The Power of Belief

C1 Advanced · Word Formation · Cambridge Ready original exercise

For questions 1–8, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line. There is an example at the beginning (0).

ACT

MEASURE

PUZZLE

INTRIGUE

KNOW

EXPECT

PRESENT

ETHIC

Doctors and (0) ___ researchers have long known that patients given pills which are chemically (1) ___ sometimes report a genuine and (2) ___ improvement in their symptoms. This (3) ___ phenomenon, known as the placebo effect, has been documented in conditions ranging from back pain to depression. (4) ___ , the effect seems to persist even when patients are fully aware of what they are taking. In several recent trials, people who (5) ___ swallowed sugar pills, having been told exactly what they were, still reported feeling better. Researchers believe that patients' (6) ___ play a central role, together with the ritual of treatment itself and the reassuring (7) ___ of a sympathetic professional. None of this means that symptoms are imaginary; rather, it suggests that the mind can influence the body in ways we are only beginning to understand. Nevertheless, routinely prescribing placebos raises serious (8) ___ concerns, since deceiving patients undermines the trust on which medicine depends.

The Power of Belief

MEDICINE

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