Animal Testing, Is it really necessary?
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Word Generation - Unit 1.06
Focus W ords
Rely | justify | remedy | ailment | pharmaceutical harmful
Weekly Passage
Animals are used in research by
scientists seeking remedies for ailments.
They are also used by pharmaceutical and
cosmetic companies to test drugs, makeup,
lotions, soaps, and shampoos. Why do we
rely on animals to test our products for
safety? Because animals share many genes
and organs with humans, scientists say that
using them advances knowledge and protects
humans from potentially harmful effects of
new products.
If animal testing is designed to protect
humans, then why do so many people react
negatively to it? Today, more and more
people will not purchase products tested on
animals because they consider animal testing
cruel and unnecessary. Companies that use
alternative methods of testing product s are
© Strategic Education Research Partnership 2010
| research | alternative | react
advertising to people who don’t mind buying
shampoo or laundry detergent that is a little
more expensive so they don’t buy products
tested on animals.
Medical researchers say that only a
small proportion of animals are used in
painful or dangerous tests. Animal rights
defenders say even one is too many.
Is it okay to test drugs or makeup on
animals? Do humans have more rights than
animals? Is animal testing justified because
it helps humans?
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Animal Testing, Is it really necessary? / Focus Word Chart
Word
Icon
Meaning
Connected
words
Sentences
(v.) - to depend on,
to trust
Reliable (adj) a. I know I can rely on
my mother.
Reliability (n)
justify
(v.) - to show or
prove to be right
justifiable
justification
a. What you did has no
justification. It’s
despicable.
b.
pharmaceutical
(adj) related to
medicine or
pharmacy.
Pharmacy
pharmacist
a. Merck is a
pharmaceutical
company.
b.
Rely
b. You can trust Eduardo.
He is a good man. He
is ___ _______ (adj).
c.
harmful
(adj) causing damage Harm
harmless
a. Do not drink that! It is
very harmful.
b.
remedy
(n) a medicine or
Remedial (adj)
treatment that relieves Unremediable
pain or cures an
(adj)
illness
a. I really hope the
scientist will soon find
an effective remedy
for cancer.
b.
ailment
(n) a sickness or
illness
Ail (v)
a. The ailment may be in
part the result of the
stress.
b.
research
(n) the activity of
getting information
about a subject
researcher
c. Jorlyann is working on
a research on the
coqui frogs from
Puerto Rico.
d.
alternative
(n) choice
Alternate
alter
a. You have two
alternatives: be a
good person or an evil
one.
b.
react
(v) to change in a
Reaction
particular way when
something happens
a. His girlfriend reacted
with surprise when he
proposed.
b.
Unit 1.06
Animal testing, is it really necessary?
Problem of the week.
Many different grou ps, from makeup companies to cancer research labs, use animal testing.
Some look for alte rnatives to animal tests. Others try to justify their work, saying that
animal testing savesmoney and human lives. It is difficult to find reliable statistics about how
many animals are used for testing in the U.S. each year. One estimate is 21 million animals.
Some people react differently to animal testing depending on what kind of animal is being
used. Using dogs, for example, may seem worse than using rats. A large proportion of test
animals are rats, mice,and other rodents. Some organizations have estimated that 90% of the U.S.
research animals in are rodents.
Option 1: According to the estimates given above, how many of the 21 million test animals are rodents?
a) 18,000,000
b) 18,900,000
Option 2: The Humane Society estimates that 3.5 million cats and dogs are euthanized, or killed, each year due
to overpopulation. According to the US Department of Agriculture, about 100,000 cats and dogs were used for
animal testing in 2005.
Based on the information above, fill in the blank:
About
times as many dogs and cats are euthanized due to overpopulation as are used for animal testing
each year. (Hint: to solve the problem quickly, use exponents.)
a. 2
b. 35