3. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words from the list.

3. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words from the list.

comprehend, eliminate, media, ideology, foundations, decades, somewhat, 
 adult, transmitting, publications

1. Many teenagers begin smoking in an attempt to look more _______. 2. Some people feel that coverage of violent crimes in the _______ often results in further crimes by those who wish to imitate what they see. 3. Your sister has changed _______ since she came back from college. 4. In order to understand our earth and the processes which operate upon it, one must attempt to _______ time spans of millions of years. 5. Regular practice of yoga can help to _______ stress. 6. The company has a number of _______ including a popular sports magazine, and a new fashion magazine. 7. Teachers act as the major vehicle for _______ the school curriculum and associated values to children. 8. Workers who died during construction of the Great Wall of China were often simply buried in the _______. 9. Her acting career spanned several _______ and attracted fans of all ages. 10. Edward Abbey once noted that growth for the sake of growth is the _______ of the cancer cell.

4. Read the text and answer the questions below it.

Nuclear Radiation Can Affect Our Health For Better or Worse

All Around Us . Radioactive materials give off invisible atomic particles or energy called nuclear radiation. “Radiation is always around us, ” notes Dr. Ritsuko Komaki, a professor of radiation oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Very high exposures to nuclear radiation can cause sickness and, in the worst cases, death. But most radiation around us isn’t something to worry about. Some normal amounts of nuclear radiation come from the sun, along with the sun’s heat, visible light, ultraviolet rays, and more. Tiny bits of nuclear radiation are in soil too. “Usually it’s a very low dose, and it’s not harmful, ” says Komaki. Activities such as mountain climbing or taking a long airplane ride expose you to slightly more radiation - because you’re closer to the sun. Experts generally don’t worry about those exposures either. Nuclear reactors, such as those at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan that was damaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, split uranium atoms. That action releases energy. The energy is used to boil water, which in turn creates steam that moves turbines that make electricity. When everything works, the process doesn’t pollute the air or water. Nuclear plants’ fuel and certain wastes, however, are radioactive. When emergency measures failed at Fukushima, explosions and fires released radioactivity into the environment. Cleanup will take years. Meanwhile, the accident has heightened fears about radiation.

Radiation’s Risks. After a nuclear accident, radiation levels in the area of the nuclear plant can be thousands of times higher than they were before. Very high exposures cause acute radiation syndrome. Symptoms can range “from not feeling right to seizures and even loss of consciousness and death, ” says Dr. David Weinstock at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In addition to making people sick right away, too much radiation can damage cells and raise a person’s risk of developing cancer later in life. In 1986, a nuclear power plant exploded in Chernobyl, Ukraine. Years later, thyroid cancer rates rose among young adults nearby. (The thyroid gland helps control the body’s energy levels and other functions. ) The young people had grown up drinking milk from cows that ate contaminated grass. Authorities are checking radiation levels in various foods and water to prevent similar problems in Japan. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also monitoring foods coming from Japan to the United States. While scientists found slightly higher radiation on the West Coast after the Fukushima accident, amounts were way below danger levels. “The Fukushima event really poses no risk to people in the United States, ” says Weinstock.

On the Plus Side. Nuclear radiation can help us get - and stay - healthy too. A special type of radiation is used to treat some meats, fruits, and vegetables to kill bacteria that can make people sick, for instance. In the same way that nuclear radiation’s energy can kill some of the body’s cells, it can also be used to kill cancerous tumors. “We are just targeting the cancer cells and protecting normal tissue surrounding the cancer, ” explains Komaki, who primarily researches lung cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately half of all cancer patients receive some form of radiation therapy as part of their treatment. Some forms of nuclear radiation can help doctors track down health problems in the first place. Torso X-rays and computed tomography (CT) scans use nuclear radiation to see inside the body. The benefits from being able to find health problems generally outweigh any tiny risks from exposure to radiation, but some accidents have happened. As a result, the FDA wants medical scanning equipment to have even more safeguards than it does now. Either way, experts say it’s a good idea to limit your exposure to nuclear radiation even when it’s part of a medical test. Always ask why any scan is necessary, especially if you think you have had that same test recently. “If there’s no justifiable reason for the extra radiation exposure, then don’t let yourself be exposed” if you can help it, says Kelly Classic, a health physicist at Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic and spokesperson for the Health Physics Society. Scientists and health experts around the globe continue to study nuclear radiation. They hope to harness its powerful benefits to continue to help people.