Read this excerpt from "Mad Cow, Furious Farmer.”The disease was first detected in England in 1986, though some scientists think the very first cases started at least ten years before. Cows usually eat only grass and other plants, but farmers had been feeding them a meat and bone mixture that made the cows plumper. But somehow, at least one batch of the mixture had become contaminated with what was then an unknown killer: a prion.By 1993, British farmers were reporting up to one thousand new cases of BSE a week. Governments all around the world reacted by increasing testing for the disease and not allowing any cows to be eaten if they were at risk of having the disease. As sheep can also get a prion disease called scrapie, they were tested as well. Farmers were angry that they were losing their livestock, and nobody knew how to protect cows and people from the disease.Consumers were also in a panic when they learned about BSE, and for a very good reason: prions are infectious. If you eat a prion from a "mad cow” or sheep, you are at risk for developing a human version of BSE. The public felt betrayed that their governments had underreacted to the problem or covered it up.Eventually, in 1997, governments began to ban farmers from feeding their livestock high-risk meat and bone mixtures. With that ban, the epidemic quickly peaked, and by 2010 had largely disappeared. Over the years, half a million cows and two hundred people had been killed by prions.
Read this excerpt from "Herd about the Flu.”The flu shot helps prevent huge numbers of infections. Even when it doesn’t fully prevent infection in every person, the shot makes any flu infection less serious. On a global scale, the vaccine can reduce the number of infections only if most people in the community take it. That’s because vaccines need to reach enough people to achieve a "herd immunity,” the level of immunity needed to prevent the virus from spreading. If too few people get the vaccine, the people who receive it may not be well protected against infection.So the next time you are at the drugstore, and you see No Flu Shots Available, think about the reasons behind it. Drug makers are scared to make too many flu shots because they could lose too much money. They then make fewer flu shots and the effect of the flu shots becomes weaker because not enough people take it. People become more reluctant to take the flu shot since they don’t think it will fully work. The demand goes down further and the flu companies make even fewer shots the next year.This could continue until the community changes its mind and we all get the flu shot. "That is a community responsibility," says the president of Merck, one of the two remaining flu vaccine manufacturers.
Read this excerpt from "Heads Up on Sports Safety.”The dangers to your head depend on the sport, but some general principles guide helmet design. First, the helmet needs to be as cool and lightweight and comfortable as possible. Second, the helmet needs to be hard enough and fit well enough to protect the skull and brain. For some athletes, like hockey goalies or baseball catchers, the helmet also needs to protect the face from fast pucks or balls. Third, it must not prevent the wearer from seeing or hearing. Fourth, it cannot cause more injuries than it prevents.It turns out that the way to address many of these concerns is to use hard but flexible, light, strong materials on the outside and soft materials on the inside. Scientists create new plastics all the time, but sometimes the best designs come from using old materials in new ways. One recent design makes the shell of helmets out of Kevlar, the same kind of light plastic used in bulletproof vests.
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Which is an advantage that video and writing share?
How do prepositions function in a sentence? Choose three answers.
Which conclusion is supported by both the video transcript from Dr. X and the Quest for Food Safety and the text Food Safety Myths Exposed?
Read the paragraph.Last summer, my family took a vacation to the sandy beaches of Mexico. I will never forget the first time I laid eyes upon the majestic waves of the Pacific Ocean. I knew then and there that my greatest passion had blossomed and that one day I would become a marine biologist.
Look at the timeline excerpt from Chapter Four of Windows to the Universe: Revolutions in Astronomy.1989: The first conference to discuss a space-based infrared telescope is held.1996: A committee of 18 members is selected to review designs.2002: Teams are selected to build components, and the telescope is named after former NASA administrator James Webb.(Several more events listed with just the year)December 25, 2021: JWST is launched.January 24, 2022: JWST reaches Lagrange Point 2.July 12, 2022: The first images from JWST are released to the public.What is the effect of including specific months and days for the last three events in the timeline, while the earlier events only include years?
Read the sentences.Antarctica is a continent that is vastly underused. Filled with resources ranging from fish to minerals to oil, we are overlooking valuable opportunities for our nation’s economy.
Read the claim.Technological advancements in lens crafting and the development of mirrors addressed challenges, enabling more powerful and accurate telescopes.Which quotation from Chapter Two of Windows to the Universe: Revolutions in Astronomy would best support this claim?
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Read the sentence.When organizing an informational text, an author often presents evidence to support central ideas.What is evidence?
Read the excerpt from Chapter Two of Windows to the Universe: Revolutions in Astronomy.Eventually, telescopes became essential tools for exploring the universe, leading to even more incredible discoveries. But sometimes, despite all the technological advances made over the centuries, even the most cutting-edge telescopes encounter major problems.Why does the author most likely include this information at the end of the chapter instead of at the beginning?
Read the excerpts from Chapter Two of Windows to the Universe: Revolutions in Astronomy.In this model, the sun was at the center of the solar system, and Earth, along with other planets, orbited around it (this idea was revolutionary, but it wasn't brand new—remember Aristarchus?).…Aristarchus was an ancient Greek astronomer who lived around 2,000 years ago. He was the first known person to suggest that the Sun, not the Earth, was at the center of the universe, and that the Earth and other planets revolved around it. His ideas were way ahead of his time but weren't widely accepted until many centuries later.Why did the author most likely include this supporting text on Aristarchus?
Read Chapter Two of Windows to the Universe: Revolutions in Astronomy.
Read this excerpt from "Heads Up on Sports Safety."Before modern helmets, in 1904, the Chicago Tribune reported 18 football deaths and 159 serious injuries—in that one year alone. Because the game was lawless and lacking in safety equipment, football was a brutal, deadly sport.
Read this excerpt from "Heads Up on Sports Safety."Your neck can also get hurt while playing football, so many helmet designers are using materials that prevent neck injuries. One common injury is whiplash, which is a sudden hit to the head that moves the neck very quickly. Neck padding can help, but materials that prevent the head from turning can decrease athletic performance. One alternative is to use a thermoplastic material that responds differently to different kinds of pressure. This material is soft when moved or pressed slowly but stiffens into a hard version of its shape when hit quickly. It has been used in bulletproof vests for at least a decade.
Read this excerpt from "Heads Up on Sports Safety."Before modern helmets, in 1904, the Chicago Tribune reported 18 football deaths and 159 serious injuries—in that one year alone. Because the game was lawless and lacking in safety equipment, football was a brutal, deadly sport.Howx does highlighting the word "alone” affect the tone of this excerpt?
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