Exercises

A. Determining the main idea.

   Choose the best answer. Do not refer to the text.

The main idea of the text is that ________.( C )  

(a) controversy about Mozart' death came to an end with Professor Faith Fitzgerald's diagnosis at an unusual clinical pathology conference

(b) the University of Maryland always holds a clinical pathology conference in a relaxed and unexpected way

(c) an unusual postmortem on Mozart, dramatically conducted at a clinical pathology conference, comes at a rather simple diagnosis

(d) congestive heart failure brought on by rheumatic fever is the ultimate cause of Mozart's death

B. Comprehending the text.

   Choose the best answer.

  1. What is special about the sixth annual historical clinical pathology conference is that ________. ( C )

(a) the famous internist Faith Fitzgerald gives a lecture

(b) Mozart is the subject of the conference and his decreased body is presented for analysis

(c) it ends with a string quartet, and there is no presence of the studied object: the decreased remains

(d) a string quartet is played throughout the conference

  2. As Mozart fell ill, ________. ( A )

(a) his physical health aggravated quickly within a few days

(b) he was diagnosed with syphilis

(c) part of his body was swollen, and he suffered from aches and pains

(d) he completely lost his consciousness during his bedridden time.

3. In Fitzgerald's opinion, ________. ( A )

(a) the controversy on Mozart's death wouldn't have occurred but for the musician's fame

(b) the previous diagnoses of Mozart's death were totally unreasonable

(c) every great man, including Mozart, dies of syphilis

(d) Mozart was given improper treatment by his physician though their diagnoses were right .

4. The cause of Mozart's death was registered as ________. ( B )

(a) fluid retention and sever swelling

(b) miliary fever

(c) exhaustion of vital essence

(d) rash

5. At the clinical pathology conference, ________. ( D )

(a) a thorough diagnostic procedure is carried out, which is a usual practice nowadays

(b) modern technology is much of physicians' favor

(c) Poe's story is taken as evidence to formalize the cause of his death

(d) the academic research sometimes is carried out in a dramatic and unusual way

6. To analyze Mozart's death, Fitzgerald ________. ( A )

(a) uses deductive reasoning other than modern lab techniques

(b) starts with eliminating the possible relation between Mozart's malformed ear and kidney disease

(c) discounts liver disease and congestive heart failure one after another

(d) would have checked Mozart without using stethoscope if she had been his physician

7. Fitzgerald points out ________ is the fundamental cause of Mozart's death. ( B )

(a) miliary fever

(b) rheumatic fever

(c) kidney disease

(d) delirium

8. The principle of Occam's razor ________. ( C )

(a) is contrary to Fitzgerald's diagnosis

(b) is a medical principle

(c) is in conformity with Fitzgerald's diagnosis

(d) reminds us that the simplest explanation is the least possible

C. Understanding vocabulary.

   Choose the correct definition according to the context.

1. His body was consigned to a common grave, but his genius resounds in concert halls the world over. ( A )

(a) was put into

(b) was kept away from

(c) was kept in

(d) was thrown into

2. Controversy has surrounded this particular case history, Fitzgerald explains, because of the deceased's celebrity status. ( D )

(a) health

(b) notorious

(c) social

(d) fame

3. He became delirious, lapsed into a coma, and died just after midnight. ( C )

(a) angry

(b) dumb

(c) insane

(d) aware

4. Starstruck physicians have since ascribed Mozart's death to more than 100 causes. ( D )

(a) devoted ... to  

(b) contributed ... to

(c) involved ... in

(d) attributed ... to

5. Press reports of his passing supplied such colorful and sinister diagnoses as poisoning, venereal disease, and dropsy of the heart. ( A )

(a) evil

(b) correct

(c) unreasonable

(d) wrong

6. According to musicologist Neal Zaslaw of Gornell University, who sketches a brief Mozart biography, the death and burial entries in two church registers list the cause of death as "severe miliary fever." ( A )

(a) depicts

(b) makes out

(c) designs

(d) publishes

7. Even some learned men who examined Mozart as a child formulated their own opinions about his eventual demise. ( D )

(a) disease

(b) symptoms

(c) diagnosis

(d) death

8. It was likely to be exhausted prematurely, leading to an early death. ( B )

(a) in a short time

(b) earlier than the proper time

(c) at once

(d) totally

9. There's a thoroughness to the historical diagnostic procedure that is sometimes lost in contemporary clinical practice, says Paul Sehdev, an M.D. in his final year of training in infectious diseases. ( C )

(a) bedridden

(b) chronic

(c) epidemic

(d) emergent

10. Some medical historians have implicated kidney disease because of Mozart's malformed ear. ( D )

(a) said clearly

(b) narrated

(c) stated

(d) implied

11. (congestive heart failure) can cause anasarca if the heart can't pump enough blood through the kidneys to eliminate fluid-retaining salts. ( A )

(a) remove

(b) strengthen

(c) melt

(d) absorb

12. ...at the time of Mozart's death an epidemic of rheumatic fever is said to have besieged Vienna. ( B )

(a) controlled

(b) assailed

(c) destroyed

(d) deserted

13. ...as well as the puzzling change of character that prompted him to drive his pet canary out of the sickroom days before his passing. ( C )

(a) prepared

(b) reminded

(c) motivated

(d) influenced

D. Discussing the following topics.

1. How does Faith Fitzgerald analyze the cause of Mozart's death? What means does she resort to? What conclusion does she come at?

2. What do you think of the historical clinical pathology conference?