Whatever happened to the measles outbreak that shocked Bangladesh this year

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 passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the article’s principal purpose?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To evaluate a named vaccination campaign’s success
   2. To present the crisis while delimiting what is verified
   3. To explain why measles affects children disproportionately
   4. To compare Bangladesh’s outbreak with earlier epidemics
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To present the crisis while delimiting what is verified

   It presents the crisis while carefully separating established facts from unsupported specifics.

   The supplied facts do not, however, explain how the cases are distributed or identify the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What can reasonably be inferred from the inclusion of suspected cases?

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   1. The outbreak’s scale is wholly unknowable
   2. Every reported case will eventually be confirmed
   3. The headline figure requires cautious interpretation
   4. Suspected cases are necessarily false reports
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The headline figure requires cautious interpretation

   The reported total indicates scale, but its diagnostic certainty is mixed.

   This distinction matters: the total conveys the reported scale of the outbreak, but it does not mean that every case has been definitively diagnosed.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does “that group” refer to?

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   1. Officials
   2. Communities
   3. Children
   4. Reporters
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Children

   The preceding sentence identifies children as the group bearing the severe human cost.

   The human cost has been especially severe among children.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article mention what the source summary does not specify?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To criticize NPR’s editorial priorities
   2. To establish limits on defensible conclusions
   3. To identify the response’s hidden weaknesses
   4. To predict forthcoming government measures
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To establish limits on defensible conclusions

   This qualification prevents unsupported attribution of policies or operational decisions.

   It would therefore be premature to attribute particular policies, campaigns, or operational decisions to the response on the basis of the supplied information alone.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How is the article broadly organized?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Chronological biography followed by statistical analysis
   2. Numerical claims, interpretive limits, then future implications
   3. Policy recommendations followed by historical background
   4. Personal testimony followed by competing expert opinions
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Numerical claims, interpretive limits, then future implications

   It moves from quantified evidence through limitations toward the unresolved official response.

   For now, the most firmly established facts remain clear.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What relationship does the article establish between the two principal figures?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. They measure identical aspects of diagnostic uncertainty
   2. They show scope and severity as complementary dimensions
   3. They reveal that deaths exceed confirmed infections
   4. They demonstrate that children comprise every case
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   They show scope and severity as complementary dimensions

   Together, they indicate broad reach and unusually severe consequences for young people.

   Taken together, the two figures describe an outbreak that is both extensive and exceptionally deadly for young people.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does “That limitation” refer to?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The uncertain distribution of cases
   2. The absence of exact final mortality figures
   3. The lack of specified official measures
   4. The inclusion of suspected infections
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The lack of specified official measures

   It refers to the absence of specified response measures in the verified summary.

   That limitation does not diminish the urgency of the situation.

8. Question 8 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the conclusion emphasize “the next phase”?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To shift attention toward future evidence and outcomes
   2. To announce that the outbreak has ended
   3. To explain the origins of measles in Bangladesh
   4. To introduce a new set of mortality estimates
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To shift attention toward future evidence and outcomes

   Future developments depend on official actions and whether containment succeeds.

   The next phase of the story will depend on the actions officials take and on whether those efforts can contain an outbreak that has already exacted a grave toll.

What to review next

Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.

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

Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.

The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?

The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.

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.