Test 03. UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI URBINO CARLO BO Centro Linguistico d Ateneo. Leggere il brano e rispondere alle domande in inglese

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1 Test 03 UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI URBINO CARLO BO Centro Linguistico d Ateneo Leggere il brano e rispondere alle domande in inglese Parents spark Search for New Treatment The story of Victoria Beck is dramatic: a Lorenzo s Oil of autism. Beck s belief that the drug secretin radically improved her son s symptoms and the media storm that resulted raised the hopes of many parents and galvanized public and private research. But the weight of evidence so far suggests that secretin doesn t work for the core symptoms of autism, at least for most children. In 1996, Beck s young autistic son had a routine gastrointestinal exam that involved a diagnostic injection of secretin, a drug that stimulates the pancreas. Soon afterward, his symptoms lessoned dramatically, and he began speaking again, sleeping well, and eating normally for 3 months. Convinced that secretin had led to this turn-around, Beck doggedly tried to get doctors to prescribe the drug but to no avail. Once Beck appeared on Dateline NBC in October 1998, however word spread like wildfire over the Web, and other parents clamored to know more. The next day I had hundreds of s, recalls Marie Bristol Power, special assistant for autism at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Bethesda, Maryland. The rapidity with which news spreads through the community is astounding. Based on this report and the countless newspaper articles that followed, several thousand parents across the country found doctors who would give their children multiple doses of secretin an off-license use for which the drug was not approved. Researchers became alarmed. This was not an insignificant treatment, says Manny DiCicco-Bloom, who studies secretin-like peptides at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Among the risks, he says are inflammatory bowel disease and anaphylactic shock. Worried, the National Institutes of Health (NIH)) sprang into action, setting up clinical trials within a few months. Meanwhile Repligen, a biotech company in Needham, Masssachusetts, raised $9 million in venture funding to investigate the drug. Then, bad news. In the 9 December 1999 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, scientists reported that the first trial showed no difference in 16 measures of behavior between 27 autistic children injected with a single dose of secretin and 29 who received a placebo. Since then, four other trials have also found no difference. But Repligen hasn t given up, modifying NIH s methodology by testing multiple doses. In July, Repligen researchers presented unpublished data at the Autism Society of America s annual meeting in San Diego. The company s phase II clinical trial showed a statistically significant improvement in some measures of social function in children receiving multiple doses of secretin compared to a placebo. Repligen plans to forge ahead with more trials Ed Cook, who collaborated in one of the negative trials, isn t optimistic about secretin and doesn t think physicians should prescribe it for autism until it s been shown to work. 1

2 In your own words, answer the following in one or more complete sentences. 1. Victoria Beck s autistic son was given a single dose of the drug secretin during a routine exam. Why did Victoria Beck ask doctors to continue prescribing secretin? 2. Doctors can refuse to prescribe multiple doses of secretin to those affected by autism. What are the reasons for this? 3. The article reports the results of different clinical trials testing secretin. In what ways did clinical trials differ? Have all the results been published? 2

3 4.Patients can now find a lot of information about pharmaceuticals on the Internet. Did you think there are advantages to this? Are there any disadvantages? Many parents of autistic children heard about secretin on the NBC program Dateline in October According to the article, what happened after this program? 5. Nel contesto dell articolo scegliete la traduzione in italiano più adatta per the hopes a) gli interessi b) le speranze c) i bisogni d) lo smarrimento 6. Nel contesto dell articolo scegliete la traduzione in italiano più adatta per countless a) corti b) innumerevoli c) contrari d) limitati 7. Nel contesto dell articolo scegliete la traduzione in italiano più adatta per behavior a) comportamento b) benessere c) consapevolezza d) coordinamento 8. Nel contesto dell articolo scegliete la traduzione in italiano più adatta per until a) inoltre b) fino a quando c) mentre d) oppure 3

4 Completare le frasi con la forma appropriata dei verbi tra parentesi. 1. I. (use) the computer at the moment. 2. What.( you/read) when I saw you in the library yesterday? 3. It was hot in the room so I. (open) the window. 4. What would you like to drink?..(i/have) some mineral water, please. 5. An old friend..(come) to see me yesterday. 6. I.. (buy) an English newspaper every day. Modal verbs: Competare le frasi scegliendo fra can, can t, could, couldn t, must, mustn t, should, shouldn t, have to, don t have to 7. This information is highly confidential so you.. discuss it with anyone you tell Mary to call me? 9. That s your fifth pack of cigarettes. You smoke so much. 10. Fish. live out of water. Multi-part verbs (phrasal verbs): Choose the correct alternative from the box and complete the sentences. There are two extra options you do not need to use. fill in turn on turn down point out set up find out 11. We need to.. what time the train leaves. 12. How do you. this digital camera? 13. I ve decided to that offer of a job overseas. 14. We.. a recording studio in the garage. Completare le frasi scegliendo la preposizione giusta. 15. Diane and I first met I went... the cinema last night. 17. I m always late for work.. Monday mornings. 18. We have a meeting half past eleven. Completare le frasi con la forma appropriata del periodo ipotetico. 19. If I finish work before 7 pm, I (call) you. 20. She (buy) a new car if she had enough money. 21. If Martina works hard, she... (pass) her exams. 22. If you wear your coat tomorrow, you...(not /be) cold. 4

5 Verb Pattern: the ing form (verb+ing) or the infinitive (to+verb) Underline the correct alternatives in these sentences: Es: You can find out if flights are delayed by calling /to call the airport. You can find out if flights are delayed by calling /to call the airport. 23. We agreed meeting/ to meet outside the cinema. 24. We wanted seeing / to see the film. 25. He enjoys playing/ to play football. 26. I used to eat chocolate. I stopped eating /to eat it last year. Tradurre in Italiano English brain elbow arm blood kidney ankle wrist spleen Italian Tradurre in Italiano Secretin is a naturally occurring enzyme found in the pancreas. It aids digestion to enable food proteins to be absorbed into our bodies. Supplements of secretin were originally given to individuals to treat gastro-intestinal complaints. Some researchers have recently suggested that the characteristics of autism spectrum disorders may be caused by the build-up of particular undigested foods. It is believed that people with autism spectrum disorders may have insufficient amounts of secretin within their digestive systems. 5

6 Recent theories have also suggested that secretin may be able to reach the brain, affecting neurons in the amygdala (Goulet et al 2001). This part of the brain helps us to interpret emotions through facial expressions. Certainly people with autism spectrum disorders have difficulties reading people's facial expressions and body language.... 6

7 Keys In your own words, answer the following in one or more complete sentences. 1. Victoria Beck asked doctors to prescribe secretin because she noticed a change in her son s behaviour after a single dose of the drug. His sleeping and eating habits improved and he began speaking again. 2. The pharmaceutical has not been approved for use as a cure for symptoms of autism. The are serious side-effects especially in multiple dose regimen. 3. Some clinical trials tested a single dose while other trials used multiple doses. No all results have been published. 4. Many parents of autistic children heard about secretin on the NBC program Dateline in October According to the article, what happened after this program? Student s own answer 5. b) le speranze 6. b) innumerevoli 7. a) comportamento 8. b) fino a quando Completare le frasi con la forma appropriata dei verbi tra parentesi. 1. I m using the computer at the moment. 2. What were you reading when I saw you in the library yesterday? 3. It was hot in the room so I opened the window. 4. What would you like to drink? I ll have some mineral water, please. 5. An old friend came to see me yesterday. 6. I buy an English newspaper every day. 7. This information is highly confidential so you mustn t discuss it with anyone. 8. Could (Can) you tell Mary to call me? 9. That s your fifth pack of cigarettes. You shouldn t smoke so much. 10. Fish can t live out of water. 11. We need to find out what time the train leaves. 12. How do you turn on this digital camera? 13. I ve decided to turn down that offer of a job overseas. 14. We set up a recording studio in the garage. 15. Diane and I first met in I went to the cinema last night. 17. I m always late for work on Monday mornings. 18. We have a meeting at half past eleven. 19. If I finish work before 7 pm, I ll call you. 20. She would buy a new car if she had enough money. 21. If Martina works hard, she will pass her exams. 7

8 22. If you wear your coat tomorrow, you won t be cold. 23. We agreed to meet outside the cinema. 24. We wanted to see the film. 25. He enjoys playing football. 26. I used to eat chocolate. I stopped eating it last year. Tradurre in Italiano English brain elbow arm blood kidney ankle wrist spleen Italian Cervello Gomito Braccio Sangue Rene Caviglia Polso Milza Tradurre in Italiano - Sample answer: Secretin è un enzima che si trova normalmente nel pancreas. Aiuta la digestione e permette che le proteine del cibo possano essere assorbite dal corpo. Secretin, come farmaco, è stato somministrato in passato per curare disturbi gastointestinali. Alcuni ricercatori hanno suggerito recentemente che le caratteristiche dei disturbi associati all autismo possono essere causate dai residui di cibo non digerito. Si crede che individui affetti da autismo abbiano quantità insufficienti di secretin nel sistema digerente. Tradurre in Italiano - Sample answer: Recenti teorie hanno suggerito che secretin possa essere in grado di raggiungere il cervello, con un effetto sui neuroni nell amigdala. Questa parte del cervello ci aiuta a interpretare le emozioni attraverso le espressioni facciali. E certamente vero che individui affetti da autismo hanno difficoltà ad interpretare le espressioni del viso e il linguaggio del corpo. 8