Ebola response in Congo struggles amid limited data, budget cuts, and community fear

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the questions, then listen before opening the transcript. Notice names, numbers and any corrections the speaker makes.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   According to the narration, what can authorities determine using reliable data?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Whether interventions are working
   2. Whether budgets will increase
   3. Whether communities prefer unfamiliar teams
   4. Whether transportation can be eliminated
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Whether interventions are working

   Reliable data helps authorities evaluate whether interventions work.

   It helps health authorities understand how a disease is spreading, identify where assistance is most needed, and determine whether interventions are working.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which operational requirements are explicitly listed in the funding discussion?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Personnel, equipment, transportation, communication, and coordination
   2. Laboratories, vaccines, housing, schools, and courts
   3. Advertising, tourism, policing, banking, and agriculture
   4. Hospitals, airports, legislation, taxation, and elections
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Personnel, equipment, transportation, communication, and coordination

   The narration lists personnel, equipment, transportation, communication, and coordination.

   Public-health responses require personnel, equipment, transportation, communication, and sustained coordination.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What may happen when information is difficult to obtain?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Decisions become less precise.
   2. Community trust automatically increases.
   3. Funding becomes easier to secure.
   4. Medical teams require fewer resources.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Decisions become less precise.

   The narration links information scarcity to less precise decisions.

   When information is incomplete or difficult to obtain, decisions become less precise, and responding teams may struggle to direct limited resources efficiently.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why might frightened people avoid public-health authorities?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. They may distrust or fear unfamiliar responders.
   2. They may already possess complete outbreak data.
   3. They may believe transportation is the primary treatment.
   4. They may prefer isolated financial interventions.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   They may distrust or fear unfamiliar responders.

   Fear can make engagement with authorities or unfamiliar teams feel threatening.

   People who are frightened may be reluctant to engage with authorities or unfamiliar medical teams, even when cooperation is important to containing the disease.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the narration identify as a social dimension of the crisis?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Community fear complicates communication and trust.
   2. Budget cuts eliminate all medical challenges.
   3. Data shortages improve public cooperation.
   4. Clinical expertise creates financial stability.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Community fear complicates communication and trust.

   Community fear affects communication and the establishment of trust.

   Community fear adds a social dimension to the crisis.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What must health workers confront in addition to Ebola’s medical challenge?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Insufficient information, tighter finances, and public apprehension
   2. Excessive information, stable finances, and public enthusiasm
   3. Improved logistics, clinical uncertainty, and political opposition
   4. Transportation shortages, laboratory disputes, and legal restrictions
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Insufficient information, tighter finances, and public apprehension

   They face informational, financial, and social pressures simultaneously.

   They must operate with insufficient information, under tighter financial conditions, and amid apprehension among the people they are trying to help.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What role does the narration assign to confidence-building?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It is a practical component of outbreak control.
   2. It is mainly a symbolic communications exercise.
   3. It replaces the need for dependable information.
   4. It matters only after the outbreak ends.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It is a practical component of outbreak control.

   Confidence-building is presented as an operational necessity, not publicity.

   Building confidence therefore becomes part of the practical response, not an optional public-relations exercise.

8. Question 8 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What final condition can cause the response to be outpaced by events?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. All essential response elements being strained simultaneously
   2. One medical team receiving temporary assistance
   3. A community having access to adequate information
   4. An intervention receiving sustained financial support
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   All essential response elements being strained simultaneously

   The narration stresses the combined strain on all essential response elements.

   Where any of these elements is weakened, the task becomes harder; when all are under strain at once, the response can be outpaced by events.

What to review next

Listen again to difficult sections, then open the transcript to check what you heard. Repeat a useful phrase aloud and try the recording once more without the text.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Listen for the final information, especially when a speaker corrects or changes an earlier statement.

Example transcript: “Let’s meet at five — actually, half past five would be better.” What is the final suggested time?

The final suggested time is 5:30. Actually signals a correction; the first time is replaced by the later suggestion.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.