Reading practice

Hey there!

Hope you have a great day. I brought you a reading task about an interesting topic that happened recently. Could you read it and answer the questions below? Make sure you write complex sentences and you explain your own thoughts thoroughly. Aim for at least 3 sentences for each question!

Let's start!

First, check these words if you know all of them. I provided an example sentence for each of them too.

paralyzed (Adjective) not able to move all or part of the body

Shiori had a stroke last year which left her paralyzed from the waist down.

implant (Noun) something that is put into the body, usually via surgery

My dentist said the implant will cost around $3,000.

diagnose (Verb) to identify an illness or the cause of a problem

One in seven women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

electrode (Noun)

a point through which an electrical current enters or leaves something

The researchers used electrodes to measure electrical activity in different parts of the brain.

pick up (Phrasal Verb) to receive or detect a signal, sound, image, etc

I can usually pick up stations from all around the country but my radio isn't working today.

pitch (Noun)

how high or low a sound is

His voice has a very low pitch. Know everything now? Then let's see the article!

Brain Implants Help Paralyzed Man Communicate Again

A paralyzed man unable to move even his eyes can now communicate in complete sentences after receiving a brain implant that allows him to select letters with his mind.

The patient, born in 1985, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2015. ALS is a disease that causes people to lose the ability to control their muscles. Over time, a person with ALS may lose the ability to speak, eat, move and even breathe.

By 2017, the patient was paralyzed and was also losing the only way he had left of communicating — eye movement. So, before he completely lost this ability, he agreed to participate in the experiment, using his eye movements for confirmation.

In March 2019, doctors put two small sets of electrodes in the man's motor cortex — a part of the brain that controls physical movement.

The electrodes pick up brain activity in the man's head and send it to software that translates it to a sound that rises and falls. The man can hear this sound and can control its pitch with his thoughts. High-frequency tones mean "yes," and low-frequency tones mean "no."

Responding with "yes" and "no" to letters, which the man also hears through a speaker, is a slow process — with each letter choice taking just over a minute.

However, on the first three days of using the researchers' spelling tool, the man spelled his own, his son's and his wife's names. And since, he's asked for different types of food and for help with his care. He's also asked to drink beer, watch Disney movies with his son and listen to some of his favorite music.

But not only that — he also thanked the researchers for giving him the implant, and told them, "Boys, it works so effortlessly."

Questions

1. What are your thoughts on this new technology?

2. What changes do you hope to see in medicine and healthcare in your lifetime?

3. What would you say are the most important medical discoveries of all time?

4. What do you think people 100 years from now will think of healthcare in 2022?

5. Would you be willing to take part in a medical trial if you were paid to do so?

Send us your answers and you get 10% off from your first lesson! :)

See you later,

Paul