ELF – Engelsk läsförståelse (HPHÖST2022P2)

Germs

The biological cause of illness was a mystery to humankind for centuries. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates theorized that poor health was caused by “bad air.” In a 1677 research paper, Dutch scientist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek observed tiny organisms, later identified as germs, in a droplet of water. Although scientists noted specific germs in the blood of people with certain diseases, they believed the microorganisms were a product of the illness rather than the cause. As microscope technology improved during the 19th century, scientists deepened their investigation into these microorganisms and their relationship with disease.

What is said about the knowledge of disease up until 1800?

Kids and Smartphones

It seems like every generation of parents has a collective freak-out when it comes to kids and new technologies; television and video games each inspired widespread handwringing among grown-ups. But the inescapability of today’s mobile devices – combined with the allure of social media – seems to separate smartphones from older screen-based media. Parents, teenagers and researchers agree that smartphones are having a profound impact on the way adolescents today communicate with one another and spend their free time. And while some experts say it’s too soon to ring alarm bells about smartphones, others argue that we understand enough about young people’s vulnerabilities to recommend restricting kids’ escalating phone habits.

What can be concluded here?

What is implied early on in the text about the emergence of human language?

What is claimed in relation to current views on the origin of language?

What is said about Steven Pinker and Paul Bloom’s views on the evolution of human language?

What is Noam Chomsky’s more recent view of human language?

What is the writer’s basic impression of presentday research into the origin of language?

Sleeping

Research over the past 20 years has finally begun to provide at least a partial explanation for why we must sleep. The clearest finding is that sleep does not serve just a single purpose. Instead it appears to be needed for the optimal functioning of a multitude of biological processes – from the inner workings of the immune system to proper hormonal balance, to emotional and psychiatric health, to learning and memory, to the clearance of toxins from the brain. At the same time, none of these functions fails completely in the absence of sleep. In general, sleep seems to enhance the performance of these systems instead of being absolutely necessary. And yet anyone who lives for months without sleep will die.

What is implied here?

Ancient Egypt

Researchers have claimed that ancient Egypt may have been brought down by social unrest caused by climate change and volcanoes. A recent study uses modern climate science and ancient texts to explore the impact of volcanic eruptions on the river Nile. It claims that famine and riots were caused by natural events that reduced the summer flooding needed for crop growth.

What specific circumstance is emphasized in
this text?

Word Processing

We have known since the 1970s that the brain can “fill in” inaudible sections of speech, but we don’t know exactly how. To investigate, researchers played volunteers words that were partially obscured or inaudible to see how their brains responded. The experiment involved people who already had electrodes implanted into their brains to monitor epilepsy. These electrodes detect seizures, but can also record other types of brain activity. The volunteers were played recordings of a word that could either be “faster” or “factor”, with the middle sound replaced by noise. Data from the electrodes showed that their brains responded as if they had actually heard the missing “s” or “c” sound. This seems to be because the inferior frontal cortex region of the brain predicts what word someone is likely to hear, two-tenths of a second before the superior temporal gyrus starts processing the sounds a person has heard.

What are we told here?