Page 46 - index

2012 ‫מועד פברואר‬ - 45 - ‫ 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 18-22)

(1) Mental illness is as old as humankind. Throughout the ages, people have searched
for the causes of mental illness and for ways to treat it. In prehistoric times,
disturbances of the mind were sometimes treated by drilling holes in a person's skull in
order to let the "evil spirits" escape. The people of ancient Greece believed that mental

(5) illness was caused by breathing diseased air. In later centuries, priests and witch
doctors performed rituals to rid a person's body of the devils which they believed were
causing the illness.

The mentally ill have often been treated cruelly, mainly as a result of ignorance,
superstition or fear. During the Middle Ages, for example, people starved and tortured

(10) the mentally ill in an attempt to force the devils out of their bodies. The practice of
torturing the mentally ill was still common in the late 1600s; some of them were even
put to death because they were believed to be witches. In Saint Mary of Bethlehem, a
London hospital for the mentally ill which was commonly known as "Bedlam," patients
were publicly beaten and tortured for the entertainment of visitors. In modern times,

(15) the word "bedlam" has come to mean uproar and confusion.

Only in recent centuries have attitudes towards the mentally ill begun to change. In
the late 1700s, Philippe Pinel, a French physician, and William Tuke, an English
merchant, pioneered improvements in the treatment of the mentally ill. As a result of
their efforts, mental hospitals began to treat their patients more humanely. By the early

(20) 1800s, most physicians recognized that mental illness was not caused by devils or evil
spirits; consequently, it became the subject of medical research.

In 1908, Clifford W. Beers, a former mental patient, wrote a book describing his
experiences in two mental hospitals. This book was responsible for increasing
awareness about mental health in the United States. In 1909, Beers helped establish the

(25) National Committee for Mental Hygiene, which later became the National Association
for Mental Health. Composed of psychiatrists, psychologists and concerned citizens,
the organization works to promote public understanding of mental illness and to change
people's attitudes towards the mentally ill.

Questions

18. The main purpose of the text is to discuss -

(1) different types of behavior exhibited by mentally ill people in the past and
today

(2) the primary causes of mental illness
(3) people's attitudes towards the mentally ill and how these attitudes have

changed over time
(4) different definitions of mental illness

)‫© 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