BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 476

BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 476

IELTS Academic Reading Test

Schizophrenia

A. People with schizophrenia may not make sense when they talk. They may sit for hours without moving or talking. Sometimes people with schizophrenia seem perfectly fine until they talk about what they are really thinking. Families and society are affected by schizophrenia too. Many people with schizophrenia have difficulty holding a job or caring for them. So they rely on others for help.

B One of the most common symptoms of the disease is hallucination. Hallucinations are things person sees, hears, smells, or feels that no one else can see, hear, smell, or feel. “Voices” are the most common type of hallucination in schizophrenia. Many people with the disorder hear voices. Other types of hallucinations include seeing people or objects that are not there, smelling odors that no one else detects, and feeling things like invisible fingers touching their bodies when no one is near. Delusions are false beliefs that are not part of the person’s culture and do not change. The person believes delusions even after other people prove that the beliefs are not true or logical.

IELTS Academic Reading Test

People with schizophrenia can have delusions that seem bizarre, such as believing that neighbors can control their behavior with magnetic waves. Yet another problem is thought disorders. Thought disorders are unusual or dysfunctional ways of thinking. One form of thought disorder is called “disorganized thinking.” This is when a person has trouble organizing his or her thoughts or connecting them logically.

They may talk in a garbled way that is hard to understand. Another form is called “thought blocking.” This is when a person stops speaking abruptly in the middle of a thought. Such patients often exhibit movement disorders. A person with a movement disorder may repeat certain motions over and over. In the other extreme, a person may become catatonic. Catatonia is a state in which a person does not move and does not respond to others.

IELTS Academic Reading Test

C. Individuals with this disorder may develop significant loss of interest or pleasure. Likewise, some may develop mood abnormalities. Often there is day-night reversal. The individual may show a lack of interest in eating or may refuse food as a consequence of delusional beliefs. Often movement is abnormal which may include pacing, rocking and apathetic immobility. Frequently, there are significant cognitive Schizophrenia impairments which include poor concentration, poor memory, and impaired problem-solving ability. The majority of individuals with are unaware that they have a psychotic illness.

This poor insight is neurologically caused by illness, rather than simply being a coping behavior. This is comparable to the lack of awareness of neurological deficits seen in stroke. This poor insight predisposes the individual to noncompliance with treatment and has been found to be predictive of higher relapse rates, increased number of involuntary hospitalizations, poorer functioning, and a poorer course of illness. The life expectancy of individual with Schizophrenia is shorter than that of the general population for a variety of reasons.

IELTS Academic Reading Test

Suicide is an important factor, because approximately 10% of individuals with Schizophrenia commit suicide – and between 20% and 40% make at least one suicide attempt. There is an increased risk of assaultive and violent behavior. The major predictors of violent behavior are male gender, younger age, past history of violence, noncompliance with antipsychotic medication, and excessive substance use. However, it should be noted that most individuals with Schizophrenia are not more dangerous to others than those in the general population.

D. Schizophrenia affects men and women equally. It occurs at similar rates in all ethnic groups around the world. Symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions usually start between ages 16 and 30. Men tend to experience symptoms a little earlier than women. Most of the time, people do not get schizophrenia after age 45. Schizophrenia rarely occurs in children, but awareness of childhood-onset schizophrenia is increasing. It can be difficult to diagnose schizophrenia in teens. This is because the first signs can include a change of friends, a drop in grades, sleep problems, and irritability – behaviors that are common among teens.

IELTS Academic Reading Test

A combination of factors can predict schizophrenia in up to 80 percent of youth who are at high risk of developing the illness. These factors include isolating oneself and withdrawing from others, an increase in unusual thoughts and suspicions, and a family history of psychosis. In young people who develop the disease, this stage of the disorder is called the “prodromal” period.

E. People with schizophrenia are not usually violent. In fact, most violent crimes are not committed by people with schizophrenia. However, some symptoms are associated with violence, such as delusions of persecution. Substance abuse may also increase the chance a person will become violent. If a person with schizophrenia becomes violent, the violence is usually directed at family members and tends to take place at home. The risk of violence among people with schizophrenia is small. But people with the illness attempt suicide much more often than others. About 10 percent (especially young adult males) die by suicide.

IELTS Academic Reading Test

Reading passage 3 has five paragraphs, A-E.

Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-E from the list of headings given below.

Write the correct number, i-vi, in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet.

27. Paragraph B

28. Paragraph C

29. Paragraph D

30. Paragraph E

i. Complications associated with the disease

ii. When does it start and who gets it?

iii. Symptoms of the disease

iv. The suicidal tendency

v. Do they get aggressive?

vi. The need for family support

IELTS Academic Reading Test

Which four of the following are mentioned as the symptoms of schizophrenia?

Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 31-34 on your answer sheet.

A Unable to think logically

B May start eating more food

C See or hear non-existing things

D Develop beliefs those are not correct

E May repeat certain body movements

F Are more violent than common people

G Speak louder than others

IELTS Academic Reading Test

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?

In boxes 35-40 of your answer sheet, write

TRUE – if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE – if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN – if there is no information on this

35. The violence of schizophrenia patients is often towards their own family members.

36. The symptoms in the first stage of schizophrenia are similar to the behaviour seen in teenagers.

37. Males are more prone to schizophrenia than females.

38. One-tenth of schizophrenia patients die by suicide.

39. The occurrence of schizophrenia is more in Europeans than in Africans.

40. Schizophrenia patients often claim to hear sounds that do not really exist.

IELTS Academic Reading Test

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IELTS Academic Reading Test

27. III

28. I

29. II

30. V

31.34 (IN ANY ORDER) A/C/D/E

35. TRUE

36. TRUE

37. FALSE

38. TRUE

39. FALSE

40. TRUE

IELTS Academic Reading Test

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