Antibiotic Resistance IELTS Reading Practice

Antibiotic resistance is more than just a laboratory term; it has become a life-threatening global crisis. The reading passage “Antibiotic Resistance” takes us from the fundamental principles of how antibiotics work to the dire consequences of their misuse in medicine and livestock farming. Packed with diverse medical terminology, this is an excellent exercise for mastering Matching Features and tackling the notoriously tricky Diagram Labeling tasks in IELTS Reading. Dive into this article from ECE!

Reading Passage & Questions

Antibiotic Resistance

Paragraph 1: An antibiotic is a drug that kills or prevents the growth of bacteria. The term ‘antibiotic’, coined by Selman Waksman, originally described only those antibiotics derived from living bodies, in contrast to ‘chemotherapeutic agents’, which are purely synthetic. Currently, the term antibiotic is also applied to synthetic antimicrobials.

Paragraph 2: Overuse or misuse of antibiotics may result in the development of antibiotic resistance in the infecting organisms, similar to the development of pesticide resistance in insects. Doctor Iain Nicholson explains. “The concept of genetic selection requires that as close as possible to 100 per cent of the infecting organisms be killed off to avoid selection of resistance. If a small subset of the population survives the treatment and is allowed to multiply, the average susceptibility of this new population to the compound will be much less than that of the original population, since they have descended from those few organisms that survived the original treatment.”

Paragraph 3: Antibiotic resistance has become a serious problem in both developed and underdeveloped nations. In certain settings, such as hospitals, the rate of antibiotic resistance is so high today that the normal, low-cost antibiotics are virtually useless for the treatment of frequently seen infections. This leads to more common use of newer and more expensive compounds, which in turn leads to the rise of resistance to those drugs. Drug company spokesperson, Emma Thompson, explains the challenge facing the drug industry. “A continuous race to discover new and different antibiotics results in an attempt to keep humanity from losing ground in the battle against infection. The fear is that we will eventually fail to keep up in this race, and that people may again face life-threatening bacterial infections.”

Paragraph 4: An example of antibiotic resistance is Staphylococcus aureus, which used to be treated successfully with penicillin in the 1940s and 1950s. At present, nearly all strains are resistant to penicillin, and many are resistant to other antibiotics, leaving only a narrow selection of drugs useful for treatment. The situation is worsened by the fact that gene coding for antibiotic resistance can be transferred between bacteria, making it possible for bacteria never exposed to an antibiotic to acquire resistance from those which have.

Paragraph 5: Microbial resistance to antibiotics is a natural consequence of selective pressures placed on bacteria. However, humans have greatly accelerated the evolution of resistant bacteria by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in the community. Government health official, Georgina Haynes, explains. “One of the major problems is when antibiotics are used to treat disorders for which they have no efficacy, such as the common cold or other viral complaints, and when they are used widely as prophylaxis rather than treatment, because this exposes more bacteria to selection for resistance.” Similarly, in order to kill all the bacteria of an infection, antibiotics must be used for a whole course and not stopped just when symptoms improve. The discoverer of penicillin himself, Alexander Fleming, warned the scientific community: “The administration of too small doses leads to the production of resistant strains of bacteria.” This can happen due to patient ignorance and to improper pharmacy actions, usually in the developing world. In developing countries, antibiotic prescriptions are often broken up. For example, in some Asian countries, it is common for pharmacies to sell as many tablets as the patient can afford, which may only be two or three. This is an insufficient dose to cure infection and will only further contribute to the evolution of resistant strains of bacteria. Recent reports have also shown that containers of medicine from some African countries sometimes contain only half the drug content that was indicated on the label. This may be due to ‘counterfeit’ medicines or improper storage, but also tropical conditions, such as those often found in Africa, readily cause degradation of medical compounds. Chenbo Okonkwa, a pharmaceutical wholesaler, describes the problem. “Although local regulations may require pharmacies to store drugs in air-conditioned premises, most undergo frequent power outages and warehouses are rarely kept cool. Furthermore, unauthorised dealers rarely bother to follow official storage guidelines.”

Paragraph 6: Another problem contributing to antibiotic resistance is that antibiotics are widely used in foodproducing animals, which contributes to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in them. These resistant bacteria can contaminate the foods that come from these animals, and persons who consume these foods can develop antibiotic-resistant infections. This can be seen, for instance, in the fish farm industry. It is common to put upwards of 100,000 fish into each pen, which creates cramped and stressful conditions. This increases the susceptibility of fish to certain bacterial diseases, such as furunculosis. Furunculosis, an infection of the kidneys, is easily transmitted through water and so is devastating to fish farms. To combat the disease, antibiotics were added to fish food pellets, but these were unpalatable to the fish. They were already suffering from loss of appetite due to their infections and so most of the antibiotics ended up at the bottom of the pens, allowing residual drugs to spread throughout the marine environment. Fish farmer, Jo Hardwick, explains that this is different now. “Today, vaccines are replacing the antibiotic pellets as a treatment for the disease, but unfortunately, most of the damage has already been done.”

Paragraph 7: In conclusion, antibiotics must be used judiciously in humans and animals, because both uses contribute to the emergence, persistence, and spread of resistant bacteria. Resistant bacteria in foodproducing animals are of particular concern. Food animals serve as a reservoir of resistant pathogens and resistance mechanisms that can directly or indirectly result in antibiotic resistant infections in humans. If people do not wish to be faced with an attack of all the diseases they thought they had conquered in the twentieth century, society has to change its approach to antibiotic use.

Questions 27 – 33

Match each statement with the correct person’s initials. Write the correct initials in boxes 27-33.

IN: Iain Nicholson

ET: Emma Thompson

GH: Georgina Haynes

AF: Alexander Fleming

CO: Chenbo Okonkwa

JH: Jo Hardwick

27. Resistant bacteria can develop if doctors do not prescribe enough antibiotic.

28. Society may again have to face infectious diseases that were previously thought treatable.

29. Using antibiotics as a preventative measure is a key factor in the development of antibiotic resistance.

30. Better practice in fish farms when dealing with disease is too late when it comes to the spread of antibiotics in the environments around fish farms.

31. Drug companies may not be able to keep finding new antibiotics to fight lethal resistant infections.

32. All a patient’s infection must be destroyed by prescribed antibiotics in order to stop resistance growing.

33. Illicit antibiotic salesmen hardly ever follow the instructions for keeping antibiotics in the right way.

Questions 34 – 38

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text? Write TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN.

34. The current definition of an antibiotic only includes drugs originating from live organisms.

35. Antibiotic resistance is a significant issue in both first and second world countries.

36. Some hospitals nowadays have to fund new antibiotic research themselves.

37. Climate conditions in some parts of Africa can damage antibiotics in their containers.

38. Resistant bacteria in food cannot be passed on to humans who eat it.

Questions 39 and 40

Label the diagram below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 39 and 40 on your answer sheet.

The Misuse of Antibiotics in the Fish Farm Industry

Key Vocabulary Summary

Answers & Detailed Explanations

27. AF (Alexander Fleming)

• Location: Paragraph 5: Alexander Fleming warned: “The administration of too small doses leads to the production of resistant strains of bacteria.”

• Explanation: “Too small doses” is equivalent to “do not prescribe enough antibiotic”.

28. ET (Emma Thompson)

• Location: Paragraph 3: Emma Thompson explains: “…people may again face life-threatening bacterial infections.”

• Explanation: Matches the idea that society may again face infectious diseases previously thought to be treatable.

29. GH (Georgina Haynes)

• Location: Paragraph 5: Georgina Haynes explains: “when they are used widely as prophylaxis rather than treatment, because this exposes more bacteria to selection for resistance.”

• Explanation: “Prophylaxis” is synonymous with “preventative measure” in the question.

30. JH (Jo Hardwick)

• Location: Paragraph 6: Jo Hardwick says: “Today, vaccines are replacing the antibiotic pellets… but unfortunately, most of the damage has already been done.”

• Explanation: Better practices have been implemented, but it is “too late” as the damage is already done.

31. ET (Emma Thompson)

Location: Paragraph 3: Emma Thompson says: “The fear is that we will eventually fail to keep up in this race…”

32. IN (Iain Nicholson)

Location: Paragraph 2: Iain Nicholson explains: “100 per cent of the infecting organisms be killed off to avoid selection of resistance.”

33. CO (Chenbo Okonkwa)

• Location: Paragraph 5: Chenbo Okonkwa says: “unauthorised dealers rarely bother to follow official storage guidelines.”

• Explanation: “Unauthorised dealers” = “illicit antibiotic salesmen”, and “follow storage guidelines” = “keeping antibiotics in the right way”.

34. FALSE

• Location: Paragraph 1: “Currently, the term antibiotic is also applied to synthetic antimicrobials.”

• Explanation: Antibiotics now include synthetic types, not just those derived from living organisms.

35. TRUE

• Location: Paragraph 3: “Antibiotic resistance has become a serious problem in both developed and underdeveloped nations.”

• Explanation: “Developed and underdeveloped” corresponds to the global scale of the issue.

36. NOT GIVEN

Explanation: The text mentions high resistance rates in hospitals but does not state that hospitals must fund new research themselves.

37. TRUE

• Location: Paragraph 5: “…tropical conditions, such as those often found in Africa, readily cause degradation of medical compounds.”

• Explanation: Tropical climate conditions can cause degradation (damage) to the medication.

38. FALSE

• Location: Paragraph 6: “These resistant bacteria can contaminate the foods… and persons who consume these foods can develop antibiotic-resistant infections.”

• Explanation: The claim that bacteria “cannot be passed on” contradicts the text.

39. (fish) food pellets

Explanation: The diagram shows arrows pointing to small pellets. Paragraph 6 states: “antibiotics were added to fish food pellets”.

40. appetite

Explanation: The diagram points to the fish with the text “Infections hinder the fish’s [40]…”. Paragraph 6 states: “They were already suffering from loss of appetite due to their infections”.

The “Antibiotic Resistance” reading passage provides a comprehensive overview of how IELTS structures scientific topics. By dissecting the causes and consequences of drug misuse, you not only sharpen your scanning skills but also learn how to structure a model Problem-Solution essay. Use the academic vocabulary compiled by ECE as a “weapon” to boost your band score in Writing Task 2!