HESI A2
HESI A2 Reading Comprehension 2024 Questions
Extract:
HEAT EXHAUSTION:
One of the human effects of the climate crisis is that as temperatures climb, more and more people are in danger of heat exhaustion. A recent spate of triple-digit temperatures occurred in states where such temperatures are rare. Municipalities provided cooling centers, which doubtless saved some lives. Knowing the signs of heat exhaustion can help you protect yourself on the hottest of days. Left untreated, heat exhaustion may lead to heatstroke, which can be fatal.
If you are forced to be outside and active in a place where high temperatures combine with high humidity, monitor your body for unusual reactions. People with heat exhaustion may sweat heavily yet have skin that feels clammy or cold. They may have a sudden sharp headache or muscle cramps and experience dizziness when standing up, which can lead to nausea. If you notice that your heart is racing and you feel faint, stop your activity at once. Find a cool place to rest, and hydrate immediately with water or an electrolyte-fortified sports drink.
If you suddenly stop sweating entirely, become confused, or cannot drink, you need immediate medical attention. Be aware that certain medical conditions�such as obesity or any condition that requires you to take beta blockers, tranquilizers, or antipsychotics�may exacerbate your reaction to excessive heat. If your weight or medications make you susceptible to heat exhaustion, avoid all physical activity when the heat index is over 90 degrees.
Question 1 of 5
Which conclusion can the reader draw after reading this passage?
Extract:
In California, three paint manufacturers recently settled a 19-year lawsuit for $305 million. Their crime (to which they did not admit) was marketing lead paint while knowing its toxicity. It was a surprising ending for many who believed that because the companies sold the paint prior to the government ban on its use, they could not be held liable for its harmful effects years afterward. The money will be used by municipalities to mitigate lead hazards in older homes, inspecting, evaluating, and removing paint where warranted. The funds are expected to be quickly depleted; there are thousands of such houses, and each could cost over $1,000 to remediate.
Even small amounts of lead in the body can result in serious health problems, but the symptoms are often difficult to associate with lead. In young children, lead exposure can cause brain damage leading to developmental delays, seizures, fatigue, or irritability. Adults may experience high blood pressure, muscle pain, or memory loss. Pregnant women exposed to lead over time are prone to miscarriages and stillbirths.
Although lead paint has been banned in the United States since 1978, and U.S. manufacturers stopped using lead-soldered cans in 1991, older buildings still have lead pipes, and lead may appear in bullets or batteries as well as in some pottery and toys made overseas. A major lead disaster occurred in 2015 when tests indicated dangerous lead levels in residents� water in Flint, Michigan. In that case, lead leached from the water pipes when the state failed to treat the water with an anticorrosive agent. It took months for the city to declare a state of emergency, during which time thousands of children and adults had been poisoned.
Question 2 of 5
What is the meaning of the word leached as used in the last paragraph?
Extract:
Microsurgery as we know it today was developed in Sweden in the 1920s for use on animals. The first microsurgery used a monocular microscope, but soon a Swedish doctor developed a surgical binocular microscope, which became widely used in delicate ear operations. It was not until the 1960s that microscopy was first used to augment neurovascular surgery. Surgeons found that with the help of the microscope, they could repair the tiniest of blood vessels and even reconstruct vessels in partially amputated limbs.
In that same decade, a German surgeon developed the diploscope, which consisted of two independent binocular microscopes. This innovation allowed a surgeon to use high magnification while a surgical assistant followed along at a lower magnification, thereby observing a larger area of operation and addressing potential issues more effectively. This improvement in microscopy led to advances in plastic surgery, an area of medicine that regularly requires work on the tiniest of blood vessels and nerves.
Technological advances have continued to expand the possibilities of microsurgery. Surgeons can now perform procedures on cerebral aneurysms, reverse vasectomies, and improve breast reconstruction after cancer surgery. New tools such as telerobotic arms connected to microsurgical forceps and video microscopy, where the operative field is displayed in high definition on a TV monitor, have made even the most complex surgeries routine.
Question 3 of 5
The passage mentions all of these uses for microscopy EXCEPT ___________.
Extract:
SOPHIA:
In a student union at the University of Michigan is a conference room named the Sophia B. Jones Room. The woman for whom it is named came from a family of impressive activists and revolutionaries and went on to have a remarkable career in medicine and education. Sophia was born in 1857 in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. Her father was one of the first Black graduates of Oberlin College in Ohio and was a strong abolitionist. Sophia had an older sister, Anna, and a younger sister, Fredericka. Both became teachers, and Anna was a suffragist who later helped create the National Association of Colored Women�s Clubs.
Sophia took a different path; she started at the University of Toronto, but dissatisfied with the medical education afforded to women there, she moved to Michigan and graduated in 1885 as the university�s first Black female doctor of medicine. She was quickly hired by the historically Black women�s school of higher learning, Spelman College, to create a nursing program, thus becoming Spelman�s first Black faculty member.
Following her work at Spelman, Sophia moved on to Wilberforce University in Ohio, a school that was the first to be owned and run by African-Americans, and one at which W. E. B. Du Bois had been an esteemed professor. She continued to believe and teach that education was the path to public health. She worked in hospitals in Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Kansas City until her retirement, at which time she and her sister Anna moved to California. A society named for Sophia continues to provide medical students and alumni at Spelman with scholarships and financial support. In this way, Spelman maintains Sophia�s inspiring goals of educating health workers and improving public health.
Question 4 of 5
The term afforded to, as used in the third paragraph, can best be defined as ___________.
Extract:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tickborne diseases doubled in the United States between the years 2004 and 2016. Lyme disease, in particular, is difficult to diagnose due to its disparate symptoms that mimic other diseases, making it greatly underreported. As a result, the prevalence of Lyme disease is thought to be even higher than the CDC suggests.
Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which is spread through a relationship involving three animals. This relationship starts with the white-footed mouse (or in California, the Western gray squirrel), which is prone to infection by the bacterium. Ticks in their larval form feed on the blood of these mice. If the mouse is infected, the tick becomes infected as well. After passing through a dormant phase, the tick nymph, usually the size of a poppy seed, seeks another blood meal. This meal might come from another mouse, a human, or a dog or cat.
The nymphs then molt into active adults, whose primary food source is the whitetail deer. They mate on the deer, drop off, and lay their eggs, thus starting the cycle over again. Humans can be bitten by either an infected nymph or a full-grown adult tick. For Lyme disease transmission, the tick needs to attach for about 36 hours. Unfortunately, tick bites are easy to overlook; they do not itch like mosquito bites or sting like deerfly bites. Many people go without treatment for months until a test clarifies their seemingly unrelated symptoms, which may include joint pain, a rash, fatigue, swollen glands, chills or fever, headache, or even paralysis.
If you know you have been bitten by a tick, time is of the essence. It is important to see a doctor, get tested, and receive treatment promptly.
Question 5 of 5
What is the meaning of the word disparate as used in the first paragraph?