Pelacarsen sharply lowers a heart-risk marker but fails to prevent cardiovascular complications

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, when did researchers report the result?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Saturday
   2. The previous month
   3. At the end of the five-year follow-up
   4. After the meeting in Chicago
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Saturday

   The report places the announcement on Saturday.

   Yet participants taking it did not experience fewer cardiovascular complications as a result, researchers reported Saturday.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which pair of outcomes is explicitly contrasted in the account of the trial?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Lp(a) fell, while complications did not correspondingly decline.
   2. Blood pressure fell, while cholesterol rose.
   3. The placebo lowered Lp(a), while pelacarsen raised it.
   4. Complications declined, while the marker remained unchanged.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Lp(a) fell, while complications did not correspondingly decline.

   The narration contrasts the marker’s reduction with unchanged complications.

   Its marked effect on the blood measurement showed that the drug could suppress Lp(a); the absence of a corresponding reduction in complications showed that changing the measurement did not, in this trial, deliver the hoped-for clinical benefit.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What proportion of the global population was estimated to have elevated Lp(a)?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. About one in five
   2. About one in eight
   3. About one in ten
   4. About one in two
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   About one in five

   The estimate is expressed as roughly one person in five.

   The protein is common: estimates cited by study leader Steven Nissen put the share of the global population with elevated levels at about one in five.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Who led the research, and what is his professional role?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Steven Nissen, a cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic
   2. A Novartis executive who led the research
   3. A Chicago meeting organizer who sponsored the study
   4. A participant whose preventive measures were insufficient
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Steven Nissen, a cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic

   The narration identifies Nissen as both research leader and cardiologist.

   Nissen, a cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic who led the research, had expected the medicine to help patients for whom existing preventive measures were insufficient.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Where did Nissen present the first details?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. At an American Heart Association meeting in Chicago
   2. At Cleveland Clinic in New York
   3. At a Novartis conference in Switzerland
   4. At a hospital meeting in an unspecified city
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   At an American Heart Association meeting in Chicago

   The presentation took place at a named meeting in Chicago.

   He presented the first details at an American Heart Association meeting in Chicago on Saturday.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What did Novartis disclose the previous month?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The trial had not met its goals, but specifics were not released.
   2. The trial had met its goals, and full data were published.
   3. The drug had been approved for general use.
   4. The study would be extended by another five years.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The trial had not met its goals, but specifics were not released.

   It announced that the trial missed its goals but withheld specifics.

   Novartis, the drugmaker sponsoring the study, had announced the previous month that the trial had not met its goals, without releasing specifics.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What was Nissen’s expectation for the medicine?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It would help patients inadequately served by existing preventive measures.
   2. It would replace healthy habits for all patients.
   3. It would lower blood pressure more than Lp(a).
   4. It would make further trials unnecessary.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It would help patients inadequately served by existing preventive measures.

   He anticipated benefit for patients inadequately served by existing prevention.

   Nissen, a cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic who led the research, had expected the medicine to help patients for whom existing preventive measures were insufficient.

8. Question 8 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which point does the narration emphasize about the study’s scope?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The result concerns pelacarsen in these participants during the study period.
   2. The result proves Lp(a) is harmless across all populations.
   3. The result rules out every possible treatment targeting Lp(a).
   4. The result applies only to people without heart disease.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The result concerns pelacarsen in these participants during the study period.

   Its conclusions are limited to these participants and the study period.

   The results therefore do not establish that Lp(a) is harmless or irrelevant; they show that lowering it with pelacarsen did not protect these participants from cardiovascular complications over the study period.

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.