Read the passage carefully. Select the answer from the four alternatives given…
2024
Read the passage carefully. Select the answer from the four alternatives given below each question.
The human body can tolerate only a small range of temperature, especially when the person is engaged in vigorous activity. Heat reactions usually occur when large amounts of water and/or salt are lost through excessive sweating following strenuous exercise. When the body becomes overheated and can not eliminate this excess heat, heat exhaustion and heat stroke are possible.
Heat exhaustion is generally characterised by clammy skin, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, profuse perspiration, and sometimes fainting, resulting from an inadequate intake of water and the loss of fluids. First aid treatment for this condition includes having the victim lie down, raising the feet 8 to 12 inches, applying cool, wet cloths to the skin, and giving the victims sips of salt water over a 1-hour period.
Heat stroke is much more serious; it is an immediate life-threatening situation. The characteristics of heat stroke are a high body temperature (which may reach 106° F or more); a rapid pulse; hot and dry skin; and a blocked sweating mechanism, victims of this condition may be unconscious, and first-aid measures should be directed at quickly cooling the body. The victim should be placed in a tub of cold water or repeatedly sponged with cool water until his or her temperature is sufficiently lowered.
Question: Which of the following is a symptom of heat exhaustion?
- A.
Rapid pulse
- B.
Excessive sweating
- C.
Hot, dry skin
- D.
Fever
Attempted by 4 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept
Reading-comprehension questions of this kind are answered strictly from the passage, not from outside knowledge. The passage draws a clear line between two heat disorders: heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Each is defined by its own list of characteristic signs, so the task is to match the asked symptom to the disorder the passage assigns it to.
Application
The passage describes heat exhaustion as being "characterised by clammy skin, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, profuse perspiration, and sometimes fainting". "Profuse perspiration" means excessive sweating, so excessive sweating is listed by the passage as a sign of heat exhaustion.
By contrast, the passage lists for heat stroke: "a high body temperature (which may reach 106 F or more); a rapid pulse; hot and dry skin; and a blocked sweating mechanism." Notice that in heat stroke the sweating mechanism is blocked, so heavy sweating is absent there.
Contrast of the choices
Excessive sweating - the passage assigns profuse perspiration to heat exhaustion; this is the symptom asked for.
Rapid pulse - listed by the passage under heat stroke, not heat exhaustion.
Hot, dry skin - explicitly a heat-stroke sign; heat-exhaustion skin is described as clammy (moist), the opposite.
Fever (high body temperature up to 106 F) - the passage ties high temperature to heat stroke, not to heat exhaustion.
Result
Only excessive sweating appears in the passage's heat-exhaustion list, so it is the correct symptom of heat exhaustion.