226 PRACTICE EXERCISES FOR READING ‘School Children with Disabilities (Question References) Who Are Children with Disabilities? Paragraph 1 Approximately 10 percent of all children in the United St receive special education or related services (Reschly, 1996). Within this group, a little more than half have a learning disability. Substantial percentages of children also have speech or language impairments (21 percent of those with disabilities), mental retardation (12 percent), and serious emotional disturbance (9 percent). [] 2 Educators now prefer to speak of “children with disabilities” rather than ‘disabled children” to emphasize the person, not the disability [D] (Culatta and Tompkins, 1999). The term handicapping condition is still used to describe impediments to the learning and functioning of individuals with a disability that have been imposed by society. For example, when children who use a wheelchair do not hhave adequate access to a bathroom, transportation, and so on, this is referred to as a handicapping condition. Learning Disabilities : 3 Children with a learning disability (1) are of normal intelligence or above, (2) have difficulties in at least one academic area and usually several, and (3) have a difficulty that is not attributable to any other diagnosed problem or disorder. The global concept of learning disabilities includes problems in listening, concentrating, speaking, thinking. 4 About three times as many boys as girls are classified as having a leaming disability (U.S. Department of Education, 1996). Among the explanations for this gender difference are a greater biological vulnerability of boys, as well as referral bias (boys are more likely than girls to be referred by teachers for treatment because of their, ‘GiSruptive, hyperactive behavior). Educational Issues 5 The legal requirement that schools serve all children with a disability is fairly recent. Beginning in the mid 1960s to mid 1970s, legislatures, the federal courts, and the United States Congress laid down special educational rights for children with disabilities. Prior to that time, most children with a disability were either refused enrollment or inadequately served by schools. In 1975, Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, required that all students with disabilities be given a free, appropriate public education and be provided the funding to help implement this education. 6 In 1990, Public Law 94-142 was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The IDEA spells out broad mandates for services to all children with disabilities. These include evaluation and eligibility determination, appropriate education and the individualized education plan (IEP), and the least restrictive environment (LRE) (Martin, Martin, and Terman, 1996). 7 The IDEA requires that students with disabilities have an individualized edueation plan (IEP), a written statement that spells1, What does this passage mainly di @ @® oO @® READING SECTION: EXERCISE 84 ‘out a program specifically tailored for the student with a disability. An general, the IEP should be (1) related to the child's learning capacity; (2) specially constructed to meet the child’s individual needs and not merely a copy of what is offered to other children, and (3) designed to provide educational benefits. 8 Under the IDEA, a child with a disability must be educated in the least restrictive environment (LRE). This means a setting that is as similar as possible to the one in which children who do not have a disability are educated. The provision of the IDEA has given a legal basis to making an effort to educate children with a disability in the regular classroom (Crockett and Kaufmann, 1999). The term. used to describe the education of children with a disability in the regular classroom used to be mainstreaming. However, that term has been replaced by the term inclusion, which means educating a child with special education needs full-time in the general school program. ‘Today, mainstreaming means educating a student with special education needs partially in a special education classroom and partially in a regular classroom. 9 Many legal changes regarding children with disabilities have been extremely positive. Compared with seVeral decades ago, far ‘morechildren today aie receiving competent, spetialized services. For many children, inclusion in the regular classroom, with modifications or supplemental services, is appropriate (Kochhar, ‘West, and Taymans, 2000; Turnbull and others, 1999). However, some experts believe that separate programs may be more effective and appropriate for children with disabilities (Martin, Martin, and ‘Terman, 1996). Best practices in service delivery to children who are disabled or at risk for disabilities are moving toward a family- focused or family-centered approach (Lynch and Hanson, 1993). This approach emphasizes the importance of partnerships between parents and disability professionals, and shared decision making in assessment, intervention, and evaluation. It also underscores the belief that services for children must be offered in the context of the entire family and that the entire family system is the partner and the client, not just the child (Lyytinen and others, 1994), 227 "uss? Mainstreaming for school children with disabilities Providing educational services for children with disabilities Identification of children with learning disabilities Removing handicapping conditions in schools 2. What is the most current view of support programs for children with disabilities? ® All children should be included in the regular classroom. ® Parents and professionals should confer and make decisions. © Mainstreaming should be reinstituted, ® Teachers should be trained to help children with disabilities.228 PRACTICE EXERCISES FOR READING 3. The word biiiad!in the passage is closest in ‘meaning to ® expensive ® general © adequate ® practical ‘The word disitipti in the passage refers to ® finding fault ® causing confusion © taking charge ® getting lost ‘The word iiiGiflin the passage refers to ® boys © girls © teachers ® behavior . According to paragraph 3, a child with a learning disability ® always has problems in several school subjects ® must be identified according to specific criteria © could find it challenging to concentrate ® does not know how to read at grade level . Which of the sentences below best expresses the information in the highlighted statement in the passage? The other choices change the meaning or leave ‘out important information, ® Fewer children were receiving adequate services twenty years ago. Children had to travel long distances to ® receive services twenty years ago. © Services for children have not improved much in twenty years time. ® Children have been receiving special services for twenty years. . The IDEA legislation includes all the following EXCEPT @® a legal basis for inclusion in the regular classroom ® an individualized program requirement © special equipment for home schooling ® specifications for eligibility and testing . It can be inferred from the passage that ® most children with learning disabilities do not have normal intelligence 5 percent of all children in the U.S. have some type of learning disability handicapping conditions are more common than learning disabilities disruptive or hyperactive behavior always accompanies a learning disability 668 ). Four squares (C1) indicate where the following sentence can be added to the passage. The most common problem that characterizes children with a learning disability involves reading. Where would the sentence best fit into the passage? seerREADING SECTION: EXERCISE 84 229 11. Complete the table below by matching the definitions with the important terms from the passage. ‘Two of the answer choices will NOT be used. An educational program specifically prepared for a child with a disability Full-time instruction for children with disabilities in the general school program A test that is required by law for all children to determine eligibility Funding to support the free public education of children with learning disabilities A school setting that is as much like that of nondisabled children as possible Obstructions in society that interfere with learning by children with disabilities A law that includes regulations for services to all children with disabilities, 0000008 Handicapping condition | + LRE . Inclusion : IEP . IDEA ° 12, Complete a summary of the passage by selecting THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas. The other three sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ‘ideas that are not in the passage or they are minor points that are not as important as the three ‘major ideas. This question is worth 2 points. 10 percent of the children in the USS. receive special education services. ® The fact that boys are more active than girls may account for the fact that their teachers refer them more often. ® Most children with learning disabilities can graduate from high school when they have an IEP. © By law, children with disabilities must be served in public school settings. ® The best way to serve children with disabilities is to involve their families in the services. ® Children with learning disabilities score average or above average on intelligence tests. © Most of the children with disabilities in the United States have learning disabilities. Refer to pages 451-452 for the Explanatory Answers.282 PRACTICE EXERCISES FOR READING Resistance to Antibiotics (Question References) Paragraph 1 About 100 different antibiotics are currently available commercially in the United States. These antibiotics block the life cycle of bacteria that invade the human body. The first of these antibiotics, penicillin, works by blocking the molecules that construct, the cell walls of particular bacteria. The bacteria, with incomplete cell walls, are not able to reproduce —in fact, they usually just explode as the rest of the cell goes about the process of mitosis 2 When penicillin was introduced during World War Il, it was truly “miracle drug.” Until that time, anyone who was cut or wounded stood a great risk of bacterial infection. Once penicillin became available, the situation changed. Not only wounded soldiers, but also children with ear infections, old people with pneumonia, and many others began to benefit from the ability to introduce molecules into the body that would block the growth of bacteria. 3 While humanity may have won that particular battle against bacteria, the war is far from over."The Feas6n is that in afy bacterl! population, there are bound to be a few bacteria that, for one teason. ‘or another, are not affected by a particular antibiotic, For example, they may have a slightly differently shaped enzyme that builds cell walls, so that penicillin will not fit onto that particular shape of the enzyme. These bacteria will not be affected by that particular drug. 4 In fact, for that small group of resistant bacteria, the introduction of the antibiotic is a real godsend. It doesn’t affect them, but it does ‘wipe out all of their competition. They are thus free to multiply, and, over time, all of the bacteria will have whatever properties that made those individuals resistant. 5 Traditionally, medical scientists have dealt with this phenomenon by developing a large number of antibiotics, each of which intervenes in the bacterial life cycle in a slightly different way. Consequently, if you happen to have a bacterium that is resistant to cone antibiotic, probably it will succumb to the action of another. You ‘may, in fact, have had the experience of going to a doctor with an infection, being given an antibiotic, and then finding that it didn’t work. In all likelihood, all your doctor had to do then was prescribe a different antibiotic and everything was fine. 6 The problem is that as time has passed, more and more bacteria have become resistant to more and more antibiotics. In fact, as of this writing, there is one strain of bacteria—a common hospital Staphylococcus—that is resistant to every commercially available antibiotic except one, and in 1996, a bacterium with lowered resistance to that last antibiotic appeared in Japan. 7 The appearance of drug-resistant bacteria is not particularly surprising; in fact, it probably should have been anticipated. ‘Nevertheless, in the late 1980s, there was a general sense of Gomplaceney among scientists on the antibiotic question. Little profit ‘was to be made by developing the one-hundred-and-first antibiotic. Drug companies concentrated their efforts on what seemed to be ‘more useful and profitable areas. Because of this situation, a gap developed between the production of new antibiotics and the development of resistance among bacteria,READING SECTION: EXERCISE 85 233 8 By the early 1990s, this gap was recognized—in fact, the problem was highlighted in several national news magazines. ‘More companies returned to the task of developing new kinds of antibiotics, and as this book is being prepared, a number are undergoing clinical trials. [D] By early in the twenty-first century, some of these new drugs will start to come on the market, and the problem will be “solved,” at least for the moment. There may, however, be a gap in the early 2000s when it is quite possible that the old scourge of bacterial infection will once again threaten humanity. 9 Much current research and funding is being devoted to genetic diseases, which arise from one or more malfunctioning genes. A promising future technology, gene therapy involves replacing a defective gene with a healthy one. Additional research will focus con the processes by which cells repair the constant damage to DNA, but the computer design of new drugs, the development of new antibiotics, and techniques to combat bacteria should remain a top priority. 1. Which of the following best expresses the ‘main idea of this passage? ® The “miracle drug” penicillin ® Dmg-resistant bacteria © Staphylococcus infections ® Gene therapy treatments 2. How do antibiotics treat infections? ® They interfere with the reproductive cycle of bacteria, ® They construct cell walls to resist bacteria, © They inject enzymes that explode in affected cells. ® They increase the mitosis of healthy cells, ‘The word cortiplacéney in the passage is closest in meaning to ® consensus of agreement ® fear of consequences © lack of concern ® awareness of potential ‘The word aiitigipatéd in the passage is closest in meaning to ® predicted ® concealed © investigated @ disregarded234 PRACTICE EXERCISES FOR READING 5. The word thin the passage refers to ® whatever properties ©® ‘resistant bacteria © their competition ® those individuals . According to paragraph 4, why do some bacteria benefit from antibiotics? ® The antibiotic eliminates competing bacteria, allowing resistant bacteria to reproduce. ‘The resistant bacteria compete with the antibiotic, and the bacteria becomes stronger. ‘The competition helps the resistant bacteria to multiply by reproducing with the resistant type. The properties of the antibiotic are acquired by the bacteria, making it resistant to the competition. @® . Which of the sentences below best expresses the information in the highlighted statement in the passage? The other choices change the meaning or leave out important informaiton. ® Some antibiotics affect a population of bacteria more efficiently than others. There are several reasons why some bac- teria do not respond to most antibiotics. ‘The effect of antibiotics on bacteria is to bind them together into one population. ‘A small number of bacteria in any sample will probably be resistant to a specific antibiotic. @® © @ 8. The author mentions all of the following 10. reasons for drug resistant bacteria to appear EXCEPT ® there was not enough profit incentive for companies to continue developing new antibiotics statistically, some drug-resistant bacteria will occur naturally in any large population of bacteria the newer antibiotics were not as strong and effective as the original penicillin-based drugs competing bacteria are destroyed by antibiotics, allowing resistant bacteria to prosper . Tt can be inferred from the passage that ® research to develop new antibiotics will not be necessary in the future the scientific community was not surprised by the resistant strains of bacteria antibiotics are not very expensive when they are made available ‘commercially it takes years for a new drug to be made available commercially for consumers Four squares (C) indicate where the following sentence can be added to passage. There was a clear pattern of resistance in previously effective antibiotics that should have alerted the scientific community to the problem. ‘Where would the sentence best fit into the passage? © @® @® aeaeeREADING SECTION: EXERCISE 85 235 11. Complete the table below by putting each of the answer choices in chronological order. One of the answer choices will NOT be used. ® Drug companies began developing new antibiotics again. ® Drug companies stopped developing new antibiotics because of profit margins. © Some bacteria became resistant to the antibiotics. D New types of antibiotics were developed to combat the resistant bacteria. © When the first antibiotics were introduced, they were very effective. ® Genetic research solved the problem of bacterial resistance. ‘The sequence of events is as follows: 12. Complete a summary of the passage by selecting THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas. The other three sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not in the passage or they are minor points that are not as important as the three major ideas. This question is worth 2 points. About 100 different antibiotics are currently available commercially in the US. ® Many strains of bacteria have become resistant to the antibiotics currently available. ® Funding for the production of new antibiotics has been allocated to drug companies. © The first antibiotics were very effective in blocking the reproduction of bacteria. ® Staphylococcus can be treated with only one antibiotic because it is resistant to the rest. © New antibiotics are being developed to combat bacteria that resist the older antibiotics. ® Most of the time, when you do not respond to one type of antibiotic, you can take another. Refer to page 452 for the Explanatory Answers.