Good luck with your IELTS preparation! Master the topic of antibiotic resistance, and you will be well-equipped to tackle similar scientific and health-related texts on your exam day.
Explanation: Paragraph A mentions Fleming’s discovery but states the crisis is happening "less than a century later" and implies it is a current or future threat, not predicted by Fleming in the text. The text says the "golden age" is in jeopardy now, but does not say Fleming predicted it. (Note: If the text does not mention a prediction, it would be Not Given. However, the text implies the triumph was celebrated, and the jeopardy is a current realization. Let's look closer at the text. The text does not mention Fleming's predictions. Therefore, strictly speaking, this should be NOT GIVEN. However, in many IELTS papers, if the text establishes a timeline contrary to the statement (he discovered it, we are facing the crisis now), students often confuse False/NG. Let's adjust the key to the strict IELTS standard: The text does not say he predicted it. Answer: NOT GIVEN .) Correction: The text does not say he predicted it. Answer: NOT GIVEN .
Why is the pharmaceutical pipeline described as “alarmingly thin”? A. Few new drugs are in clinical trials B. Existing drugs are too expensive C. Drug companies have gone bankrupt D. Governments have banned new antibiotic research
A reference to the historic shift in human life expectancy following the initial isolation of penicillin. Good luck with your IELTS preparation
The consequences are already measurable. Common infections that were easily treatable a generation ago now frequently require stronger, more expensive drugs, and in some cases no treatment works at all. The WHO’s latest surveillance report found that one in six laboratory‑confirmed bacterial infections in 2023 were resistant to the antibiotics normally used to treat them. Resistance rates vary enormously between regions: in South‑East Asia, one in three reported infections was resistant, compared to one in five in Africa. The gap is partly explained by weaker health systems, where diagnostic tools are scarce and antibiotics are often dispensed without prescription.
Pharmaceutical companies often prioritize the development of more profitable drugs for chronic conditions (like asthma or heart disease) over new antibiotics, which are relatively inexpensive and used for short durations.
Found in Paragraph B: "...the efficacy of our most potent antimicrobial defenses is eroding..." 10. post-antibiotic era The text says the "golden age" is in
A. The discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928 is often cited as one of the most significant milestones in medical history. For the first time, humanity possessed a weapon against bacterial infections that had historically been fatal. Diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, and sepsis became treatable, and the average life expectancy rose significantly. This "golden age" of antibiotics ushered in an era of surgical safety; complex operations became routine because doctors could reliably prevent post-operative infections. However, less than a century later, this medical triumph is in jeopardy. We are now facing a global crisis where the drugs used to treat infections are losing their efficacy, a phenomenon known as antibiotic resistance.
The reading passage has six paragraphs, .Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A–F , in boxes 1–5 on your answer sheet. NB: You may use any letter more than once.
Paragraph D states that antibiotics are used "...to promote rapid physical growth and prevent infections in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions." This matches "accelerate animal growth" and "compensate for poor hygiene". Let's look closer at the text
Without effective antibiotics, medicine risks reverting to the "pre-antibiotic era." Simple scratches could become fatal. The passage highlights the staggering economic burden: longer hospital stays, the necessity for vastly more expensive second- and third-line treatments, and a dramatic rise in mortality rates from common infections like pneumonia and tuberculosis. 5. The Discovery Void and Future Solutions
You should spend about on Questions 1-13 , which are based on the Reading Passage below.