Read the following paragraphs and answer the questions after each paragraph.

Question

A century ago, the average U.S. citizen lived to be 48. Now we live to an average age of 76—thanks in large part to medical research. Pharmaceutical companies do an excellent job in research, and they increased their research spending from $2 billion in 1980 to $20 billion in 1998. But we can’t rely on them for basic research efforts. That’s why funding for the National Institutes of Health, which does basic research that can benefit us all, is so important. Its funding has doubled in the last 15 years—to $15 billion. But while $15 billion is a sizable sum, it is inadequate when compared to what we spend on legalized gambling ($638 billion), alcohol ($95 billion), and cigarettes ($50 billion). Two-thirds of Americans agree that funding for medical research should be doubled, according to a poll taken recently by the nonprofit advocacy group Research! America.

—Paul Simon

1. What main idea do you think Simon is trying to communicate in this paragraph?

2. How does each of the author’s examples explain the paragraph’s main point? List the main examples from the paragraph, and explain how they are related to the topic sentence.



3. Does Simon include enough examples to make his point? Explain your answer.

4. How are the examples in the paragraph arranged?

Answer 1

1. Research is important to our health.
2. “Used to live to 48. Now we live to an average age of 76” shows research has helped prolong life.
“Pharmaceutical companies… increased their research spending from $2 billion in 1980 to $20 billion in 1998” shows the amount of money necessary for research needs.
“Funding for the National Institutes of Health… doubled in the last 15 years—to $15 billion” reinforces the notion that we need money to fund a number of research needs.
“Inadequate when compared to what we spend on legalized gambling ($638 billion), alcohol ($95 billion), and cigarettes ($50 billion)” shows the absurd amount of money being spent for non-healthy items.
3. Answers will vary.
4. From one extreme to another—least to most crucial