10 Intriguing Facts About Global Issues: From Social Media to Substance Abuse

Posted on May 22, 2024 in Medicine & Health

Elderly Spanish Couple Sleep in Park After Being Evicted

Answer Key

  1. (d)
  2. (b)
  3. True. “No one knew their whereabouts.”
  4. True. “Given the couple were over 65, they qualify as one of the groups at risk of exclusion.”
  5. False. “They had lived for over a decade.”
  6. False. “The two survived on the woman’s pension.”
  7. Dire. Risk
  8. Acronym. Afford.
    1. “I am exhausted because I have been walking for two hours now.”
    2. “My cousin was sleeping when his father turned the light on.”
    1. – “Michael is married to
    2. – “I am ashamed of
  11. they might have intervened to help the couple.”
  12. “What did he use to play when he was a child?”
  13. “All our belongings have been stolen by a man in a mask.”
  14. – “She told me to get rid of it.

Social Media and Mental Health

Answer Key

  1. (c)
  2. (c)
  3. – True. “There are several ways in which social media could be negatively affecting our mental health without us even realising.”
  4. – False. “We speak about some of them openly, but we prefer to keep others to ourselves.”
  5. – False. “Communicating and creating personal connections can be hard when we are only acquainted with our friends’ digital profiles.”
  6. – True. “Why not consider giving yourself some time off social media every day?”
    1. – Harmful. Connection.
    2. – Witnessing. Quit.
    1. have worked
    2. “If I were you,
    1. in
    2. while
  10. Social media influencers have attracted most teenagers lately.
  11. – What will have an important impact on the price of food?
  12. At the moment, we can’t afford to buy an iPhone X.
  13. She needed to have her new car fixed.

The Extraordinary Life

Answer Key

  1. C
  2. A
  3. True. “As a student, he was so good at mathematics that teachers accused him of cheating.”
  4. True. “He… amazed audiences with an electric light that required no wires.”
  5. False. “He never married, and ended up broke and alone.”
  6. False. “Today the name Tesla is still very much in circulation.”
    1. Downfall. Motor.
    2. Eccentricities. Feeding.
    1. ON
    2. “I’m terrible AT
    1. “I have always dreamed OF becoming successful.”
    2. “I wish I HAD more time to hang out with my friends.”
  10. “She can’t have stolen the money.”
  11. “If I had known you were in trouble, I would have helped you.”
  12. My car has been broken into twice this month
  13. Who does Mike work for on weekends?

Do You Have a Fear of Missing Out?

Answer Key

  1. D
  2. C
  3. True. “The syndrome is often associated with perceived feelings of inferiority.”
  4. False. “Surveys have suggested that FOMO is most common in people aged from 18 to 33, and also more common among men than women.”
  5. True. “Research suggests FOMO can have a pretty negative impact on psychological health. It can cause anxiety and depression, especially among young people.”
  6. False. “Unplugging all those gadgets might not solve the problem as efficiently as therapy.”
    1. Letdowns. Approximately.
    2. Therapy. Cool
    1. AT
    2. TO
    1. MUSTN’T
    2. SUCH A
  10. I can have my car fixed by my mechanic in less than a day.
  11. Nobody should read that report.
  12. Tony asked Sandra, “How old is your brother?”
  13. We’d better leave now if we want to arrive on time.

Substance Abuse

Answer Key

  1. C
  2. D
  3. True “the developing world, and marginalized groups and communities being the most vulnerable to it.”
  4. True “substance abuse… brings the same consequences of harm, isolation from the community, and even death.”
  5. False “no matter how tragic the stories of substance abuse are, there is always an inspiring story to be told.”
  6. True “David takes his story on the road, traveling around North America and speaking to youth about the dangers of substance abuse.”
    1. miserable. severely
    2. vulnerable. trap
    1. not to smoke
    2. painted
    1. with (preposition)
    2. into (preposition)
  10. “If you ever see me smoking,…” tell me to stop immediately.
  11. When did your brother’s friend start painting?
  12. I was helped out of drug abuse by my parents.
  13. Jim stopped drinking because he wanted to change his life.

Banksy: Artwork Torn to Pieces

Answer Key

  1. B
  2. C
  3. False. “Banksy is the mysterious street artist whose real name nobody knows.”
  4. True. “A few hours later, the anti-establishment graffiti artist posted on Instagram a video of it going to pieces.”
  5. True. “After being certified by Banksy’s authentication team, the resulting pieces were newly-titled ‘Love is in the Bin’.”
  6. True. “The buyer, a long-standing client of the gallery who does not wish to be named.”
    1. Client. Buyer
    2. Slave. Auction.
    1. HAVE TOLD
    2. VISITING
    1. FOR
    2. INTO
  10. If she hadn’t bought the painting, it wouldn’t have been shredded.
  11. ‘Girl with Balloon,’ which is a wonderful artwork, was sold for £1.04 million.
  12. – What an unexpected event we witnessed at the auction last Friday night!
  13. What does ‘Girl with Balloon’ show?

The Spanish Legion Put on Diet Over Obesity Fears

Answer Key

  1. B
  2. D
  3. True. “a higher average age are contributing to the problem.”
  4. False. “More than 3,000 troops have undergone checks… 180 (6%) had a BMI of 30 or above, which makes them obese.”
  5. False. “La Legión recognises that without the necessary action ‘we will be condemned to loss of prestige as a combat unit.'”
  6. True. “The reaction has been very positive and the initial results are good.”
    1. lack. improve
    2. spokesman. prestige
  8. DO. STOP
  9. IN. OF
  10. “The infantry, whose uniforms looked nicer this year, was marching past the cheering crowd.”
  11. What did they receive to lose weight?
  12. Weak patients are advised to gain weight gradually (by doctors).
  13. You will not see any improvement in your weight.

Netflix Addiction Is Real

Answer Key

  1. B
  2. D
  3. False. “I believe it won’t be long until ‘gaming disorder’ is joined in the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases by another modern, screen-based illness: ‘Netflix disorder’.”
  4. False. “Netflix, like all the big tech platforms, is engineered to be addictive.”
  5. False. “Reed Hastings, Netflix’s co-founder, has admitted its biggest competitor is sleep.”
  6. True. “We are also entertaining ourselves to death. Actually, I never finished reading Infinite Jest. But I am sure it will be on Netflix soon.”
    1. Aid. Admit
    2. Behaviour. Hide.
  8. TO WATCH. HADN’T BEGUN
  9. OFF. OVER
  10. If I hadn’t been so bored, I wouldn’t have decided to go to the cinema with my friends.
  11. How do you self-medicate?
  12. Unhealthy behavior has been turned into a part of modern culture by Netflix.
  13. Gloria suggested to us that we go for a walk.

Love for Pets

Answer Key

  1. B
  2. C
  3. False. “The Scandinavian company recently launched a range of pet furniture called Lurvig.”
  4. False. “A survey conducted in 2015 found that 95% of US pet owners consider their pets part of the family—up from 88% in 2007.”
  5. False. “Another survey this year claims that 56% of Brits plan to spend more money on Christmas presents for their pets than on gifts for their human family.”
  6. True. “I’m afraid I’ve got a gluten-free meal to prepare for my dog’s supper tonight, and he doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
    1. own. spend
    2. furniture. sales
  8. feeding. to come
  9. on. of
  10. I found the kittens in the street where I live
  11. How long did your grandma live with five cats?
  12. The dog that comes every night is being fed by Mary
  13. Unless you take the dog for a walk, it will become restless and unhappy

Rosa Parks: The Woman Who Inspired a Movement

Answer Key

  1. A
  2. B
  3. False. “William Pretzer was 5 years old then and lived more than 2,000 miles away in Sacramento, California.”
  4. True. “The simplicity of the arrest documents reveals that the police dealt with this situation just like any other of these incidents.”
  5. False. “Parks’ act of defiance inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott, through which Martin Luther King emerged as a civil rights leader.”
  6. True. “After a Supreme Court ruling, the city’s buses became officially integrated.”
    1. refuse. honest
    2. segregated. last
  8. LOST. WERE
  9. FOR. AGAINST
  10. I agree with John, but not with his parents
  11. When did you visit England?
  12. Those wonderful flowers were grown by Michael in his garden.
  13. I started playing chess thirty years ago.

Mannequin Challenge

Answer Key

  1. C
  2. C
  3. True “The trend apparently started with high school kids…”
  4. False “They were also a bit of after-dinner fun.”
  5. True. “The first episode, a 7.5-hour train ride from Bergen to Oslo…”
  6. False: “The first episode… was watched by 45% of Norway’s population.”
    1. important. famous
    2. freeze. population
  8. AT. ON
  9. BESIDES. DON’T
  10. What is the phone number of the flower shop where you bought the roses?
  11. This book is extremely hard to find.
  12. The flat tyre may have been changed by Mary.
  13. How often does he visit his uncle?

Zodiac Signs

Answer Key

  1. D
  2. C
  3. True. “Everything you thought you knew about astrology just changed after NASA revealed that there are actually thirteen zodiac signs.”
  4. False. “NASA concluded that the horoscope signs as we know them have completely different date ranges now” due to the change in the Earth’s axis.
  5. False “In fact, the thirteenth sign is not a new discovery. Even according to the Babylonians’ own ancient stories, there were thirteen constellations.”
  6. False. “Astrology isn’t real and can be challenged by its science counterpart, astronomy.”
    1. ancient. presumably
    2. grasping. grasping
  8. doing. to be
  9. on. about
  10. He asked me if I wanted to come to the cinema with him.
  11. If I could choose a profession, I would become an astronomer.
  12. I was offered a good deal.
  13. Since all beliefs are equally valid, everybody should respect them.

Women in the Media

Answer Key

  1. A
  2. C
  3. False. “In its earlier seasons, [The Big Bang Theory] had only one consistently present female character – Penny.”
  4. False. “The problem is that they can cross a line and become oppressive.”
  5. True. “Gender roles are not likely to change until there is a change in the media.”
  6. False. “The best advice that can be given is to make sure that you are who you want to be, no matter where it fits in society’s set of conventional roles.”
    1. perpetuate. cross a line
    2. useless. accept
  8. have worn. had helped
  9. for. of
  10. Who did they inform about the project?
  11. Since I was extremely tired, I had to go to bed early.
  12. Emma Stone was given a very important prize by the Academy of Awards.
  13. The headmaster, who is very worried about gender issues, has taken measures to promote equality between boys and girls.

What Science Says About Snacking and Breakfast

Answer Key

  1. B
  2. D
  3. False. “However, eating well isn’t just about what you eat, but about when you eat.”
  4. True. “They also tend to have more normal blood sugar levels and sugar metabolism, meaning they are at lower risk of diabetes than those who don’t eat breakfast.”
  5. True. “Finally, there’s growing evidence that the body’s metabolism isn’t the same during the day, when the body is active, as during the evening, when it’s preparing to shut down.”
  6. False. “Furthermore, enzymes and other agents that process food work better earlier in the day than at night.”
    1. cutting back. growing
    2. obesity. research
  8. phoning. to stop
  9. on. in
  10. He couldn’t drive, so he went to Paris by train.”
  11. If I were you, I would eat breakfast every day.”
  12. Was the letter delivered yesterday?”
  13. Despite the rain, we went out.”

Albert Einstein

Answer Key

  1. A
  2. B
  3. False. “William Pretzer was 5 years old then and lived more than 2,000 miles away in Sacramento, California.”
  4. True. “The simplicity of the arrest documents reveals that the police dealt with this situation just like any other of these incidents.”
  5. False. “Parks’ act of defiance inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott, through which Martin Luther King emerged as a civil rights leader.”
  6. True. “After a Supreme Court ruling, the city’s buses became officially integrated.”
    1. refuse. honest
    2. segregated. last
  8. LOST. WERE
  9. FOR. AGAINST
  10. “I agree with John, but not with his parents.”
  11. When did you visit England?
  12. Those wonderful flowers were grown by Michael in his garden.
  13. I started playing chess thirty years ago.