Question

Ответить на вопросы к тексту 50 балловIS IT WORTH BUYING THEM?” Men have walked on the moon, transplanted hearts and invented machines to think for them. But they cannot cure the common cold. Scientists have been working on the problem for years but the most optimistic expectation was the hope that they would find a cure within the next 10 years. So what was their advice on coping with a cold meanwhile? In urban areas we have about three colds a year and they are caused not by wet feet but by viruses which are always changing so that a vaccine prepared from one is useless against the next. But every year the pharmaceutical companies spend millions of pounds trying to persuade us that their product will help us get rid of our cold. They admit they can't cure the cold, but they do promise to relieve the symptoms. We looked at 10 well-known brands of cold medicine and asked a doctor to explain, exactly what they contain, and his opinion on their effectiveness. Nearly all contained a painkiller, either aspirin or paracetamol. These help to reduce temperature and relieve general aches and pains. Aspirin can irritate the stomach, so paracetamol is generally preferred. The worst thing about them was the cost. Advertising and packaging had increased the price of relatively cheap ingredients, and in many cases you could get the same relief from just paracetamol taken with a warm drink of lemon and honey. Questions: 1. What is the text about? 2. What are common colds caused by? 3. Why is paracetamol generally preferred? 4. What caused the rise in the price of medicine for colds? 5. People can get the same relief from just paracetamol. Why do pharmaceutical companies keep on producing more and more new cold medicine? 6. What is the main idea of the text?

Answer 1

1.The text is about cold and helpless medicine which we buy and use to cure it.
2.Common colds are caused by viruses.
3. There are 2 main painkillers in medicine against cold. One of them is aspirin which irritates the stomach. Another one is paracetamol,which doesn't have such by-effect. That is why paracetamol is generally preffered
4.Advertising and packaging had increased the price of medicine for cold.
5. Pharmaceutical
companies keep on producing more and more new cold medicine because the want to earn more and more money on people who don't understand much in this sphere.
6. The main idea of the text is that there is no use in buying medicine from cold because they won't help you cure

Answer 2

1. The text is about the common cold and the pharmaceutical industry's efforts to provide relief for its symptoms, even though there is no cure for the cold.

2. Common colds are caused by viruses that are constantly changing, making it difficult to create a single vaccine that can protect against all strains.

3. Paracetamol is generally preferred over aspirin in cold medicines because it can reduce temperature and relieve general aches and pains without irritating the stomach like aspirin can.

4. The rise in the price of medicine for colds is attributed to advertising and packaging, which increase the overall cost of the products despite containing relatively cheap ingredients.

5. Although people can find relief from just paracetamol and a warm drink of lemon and honey, pharmaceutical companies continue to produce new cold medicines and spend millions on advertising to convince consumers that their products can help with cold symptoms. This is likely because they cannot cure the cold itself, so they focus on providing symptom relief and competing for market share.

6. The main idea of the text is that despite significant advancements in science and medicine, there is still no cure for the common cold. Pharmaceutical companies produce cold medicines that promise symptom relief, but the effectiveness of these products is questionable, as simple remedies like paracetamol and warm drinks may offer similar relief at a lower cost.