Environmental Medicine – IELTS Reading Answers

Environmental Medicine – IELTS Reading Answers is from an academic reading test that consists of 13 questions which have to be answered in 20 minutes. The Reading section of the IELTS exam can be your highest-scoring section, but only if you practise diligently. To get the best results, you need to understand how to approach and answer the different types of questions.

To prepare for the IELTS reading test, it is helpful to solve and review sample reading questions from past IELTS papers. This will help you become familiar with the different question formats and test your reading skills.

Let’s try to see how easy you find the academic passage “Environmental Medicine” and if you can complete it in 20 minutes. If not, you can try more IELTS reading practice tests from IELTSMaterial.com.

The question types found in Environmental Medicine – IELTS reading answers passage are as follows:

• Matching Information (Q. 1-6)
• Sentence Completion (Q. 7 – 13)

Reading Passage

Environmental Medicine 

– also called conservation medicine, ecological medicine, or medical geology –

A In simple terms, environmental medicine deals with the interaction between human and animal health and the environment. It concerns the adverse reactions that people have on contact with or exposure to an environmental excitant1. Ecological health is its primary concern, especially emerging infectious diseases and pathogens from insects, plants and vertebrate animals.

B Practitioners of environmental medicine work in teams involving many other specialists. As well as doctors, clinicians and medical researchers, there may be marine and climate biologists, toxicologists, veterinarians, geospatial and landscape analysts, even political scientists and economists. This is a very broad approach to the rather simple concept that there are causes for all illnesses, and that what we eat and drink or encounter in our surroundings has a direct impact on our health.

C Central to environmental medicine is the total load theory developed by the clinical ecologist Theron Randolph, who postulated that illness occurs when the body’s ability to detoxify environmental excitants has reached its capacity. His wide-ranging perception of what makes up those stimuli includes chemical, physical, biological and psychosocial factors. If a person with numerous and/or chronic exposures to environmental chemicals suffers a psychological upset, for example, this could overburden his immune system and result in actual physical illness. In other words, disease is the product of multiple factors.

D Another Randolph concept is that of individual susceptibility or the variability in the response of individuals to toxic agents. Individuals may be susceptible to any number of excitants but those exposed to the same risk factors do not necessarily develop the same disease, due in large part to genetic predisposition; however, age, gender, nutrition, emotional or physical stress, as well as the particular infectious agents or chemicals and intensity of exposure, all contribute.

E Adaptation is defined as the ability of an organism to adjust to gradually changing circumstances of its existence, to survive and be successful in a particular environment. Dr Randolph suggested that our bodies, designed for the Stone Age, have not quite caught up with the modern age and consequently, many people suffer diseases from maladaptation, or an inability to deal with some of the new substances that are now part of our environment. He asserted that this could cause exhaustion, irritability, depression, confusion and behavioural problems in children. Numerous traditional medical practitioners, however, are very sceptical of these assertions.

F Looking at the environment and health together is a way of making distant and nebulous notions, such as global warming, more immediate and important. Even a slight rise in temperature, which the world is already experiencing, has immediate effects. Mosquitoes can expand their range and feed on different migratory birds than usual, resulting in these birds transferring a disease into other countries. Suburban sprawl is seen as more than a socioeconomic problem for it brings an immediate imbalance to the rural ecosystem, increasing population density so people come into closer contact with disease-carrying rodents or other animals. Deforestation also displaces feral animals that may then infect domesticated animals, which enter the food chain and transmit the disease to people. These kinds of connections are fundamental to environmental medicine and the threat of zoonotic disease looms larger.

G Zoonoses, diseases of animals transmissible to humans, are a huge concern. Different types of pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, cause zoonoses. Every year, millions of people worldwide get sick because of foodborne bacteria such as salmonella and campylobacter, which cause fever, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Tens of thousands of people die from the rabies virus after being bitten by rabid animals like dogs and bats. Viral zoonoses like avian influenza (bird flu), swine flu (H1N1 virus) and Ebola are on the increase with more frequent, often uncontainable, outbreaks. Some animals (particularly domestic pets) pass on fungal infections to humans. Parasitic infection usually occurs when people come into contact with food or water contaminated by animals that are infected with parasites like cryptosporidium, trichinella, or worms.

H As the human population of the planet increases, encroaching further on animal domains and causing ecological change, inter-professional cooperation is crucial to meet the challenges of dealing with the effects of climate change, emergent cross-species pathogens, rising toxicity in air, water and soil, and uncontrolled development and urbanisation. This can only happen if additional government funds are channelled into the study and practice of environmental medicine.

———————–
1an excitant is a substance which causes a physiological or behavioural response in a person

Questions 1-6

1 an explanation of how population expansion exposes humans to disease
2 the idea that each person can react differently to the same risk factors
3 types of disease-causing agents that move between species
4 examples of professionals working in the sphere of environmental medicine
5 a definition of environmental medicine
6 how ill health results from an accumulation of environmental stressors

Questions 7 – 13

7 According to Dr Randolph, people get sick because of _________– in other words, a failure to adjust to the modern environment.
8 Vague, far-off concepts like global warming are made more urgent when _________ are studied together.
9 Rising temperatures result in more widespread distribution of disease because some insects are able to _________
10 Large-scale removal of trees forces wildlife from their habitat and brings them into cntact with _________
11 Uncontrollable _________ of zoonotic viruses are becoming more numerous.
12 Collaboration between many disciplines is needed to confront the problems of urban development, pollution, _________ and new pathogens.
13 Environmental medicine should receive more _________ to help it meet future demands.

Check Out – Best IELTS Reading Books 2023

Environmental Medicine – IELTS Reading Answers with Location and Explanations 

1 Answer: F

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph F

Answer Explanation: Paragraph F states, “Looking at the environment and health together is a way of making distant and nebulous notions, such as global warming, more immediate and important. Even a slight rise in temperature, which the world is already experiencing, has immediate effects. Mosquitoes can expand their range and feed on different migratory birds than usual, resulting in these birds transferring a disease into other countries.” We can infer from these lines that the paragraph gives an explanation of how population expansion exposes humans to disease. Hence, the correct answer is F.

2 Answer: D

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph D

Answer explanation: Paragraph D states, “Another Randolph concept is that of individual susceptibility or the variability in the response of individuals to toxic agents. Individuals may be susceptible to any number of excitants but those exposed to the same risk factors do not necessarily develop the same disease, due in large part to genetic predisposition; however, age, gender, nutrition, emotional or physical stress, as well as the particular infectious agents or chemicals and intensity of exposure, all contribute.” These lines indicate the idea that each person can react differently to the same risk factors. Hence, the correct answer is D.

3 Answer: G

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph G

Answer explanation: Paragraph G states, “Zoonoses, diseases of animals transmissible to humans, are a huge concern. Different types of pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, cause zoonoses. Every year, millions of people worldwide get sick because of foodborne bacteria such as salmonella and campylobacter, which cause fever, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Tens of thousands of people die from the rabies virus after being bitten by rabid animals like dogs and bats. Viral zoonoses like avian influenza (bird flu), swine flu (H1N1 virus) and Ebola are on the increase with more frequent, often uncontainable, outbreaks.” These lines refer to the types of disease-causing agents that move between species. Hence, the answer is G.

4 Answer: B

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph B

Answer explanation: We can find the answer in paragraph B where the writer states, “Practitioners of environmental medicine work in teams involving many other specialists. As well as doctors, clinicians and medical researchers, there may be marine and climate biologists, toxicologists, veterinarians, geospatial and landscape analysts, even political scientists and economists. This is a very broad approach to the rather simple concept that there are causes for all illnesses, and that what we eat and drink or encounter in our surroundings has a direct impact on our health.” These lines give examples of professionals working in the sphere of environmental medicine. Hence, the correct answer is B.

5 Answer: A

Question type: Matching Information

Answer location: Paragraph A

Answer explanation: Paragraph A states, “In simple terms, environmental medicine deals with the interaction between human and animal health and the environment. It concerns the adverse reactions that people have on contact with or exposure to an environmental excitant1. Ecological health is its primary concern, especially emerging infectious diseases and pathogens from insects, plants and vertebrate animals.” These lines give a definition of environmental medicine. Hence, the answer is A.

Tips for Answering the Question Types in the Environmental Medicine – IELTS Reading Answers 

Now that you know the ‘Environmental Medicine – IELTS Reading Answers with its explanation, let us check out some quick tips to answer the 3 question types in the  Environmental Medicine – IELTS Reading Answers.

Matching Information

Matching information questions in IELTS Reading are a type of question where you are required to match statements to paragraphs in the reading text. The statements could be reasons, descriptions, summaries, definitions, facts or explanations. Here are some tips for answering matching information questions in IELTS Reading:

• Read the instructions carefully.
• Read the statements and think about what information you need to find.
• Skim the text to identify relevant paragraphs.
• Read the statements again carefully and look for synonyms and paraphrases.
• Scan the relevant paragraphs for synonyms and paraphrases.
• Check your answers.

Sentence Completion

Sentence completion questions in the IELTS reading section often require you to fill in the missing words in a given text. Here are some tips to help you tackle this type of question effectively:

• Carefully read the instructions before answering. Skipping them is not recommended.
• Fill in the blanks with the right answers for the sentence completion.
• Read the question twice, find the keyword, and match it with the passage.
• Ensure you change the word form to match the passage.
• Reread the question and try to recall the passage to fill the gap.
• Keep your chosen word within the word limit.
• Identify the type of words you need (verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc.).
• Questions are in order, so look for the next answer below the previous one.

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