather.
D) To explain two different types of injuries that he treats.


3) At 03:22, the speaker says, "How can the nervous system get this so wrong? How can the nervous system misinterpret an innocent sensation like the touch of a hand and turn it into the malevolent sensation of the touch of the flame?" Why does he say this?

A) He thinks that his patient's body has an unusual nervous system.
B) He is illustrating the fact that even doctors don't understand why these problems happen.
C) He wants the audience to speculate about the answers.
D) He intends to explain how a problem with the nervous system can occur.


4) Which of the following statements is true about way the body's nervous system deals with pain? (2 answers)

A) The nervous system is arranged in a similar way to wires in a house.
B) Nerves communicate to each other one by one from the source of pain all the way up to the brain.
C) Neurotransmitter chemicals interact with non-nerve cells.
D) A feedback loop in the nervous system creates chronic pain.


5) Which of the following is NOT an effective treatment for chronic pain?

A) Physical therapy
B) Local anesthetics
C) Painkillers
D) Psychotherapy


6) Why is the lecturer optimistic about the future?

A) Because he does not believe he will have to deal with chronic pain when he is older.
B) Because he expects even better treatments to deal with pain.
C) Because he believes that in the future people will not feel pain.
D) Because he successfully treated his patient.

Pre-conditions (Listening)

1) What does the lecturer mainly discuss?

A) What baseball statistics can tell us about our medical system.
B) The failures of the medical system that can be attributed to poor management.
C) The inaccuracy in predictions of people's medical futures.
D) Medicine in baseball and its applications to some current health care issues.


2) At 2:25, the speaker says, "I have a name for all of these conditions, and it's another precondition. I call them preposterous." Why does he say this?

A) He thinks that most of these conditions are unreasonably diagnosed.
B) He is not interested in studying these conditions.
C) He is emphasizing the need to study these conditions further.
D) He believes all of the conditions can be grouped together in one medical category.


3) What is the speakers opinion of many of the treatments available for preconditions?

A) They are somewhat effective.
B) They are extremely important.
C) They are somewhat ineffective.
D) They often do more harm than good.


4) According to the lecture, which of the following are examples of reason that the current healthcare system focuses on "preconditions"? (choose two options)?

A) Pharmaceutical companies want to keep their customers happy.
B) Patients want an easy solution to their medical problems.
C) Doctors are worried about legal action being taken against them.
D) Money can be saved by catching the illnesses early.


5) Why was the speaker happy with his doctor's advice?

A) The doctor told him he was healthy.
B) The doctor did not talk about his health in terms of preconditions.
C) The doctor took the time to explain the dangers of pre-obesity.
D) The doctor told him he was overweight.

Experiments That Hint of Longer Lives (Listening)

1) What is the lecture mainly about?

A) The reason that different animals have different life-spans.
B) Researchers have found a way to make the C. elegans worm live longer.
C) Implications of her research for humans.
D) The genetics of life-spans.

2) At 03:15, the lecturer says, "But it's really more like this: let's say you're a 30 year-old guy -- or in your 30s -- and you're a bachelor and you're dating people. And you meet someone you really like, you get to know her. And you're in a restaurant, and you say, "Well how old are you?" She says, "I'm 60." That's what it's like. And you would never know. You would never know, until she told you."

Why does she say, "But it's really more like this"?

A) She is making a joke for the audience.
B) She is explaining what dating will be like in the future.
C) She is clarifying a common misconception.
D) She is explaining one of the steps in the experiment.


3) What can be inferred from the lecture?

A) Worms, flies, mice and people share a common gene.
B) Gene mutation in the studies harmed the animals.
C) The lecturer does not believe all animals can be affected by gene mutation.
D) She believes that quality of life may decrease when life-span increases.

4) Why is the speaker optimistic?

A) There is already a drug available for people that helps them live longer.
B) She believes that she will live longer because of her research.
C) She is excited about the ability to extend the lives of animals.
D) She believes that she can now help elderly people resist diseases better.

5) Mark True or False beside each of the following statements about the daf-2 gene:
- A daf-2 mutation can cause slower aging in people.
- Mutation of the daf-2 gene has quite different results in different animals.
- A mutated daf-2 gene causes defects in the cells of the animal.
- A daf-2 mutation can result in lower risk of age-related diseases.

Cure for Killer Infections (Listening)

 1) What is the lecture mainly about?

A) A method for killing drug-resistant bacteria.
B) Molecules that your body hates.
C) Transplant surgery.
D) The way your body's immune system works.


2) Why is the professor discussing pig heart valves?

A) He is explaining why he thinks certain research ideas are ridiculous.
B) He is explaining why heart transplant surgery can be difficult.
C) He is explaining how our immune systems work.
D) He is explaining the background of his research.

3) At 01:58, the professor says, "So you can take a bacteria that really doesn't make these things at all, and if you could clap these on it really well, you have it taken off the street."

What does the professor mean when he says, "You have it taken off the street"?

A) City workers will keep the streets clean of bacteria
B) Your immune system removes bacteria from your body.
C) Criminals will be removed by police.
D) Doctors will cure your bacterial infection with drugs.


4) Which of the following is true of the Staphylococcus? (Pick two answers)

A) His friend died from a Staphylococcus infection.
B) He couldn't attach a DNA aptamer to Staphylococcus.
C) Staphylococcus is resistant to antibiotics.
D) Staphylococcus was used in the mouse experiment.


5) What can be inferred about the professor's attitude:

A) He is very serious about his research.
B) He is pessimistic about our fight against bacteria.
C) He thinks his work is useful but not essential.
D) He believes humor can help people understand his work.