Read the Passage Top Five Ways to Beat the Plain Old Flu. Then Answer Numbers 1 Through 10

______

Read the passage “Top Five Ways to Beat the Plain Old Flu.” Then answer Numbers 1 through 10.

Top Five Ways to Beat the Plain Old Flu

By Eric Sabo

Medical reviewer:

Medically Reviewed On: January 21, 2006

Published on: November 07, 2005

With all the attention focused on the potential for an Avian flu pandemic, it can be easy to miss the regular flu season. At least 200,000 Americans are likely to be hospitalized from influenza this season, which could cause as many as 36,000 deaths due to flu complications.

So how can you stay flu-free?

Be Felix, not Oscar
Like Felix in the show the Odd Couple, it's best to be uptight about personal hygiene. The flu is easily spread in closed quarters like an office or school. Make sure to wash your hands often with soap or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. In a recent study from the University of Colorado that looked at students living in dorms, those who washed their hands more often had a lower risk of colds and flu.

Vaccinate the Kids First
While flu shots should be given to those most at risk for flu complications such as the elderly, anyone can benefit. But inoculating schoolchildren first may better prevent others from getting the flu. In fact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccinating all healthy children between 6 months and 5-years-old.

"Children have more influenza in their body when they get sick," says Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, an immunization specialist at PATH, a public health advocacy group. This means that preschoolers are naturals at spreading the flu, not to mention the fact they have the cleanliness habits of, well, a four-year old. "When you have a flu outbreak, it's usually a school that gets closed," says Neuzil.

Don't Stress Out
Chronic stress can undermine the effectiveness of the flu shot. "Our studies showed that people who have lots of stress going on in their lives have poorer responses to the influenza vaccination," says Dr. Vikki Burns of the University of Birmingham in England.

On the other hand, those who experience some brief anxiety, like missing an important meeting because they have to wait in a long line for a flu shot, take better to a vaccine. "Stress is only good for immune function if it is very brief, experienced immediately before vaccination," she says.

Stay Home
At the first signs of you or your child feeling sick, call your boss or child's school and tell them you're staying home because public health experts tell you so. You are most contagious during the first few days of flu. "By staying home, you can protect against inadvertently infecting others," says Neuzil.

The symptoms of the flu are similar to a common cold, but you will generally feel more miserable very quickly if you come down with influenza. The elderly and others who are more at risk for complications should immediately see a doctor if they think they have the flu.

Stock Pile Over-the-Counter Remedies
If you're in good health to begin with, don't worry about hoarding Tamiflu or other antiviral drugs to protect against the seasonal flu. These drugs have to be taken within the first 48 hours of getting the flu to be effective. Even if you get a prescription in time, they will only shorten the symptoms by roughly a day.

Tylenol or Advil can help get you through the worst of the flu, which typically clears up on its own in a week. "If you stockpile Tamiflu, you run the risk that someone who really needs it can't get it," says Neuzil.

“Top Five Ways to Beat the Plain Old Flu”

From http://www.healthology.com/colds/article302.htm

1. Which of these BEST explains why the information in the article is credible?

a. A medical text published on the internet is generally accurate.

b. This article was medically reviewed.

c. Relevant statistics and appeal to authority are presented for support.

d. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and two universities are mentioned.

2. What is the MAIN idea of the passage?

a. There are many ways to avoid influenza.

b. The avian flu pandemic is spreading.

c. Immunizing children is one way to avoid influenza.

d. Tylenol can get you through the worst of the flu.

3. Read this sentence from the passage.

But inoculating schoolchildren first may better prevent others from getting the flu.

What does inoculating mean in the following phrase?

a. immunizing

b. quarantining

c. prescribing

d. sanitizing

4. The author presents the information MAINLY through the effective use of

a. colorful language

b. simple descriptions

c. emotional arguments

d. selective statistics

5. The organization of the article is BEST described as

a. stating the problem and several possible solutions.

b. dividing the information into smaller sections by topic.

c. presenting information from the most important to least important.

d. following the chronology of a flu infection.

6. There is enough information in the article to conclude that influenza will MOST likely

a. be manageable if you follow these steps.

b. cause as many as 36,000 deaths.

c. cause more people to stay home.

d. cause schools to close.

7. Read this quote from the article.

“When you have a flu outbreak, it’s usually a school that gets closed,” says Neuzil.

This is mainly an example of which persuasive technique?

a. “bandwagon” because it suggests that everyone is joining in

b. “exaggeration” because it implies that this is the only possible solution

c. “appeal to emotion” because it uses scare tactics

d. “appeal to authority” because it uses the testimony of a respected public figure

8. Based on the article which medication would be MOST effective within the first two days of a flu infection?

a. antiviral drug

b. Advil

c. hand sanitizer

d. flu shot

9. Which of these would probably be LEAST useful in evaluating the article’s claim that chronic stress can undermine the effectiveness of the flu shot?

a. recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control

b. a recent study from the University of Colorado

c. an evaluation from a medical reviewer

d. a statement from Dr. Vikki Burns of the University of Birmingham in England

10. Based on the information in this article, explain how a high school student can prevent the spread of influenza in a community. Be sure to thoroughly support your answers using details and examples from the passage. Write your answers on the lines below.

______

Read the passage “Counting to Prettidase-Nine.” Then answer Numbers 11 through 22.

Counting to Prettidase-Nine

Mark Paterson

I walk with my head down, looking for cracks in the pavement. The sidewalk is grey and rough, but my dirty white running shoes are worn and comfortable. Since I've already stepped on four cracks in the pavement with my left foot, I am trying to find four new cracks for my right foot. I have to find four cracks before I get to the hospital.
A pair of Doc Marten-clad feet suddenly blocks my progress. I stop walking. I slowly raise my head and see black jeans with worn knees, a loose leather belt, and a blue sweat shirt with the words "Daytona Beach" scrawled in yellow across its face. "Sorry," a bald man with dark glasses says as he steps out of my way. I wonder why he is shading his eyes. The sun has been hidden by thick clouds with black undersides all day, making everything around me look a little grey.
With the path clear, I begin to walk again. To avoid more near collisions, I resolve to raise my head to check for obstructions once every five steps. I can still feel the four cracks that my left foot has stepped on, physical memories lingering inside my shoe. One step, two steps, three steps. It is important to find new cracks in the pavement. Four steps, five steps, look up. My right foot feels empty and wants things evened up.
The block ends here; the sidewalk has become a short cliff overlooking the pavement of the road six inches below it. I look up and wait for the traffic to subside before attempting to cross the intersection. I look all the way down the thoroughfare and my eyes tell my brain that the street is wide where I'm standing, but gradually narrows into nothingness further down the road. There's a convenience store sign with a wide eyed red owl on the next block that looks twice the size of an apartment building ten blocks down that I know is at least five stories tall. My father told me a long time ago that it's the shape of our eyes that makes us see things like narrowing roads and tall buildings that seem tiny from far away. He also informed me that special eyeglasses exist to correct this deficiency but he just couldn't afford to buy any for our family. When I asked him when he might be able to get some of these glasses for us, he told me we'd have them in prettidase-nine weeks. "How long is that?" I asked. "It's a long time," he said. Prettidase-nine is the numerical equivalent to the letter Z; it's the last number.

For the moment, there aren't any cars on the street except for a dark green mini-van that looks to be about the size of a dog, so I cross. The pavement on the road is darker than on the sidewalk, more black than grey. There's a thin, lightning bolt-shaped crack next to a rusting manhole cover and I adjust my gait to get my right foot to step on it. One down, three to go. I step up onto the new sidewalk, quickly check ahead for obstacles, and hop over the shadow of the red owl sign, continuing on my way. The apartment building is slowly growing taller and I can see a green bench in front of it now. Accidentally, I step on a crack I hadn't noticed with my left foot. Now it's five to one, in favour of the left. I know, right foot, I know. But don't worry, I'm sure there are more than enough cracks between me and the hospital to make everything even.
My arms swing as I walk. My father told me this is natural because humans evolved from horses and we still hold on to the distant memory of walking on four legs. Arms actually think they are doing part of the walking, he said, and we should let them swing all they want. As I pass a lamp post, the side of my swinging left hand brushes against the metal pole. The impact lingers. I stop, turn around, and pass the grey pole on my right side, trying to recreate the incident for my other hand. I miss the spot, though, and only touch the lamp post with the back of my hand, not the side, so I just stop right in front of the pole. First, I softly touch the cold pole with the back of my left hand, getting that bit of unevenness out of the way, then reach out with the side of my right hand to take care of the original problem. My hands are back to normal again, they can get back to walking. There's a crack in the pavement edging out from the base of the lamp post. Little blades of green grass are growing inside the crack. I step on it twice with my right foot, cheating a bit, I know, and now it's five to three, in favour of the left.

Sometimes it's hard to keep track of all the scores. That's why when I walk I like to take care of little problems like the one I had with the lamp post right away, so that I don't get the big ones mixed up. I used to let everything get out of whack, but that was before my father told me how the body likes everything to be equal.
I came upon him in our living room one evening when he was standing facing the wall next to the mantle piece. He looked like he was playing a piano, the way he was tapping his fingers all over the wall. I asked him what he was doing, and he said that he was adjusting the house's central computer, but I couldn't see any buttons or anything. My mother was lying on the couch nearby, holding an empty glass on her stomach. She said, "Tell him what you're really doing," and he did.
"Tommy," my father said, "there are bees under my bed. If I don't want the bees to come out at night and sting me while I'm asleep, I have to make sure that everything is even on my body."
"Even?" I asked. I heard my mother groan and she got up from the couch, heading for the kitchen.
"Yes, even," my father continued. "You know, Tom, how sometimes you might be walking down the hall and one of your hands touches the wall? But you didn't mean for it to touch the wall? Well, if you don't want the bees to sting you at night, you have to touch the wall with your other hand, to make it even. I want to go to bed now, but I didn't keep up with everything that I did with my fingers today, so now I'm making everything even." He turned around and continued tapping the wall.
"There aren't any bees under my bed, Daddy."
"That's because you're only six years old, Tommy. The bees only start coming around when people turn seven."
My mother was back in the room, I could hear the ice clinking against the sides of her glass. "Oh, for Christ's sake, Arnold. What are you telling him now?" My father did not answer her, he just kept making everything even. My mother took a sip from her glass, wiped her chin, and lay back down on the couch.