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Could It Happen Here?. Radon and Indoor Air. Questions. 10. Draw the table containing word families for the words from this Module Academic Word List. Complete Table 4.1. Sometimes more than one form may be possible. If you are unsure about a form, check
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Could It Happen Here?
The United States hasn’t had a major nuclear emergency since an accident closed Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island power plant in 1979. Will an accident happen here again? “Nobody can answer that question, ” says physicist Kelly Classic, a spokesperson for the Health Physics Society. But, she says, companies and communities are prepared. Power companies have regular safety drills for plants and nearby communities. People living nearby have access to emergency medicines such as potassium iodide in case of an accident. (That medicine temporarily blocks radioactive iodine from entering, and possibly harming, the thyroid gland. ) Hospitals and emergency responders conduct regular drills on handling emergencies too.
Radon and Indoor Air
A radioactive gas called radon exists in soil all over Earth. It forms when naturally occurring radioactive materials such as uranium ring break down. Radon can seep into basements and floors, and buildup of the gas inside a home can make people sick. Treating some types of meat and produce with one type of nuclear radiation can prevent disease. The process, called food irradiation, uses “enough to destroy the bacteria, but not enough to destroy the quality or the nutritional content of the food, ” explains food scientist Christine Bruhn at the University of California, Davis. It doesn’t make food radioactive - just as an X-ray won’t make you radioactive.
Nonetheless, critics worry about possible accidents at processing plants. Detractors also say irradiation benefits farmers more than consumers. In their view, farms should avoid overcrowding in the first place—cramped conditions crowding on factory farms, they assert, stress animals and promote the types of disease that irradiation is then used to destroy. In any case, bacteria can still contaminate food after irradiation. The best way to prevent foodborne illness, whether the food has been treated borne with irradiation or not? Practice safe food handling at home.
Questions
1. What is one-way radiation is used that is beneficial for our health?
a. To kill bacteria in foods that could make us sick.
b. To disinfect surfaces like tables and door handles where bacteria often live.
c. To zap our bodies with extra energy for sports and activities.
d. To damage cells and eventually cause things like thyroid cancer.
2. In the article, how does the author describe radiation?
a. as something to avoid at all costs
b. as something that’s less harmful than its reputation suggests
c. as something that can be both good and bad
d. as something that is helpful for human health and food safety
3. Which of the following conclusions about radiation is supported by the passage?
a. Radiation is more harmful than helpful.
b. Radiation is neither harmful nor helpful.
c. Radiation is more helpful than harmful.
d. Radiation is both helpful and harmful.
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4. Read the following sentence: “You might not know exactly how to describe it, but chances are good that you know the word radiation can have two very different connotations. ” In this sentence the word connotations means …
a. denotations
b. meanings
c. connections
d. implications
5. This passage deals primarily with …
a. the ways that radiation can kill bacteria that may be present in foods.
b. the effects, both positive and negative, that radiation can have.
c. the fact that too much radiation can be harmful for our health, even causing cancer or death.
d. why we should try to minimize our exposure to radiation.
6. How does radiation help doctors identify health problems in patients? (an open answer)
7. Why do you think the accident at Fukushima has “heightened fears about radiation”? (an open answer)
8. The question below is an incomplete sentence. Choose the word that best completes the sentence. The author describes both the negative and positive sides of radiation _______ people understand all sides of the issue.
a. so
b. but
c. before
d. because
10. Draw the table containing word families for the words from this Module Academic Word List. Complete Table 4. 1. Sometimes more than one form may be possible. If you are unsure about a form, check Appendix 4. The first two words are done for you.
Table 4. 1. Word Families for Module 4 Academic Word List
| Verb | Noun | Adjective | Adverb | Participle I, II |
| abstract | abstract(s) abstraction(s) | abstract | abstractly | abstracting abstracted |
| X | accuracy (-ies) inaccuracy (-ies) | accurate inaccurate | accurately | X |
11. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words from the list.
accurate, cooperating, furthermore, ministered, traces, incorporated, instructions, intelligence, enhance, tape, exceeds, discriminate, attached, abstract, rational, flexible, presumed, incidence, motivated, authored
1. The suspect is _______ with police in the investigation. 2. Research shows that the transmission and _______ of disease can be reduced by vaccinations. 3. It is unrealistic to expect to be able to discuss _______ topics in a foreign language unless you are willing to spend a great deal of time in second language study. 4. My hours are quite _______ in my job; as long as I get the work done, the administration doesn’t care when I do it. 5. Changing your attitude from negative to positive may _______ your physical health. 6. Homeless people are fed and _______ to at various shelters in the cities. 7. When she didn't come to work, I simply _______ that she was sick. 8. Frank Tyger once remarked that discoveries are often made by not following _______, by going off the main road, by trying the untried. 9. My parents always _______ great value to my getting a good education. 10. Please don’t put tacks in the wall; _______ is much better because it doesn't leave any holes. 11. Salesmen in the store are _______ to make sales by a 25% commission. 12. The ancient Egyptians thought that our hearts were the center of _______ and emotion. 13. It was hard to get an _______ count of the number of people in the room because there were so many people coming and going all the time. 14. Eating well is important for good health. _______, it helps to make you more attractive. 15. Rocket developer Krafft Ehricke once said that man has no _______ alternative but to expand the environmental and resource base beyond Earth. 16. Dr. Spock _______ a number of popular books on child raising in the 50s and 60s. 17. Our budget for the year _______ $100, 000. 18. In 1911, IBM was _______ as the Computer-Tabulating-Recording Co., and produced clocks, scales, and punch card tabulators. 19. The first-place finisher was disqualified after _______ of steroids were found in his urine. 20. In the heat of a battle, it can be difficult to _______ between armed enemies and innocent civilians.
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