Learn English with a News Story about a pig heart transplant

Check the words you already know. Marca las palabras que ya conoces. Marque as palavras que você já conhece. 이미 아는 단어에 체크하세요. Позначте слова, які ви вже знаєте.

• ☐ ☐ ☐ revolutionary adj. - new, world-changing
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a transplant n. - moving (an organ) from one body to another body
• ☐ ☐ ☐ an outcome n. - a result
• ☐ ☐ ☐ diagnose v. - identify that a person has a particular disease or condition
• ☐ ☐ ☐ terminal adj. - will cause death
• ☐ ☐ ☐ eligible adj. - qualified to be chosen
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a leap of faith exp. - taking a big risk, hoping it will be successful
• ☐ ☐ ☐ genetically-modified adj. - changed at the genetic level
• ☐ ☐ ☐ The heart is still beating. exp. - The heart is still pumping blood.
• ☐ ☐ ☐ an organ shortage exp. - not enough organs (hearts, livers, kidneys)
• ☐ ☐ ☐ xenotransplantation n. - putting animal organs into a human body
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a critical shortage exp. - not enough, causing serious problems
• ☐ ☐ ☐ kidneys n. - the two organs in the body that clean blood [image]
• ☐ ☐ ☐ heart valves n. - the parts of the heart that open and close [image]
• ☐ ☐ ☐ the magnitude n. - the size
• ☐ ☐ ☐ risk it all exp. - risk everything, risk your life

n. - noun,    v. - verb,    phv. - phrasal verb,    adj. - adjective,    exp. - expression

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1. This ______ the first time a pig heart has been put into a human body.
   is
   isn't
   
   
2. David Bennett was too ______ to be eligible for a human heart transplant.
   poor
   sick
   old
   
   
3. Bennett had ______ to live.
   six months
   six weeks
   
   
4. The pig heart used for the transplant was ______.
   imported from outside the U.S.
   the same size as Bennett's heart
   genetically-modified
   
   
5. ______ days after the surgery, the pig heart was still beating.
   Three
   Five
   Seven
   
   
6. Bennett hoped that ______ even if the procedure failed.
   doctors could learn something
   his pain would stop
   
   
7. Doctors hope xenotransplantation can ______.
   reduce the cost of organ transplants
   make organ transplantation safer
   solve organ shortage problems
   
   
8. Pig ______ are already widely used in medical procedures.
   heart valves
   stem cells
   kidneys
   genes
   
   

Score:

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Directions: Write sentences about the video clip using the words given. You can change the word form or add words, but you cannot change the word order.
( ) = optional   [ ] = necessary

Instrucciones: Escriba oraciones sobre el videoclip usando las palabras dadas. Puede cambiar la forma de la palabra o agregar palabras, pero no puede cambiar el orden de las palabras.

Instruções:: Escreva orações sobre o videoclipe usando as palavras-chave. Você pode alterar a forma da palavra ou adicionar palavras, mas não pode alterar a ordem das palavras.

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Інструкції: Напишіть речення про відеокліп, використовуючи подані слова. Ви можете змінювати форму слова або додавати слова, але не можете змінювати порядок слів.

David / Bennett / diagnose / terminal / heart / disease / and / have / less / six / month / live

David Bennett was diagnosed with terminal heart disease(,) and (he) had less than six months to live.

he / too / sick / eligible / human / heart / transplant / leaving / him / few / option

He was too sick to be eligible for a human heart transplant, leaving him with few options.

doctor / Baltimore / offer / Bennett / chance / survival / by / replace / heart / pig / heart

Doctors in Baltimore offered Bennett a chance [at/of] survival by replacing his heart with a [pig/pig's] heart.

procedure / consider / medical / leap / faith / as / outcome / uncertain

The procedure was considered a medical leap of faith, as the outcome was uncertain.

pig / heart / genetic / modified / reduce / risk / rejection / by / Bennett / immune / system

The [pig/pig's] heart was genetically-modified (in order) to reduce the risk of rejection by Bennett's immune system.

three / day / after / surgery / new / heart / still / beat / and / Bennett / alive

Three days after the surgery, [the/his] new heart was still beating, and Bennett was alive.

in / U.S. / there / critical / shortage / organ / available / tradition / human / human / transplant

In the U.S., there is a critical shortage of organs available for traditional human-to-human transplants.

if / xenotransplantation / prove / success / long / term / it / could / potential / address / critical / shortage

If xenotransplantation proves successful (in the) long term, it could potentially address this critical shortage.

previous / attempt / animal / human / transplant / with / chimpanzee / kidney / and / baboon / heart / not / successful / more / few / months

Previous attempts at animal-to-human transplants with chimpanzee kidneys and baboon hearts were not successful for more than a few months.

pig / organ / show / more / promise / with / pig / heart / valve / already / be / use / medical / procedure

Pig organs [have shown/show] more promise, with pig heart valves already being used in medical procedures.

1. What are your initial thoughts and feelings about the pig heart transplant procedure described in the news story?
2. David Bennett died of heart failure two months after this procedure. Doctors say that his death was caused by other factors, not his heart transplant. [ Read more here. ] Would you still call this surgery a success?
3. In 1988, David Bennett was convicted of stabbing a man seven times, leaving him paralyzed. That man died in 2006. [ Read more here. ] Does this change your view of the story? How?
4. More than 10,000 Americans are on the national waiting list for an organ transplant. 17 people in the US die each day waiting for an organ transplant. Do you think Bennett was a good choice for this procedure?
5. Do you think someone's past should be considered when deciding who to provide medical care to?
6. Bennett had a choice of probable death within six weeks or getting an experimental pig heart transplant. Which would you choose if you were in his position? Why?
7. The story mentions that pig organ transplants have been more successful than transplants from other animals. Why do you think this is so?
8. Is it ethical to raise animals for transplantations to save human lives? Why? Why not?
9. How do you think society's views on animal rights and welfare should be considered when developing and implementing xenotransplantation procedures?