Page 48 - index

2022 ‫מועד קיץ‬ - 47 - ‫ פרק שני‬- ‫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) The opium poppy, a delicate flower, is the source of some of the world's most potent
painkillers, one of which is also an illicit drug. Opium's pain-relieving properties have
been known since ancient times. Today, several opium-derived substances are used
medicinally. The principal one, morphine, has been used since the mid-1800s to treat

(5) severe pain and remains the standard against which new pain medications are measured.
Codeine is used to treat moderate pain and is also the active component in many cough
medicines. Thebaine is used to make oxycodone, which is often prescribed for cancer
patients. Also derived from opium is heroin, which was introduced for medicinal use in
1898 but was soon found to be highly addictive and was eventually outlawed.

(10) The market in opium-derived pharmaceuticals generates more than $6.5 billion
annually. However, the illegal traffic in heroin is estimated at $13 billion a year.
Because heroin is so dangerous and because so much money is at stake, there are
international restrictions on the growing and processing of the opium poppy. Even

research on the plant is subject to extensive safeguards. Peter Facchini, professor of
(15) biochemistry at the University of Calgary in Canada, heads one of the few laboratories

in the world dedicated to the study of the plant's biochemical and genetic secrets.
Because the opium poppy is classified as a controlled substance, Facchini operates with
a special license from the Canadian government and is permitted to grow only one
hundred plants at a time. His lab includes a $30,000 growth chamber – a windowless
(20) room that is equipped with an alarm and a motion detector and can be accessed only
through a single, locked door.

Facchini's work extends beyond the laboratory. He and his research team have
become so well known that government agencies, police departments, and drug

companies routinely seek their expertise.

Questions

13. Which of the following statements about the opium poppy is not made in the first

paragraph?

(1) It is more common than any other species of poppy.
(2) It is a delicate flower.
(3) It is used to make several painkillers.
(4) It is the source of heroin.

)‫© 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