The Placebo Effect
Practice and prepare for part 1 of the Reading and Use of English paper in the Cambridge B2 First Exam with these sample questions related to a text about the placebo effect.
Read the extract below and try to choose the correct answer from the four options given for each question. An example has been given (0) with the correct answer indicated. You have eight questions to answer like in your actual exam.
The Placebo Effect
The placebo effect is defined as an unexplained (0)…… in which some people experience a benefit after taking something they believe to be a (1)…… treatment, but in (2)…… they are taking a placebo, which is usually nothing more than a sugar pill. In the (3)…… of cases, the person believes that they are receiving the actual treatment and does not know that nothing (4)…… than a placebo.
While researchers know that the placebo effect is a real effect, they do not yet (5)…… understand how and why this effect (6)……. Research is continuing as to why some people experience changes even when they are only receiving a placebo, although there are believed to be a (7)…… of different factors that may (8)…… to this phenomenon.
