Diagnosis by Search Engine

C2 Proficiency · 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).

SLEEP

PROBABLE

SENSATION

HARM

CONVINCE

REASSURE

FAIR

JUDICIOUS

A headache that a generation ago would have been (0) ___ with a shrug can now, after a few minutes online, lead to (1) ___ nights. Search engines rank pages by popularity rather than by (2) ___ , so accounts of the rare and the (3) ___ tend to rise to the top, while (4) ___ explanations, which are far more common, sink out of sight. Doctors report a steady stream of patients who arrive (5) ___ that they have a serious illness, and who find their doctor's (6) ___ strangely unconvincing. For some, checking symptoms becomes a compulsion: each search brings a moment of relief, followed by a fresh doubt that demands yet another search. Yet it would be (7) ___ to blame the internet alone. Used (8) ___ , it can help patients prepare sensible questions, understand a diagnosis and notice warning signs that might otherwise be missed. The trouble lies less in the information itself than in reading it alone, late at night, without anyone to put it in proportion.

Diagnosis by Search Engine

DISMISS

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