Reading Passage Question

A few months ago, the village of Queniborough and its surroundings in Leicestershire gained dubious distinction as Britain’s hot spot for variant Creuzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), a fatal neurodegenerative condition related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)—better known as mad-cow disease. Out of 95 cases of vCJD reported in Britain since 1995, five occurred there. This clustering of cases has proved a boon to epidemiologists trying to grips with the elusive origin and spread of vCJD. A team of government experts announced what it believes may lie at the heart of the Leicestershire vCJD outbreak: consumption of meat contaminated with BSE-infected brain tissue.

That may be no great surprise, but according to Gerry Bryant, one of the investigators, this is the first clear demonstration of an association between vCJD and BSE through diet. The authorities ruled out blood transfusions, vaccines, and occupational exposure, as the five victims did not share these. However, they found that the victims had all bought meat from a handful of local butchers who either slaughtered cattle in their own back rooms or used small abattoirs nearby. Unlike the large abattoirs employed by supermarkets, these operations practiced “pithing” ramming a rod through an animal’s brain to squash the spinal cord. This rough and ready procedure (which has since been banned) allows bits of the brain to leak out and contaminate other tissues.

Local slaughter houses also regularly removed the brains of beef cattle to sell and used the same knives for other butchery tasks—an obvious source of cross contamination. The study has found that those with the disease were 15 times more likely to have bought and consumed beef from a butcher where such cross-contamination may have occurred than were those living in the same area who did not develop the disease. The link between diet and vCJD will set alarms ringing across Britain. It will also worry people in the rest of Europe. How many more will appear and where is hard to say. As Dr. Will cautions, the Leicestershire findings are an essential step forward in the vCJD study. But, researchers still have more questions than answers when it comes to vCJD.

“A Few Months ago, the Village of Queniborough and its Surroundings in Leicestershire” - is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 4 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. According to the passage, the epidemiologists:

1. Were very keen to find the origin and spread of disease in Britain
2. Find the bunching of so many cases at one place as an opportunity to locate the origin of the disease
3. Were also working on determining the relationship between vCJD and BSE
4. Were first to discover vCJD
5. Declare the vCJD as a fatal disease

2. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

1. The city of Leicestershire became popular after the discovery of the vCJD
2. In 1995, more than 6% of the cases of vCJD reported in Britain were discovered in Leicestershire
3. Consumption of contaminated meat was the reason behind the spread of vCJD
4. Connotation between vCJD and BSE through diet was never found before.
5. The victims of vCJD had all bought meat from local butchers who slaughtered cattle in their own back rooms.

3. All of the following can be inferred from the passage EXCEPT

1. Blood transfusions and occupational exposure were not the reasons for the spread of vCJD
2. Striking the brain of an animal to crush its spinal cord was banned in Britain before 1995
3. Slaughter houses that used the same apparatus for miscellaneous butchery tasks caused the cross contamination.
4. How many cases of vCJD will appear in the future is not confirmed yet
5. Majority of the questions related to vCJD yet have no answer

4. The primary purpose of the passage is to:

1. Explain how the bunch of cases of vCJD helped the epidemiologists to find the origin of the disease and that still, some work has needed to be done
2. Explain how the butchers played a massive role in the spread of vCJD in Leicestershire
3. Highlight how the efforts of epidemiologists came fruitful and they found the origin and spread of disease
4. Stress that discovering a disease is not fruitful until and unless the reason behind its spread is found
5. Describe in detail how the drama of spread of vCJD came to an end when epidemiologists found the role played by butchers in the spread of disease

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