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2016 ‫מועד יולי‬ - 47 - ‫ פרק שנ י‬- ‫ אנגלית‬

Reading Comprehension

This part consists of two passages, each followed by several related questions. For each
question, choose the most appropriate answer based on the text.

Text I (Questions 13-17)

(1) Malaria, which is transmitted mainly by female Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes,
claims approximately a million lives each year, mostly in Africa. Scientists around the
world continue to study all aspects of the disease in the hope of eradicating it. One
research team investigated malaria from an unusual angle and found that the mosquitoes

(5) are rather choosy about whose blood they feed on: they are more likely to bite humans
who have been drinking beer.

The discovery was made during an experiment conducted in Burkina Faso, West
Africa, by scientists from the IRD Research Center in Montpellier, France. Some
volunteers were asked to drink a liter of dolo, the local beer, and others to drink a liter

(10) of water. Then, under controlled conditions, the researchers observed and recorded
which group of volunteers attracted more Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes. The beer
drinkers proved more attractive to the mosquitoes than the water drinkers.

The scientists suggest two explanations for the attraction of mosquitoes to beer
drinkers. The first is that mosquitoes might be drawn to people who have imbibed

(15) alcohol by the smell they emit. A second possibility is that mosquitoes have developed
this preference because people under the influence of alcohol are slower to swat at the
bloodsucking insects.

The focus of the French researchers' study is not as trivial as it may seem. The fact
that beer-drinking increases susceptibility to mosquito bites is particularly disturbing

(20) given that alcohol consumption is on the rise in many malaria-infested regions.

Questions

13. According to the text, female Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes are -

(1) found only in Africa
(2) multiplying in alarming numbers
(3) less likely to carry disease than the males
(4) drawn more to some people than others

)‫© כל הזכויות שמורות למרכז ארצי לבחינות ולהערכה (ע"ר‬

.‫ בלא אישור בכתב מהמרכז הארצי לבחינות ולהערכה‬- ‫ כולה או חלקים ממנה‬- ‫ או ללמדה‬,‫אין להעתיק או להפיץ בחינה זו או קטעים ממנה בכל צורה ובכל אמצעי‬