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Practice Reading: Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) ID: #49381 Pollution and Health
Instructions ›
Below is a text with blanks. Click on each blank, a list of choices will appear. Select the appropriate choice for each blank.
A  study  published  today    to  evidence  that  air  pollution  may  be  linked  to  mental  health  conditions.  But  it’s  not  clear  yet  how  –  and  if  –  pollution  may  be  affecting  our  brains.  Analyzing  data  from  151  million  people  in  the  US  and  1.4  million  people  in  Denmark,  researchers  have  found  that  there  is  a  strong    between  poor  air  quality  and  higher  rates  of  bipolar  disorder,  schizophrenia,  personality  disorders  and  major  depression.  This  suggests  there  is  a  link,  but  not  necessarily  that  pollution  is  causing  these  conditions.  When  the  team  looked  at  health  insurance  claims  in  the  US,  they  found  that  the  strongest    of  being  diagnosed  with  bipolar  disorder  –  after  ethnicity  –  was  air  quality.  Previous  studies  have    correlation  in  the  UK  between  polluted  areas  and  teenagers  reporting  psychotic  experiences  and  local  air  pollution  and  psychiatric  disorders  in  Swedish  children.

Result:

AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct answer: adds

Explanation: The verb 'adds' fits grammatically as it indicates the action of contributing additional information to existing evidence, which aligns with the context of the sentence discussing a study. It is in the present tense, matching the tense of 'published,' and maintains subject-verb agreement with 'study.'

Meaning: 'Adds' means to include or contribute something additional, in this case, new evidence to the existing body of research.

Wrong options:

  • decides: Decides implies making a choice or conclusion, which does not fit the context of contributing evidence.
  • compares: Compares suggests a relationship between two or more items, but the sentence is about adding to evidence, not comparing it.
  • expects: Expects indicates anticipation, which does not align with the action of providing evidence.
Correct answer: correlation

Explanation: The noun 'correlation' is appropriate here as it refers to a mutual relationship or connection between two variables, which is the focus of the study. It fits grammatically as a subject complement following 'there is a strong,' and contextually it describes the relationship between air quality and mental health conditions.

Meaning: 'Correlation' means a statistical relationship between two or more things, indicating that as one changes, the other may also change.

Wrong options:

  • mortification: Mortification refers to great embarrassment or shame, which is unrelated to the context of the study.
  • gesticulation: Gesticulation involves gestures, especially dramatic ones, and does not pertain to statistical relationships.
  • citation: Citation refers to quoting or referencing a source, which does not fit the context of discussing a relationship between variables.
Correct answer: predictor

Explanation: The noun 'predictor' is suitable as it indicates a factor that can forecast or indicate the likelihood of an outcome, which is relevant to the diagnosis of bipolar disorder. It fits grammatically as a subject complement following 'the strongest,' and contextually it describes air quality's role in predicting mental health diagnoses.

Meaning: 'Predictor' means something that can indicate or forecast a future event or condition, in this case, the likelihood of being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Wrong options:

  • detector: Detector implies a device or person that discovers something, which does not fit the context of predicting diagnoses.
  • Inspector: Inspector refers to someone who examines or investigates, which is not relevant to the concept of predicting outcomes.
  • collector: Collector suggests someone who gathers items, which does not align with the idea of forecasting or indicating a diagnosis.
Correct answer: unearthed

Explanation: The verb 'unearthed' is appropriate as it means to discover or reveal something that was previously hidden or unknown, fitting the context of research findings. It is in the past tense, aligning with 'have' in the present perfect tense, and it conveys the action of revealing correlations found in previous studies.

Meaning: 'Unearthed' means to discover something that was buried or hidden, often used in the context of research findings.

Wrong options:

  • unsolved: Unsolved refers to something that has not been resolved, which does not fit the context of discovering correlations.
  • untitled: Untitled means lacking a title, which is irrelevant to the context of research findings.
  • unfilled: Unfilled suggests something that is not filled in or completed, which does not relate to the discovery of correlations.

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