Reading Comprehension

I got most of these wrong but tried in 8 min only

The moral precepts embodied in the Hippocratic
oath, which physicians standardly affirm upon
beginning medical practice, have long been
considered the immutable bedrock of medical ethics,
(5) binding physicians in a moral community that reaches
across temporal, cultural, and national barriers. Until
very recently the promises expressed in that oath-for
example to act primarily for the benefit and not the
harm of patients and to conform to various standards
(10) of professional conduct including the preservation of
patients' confidences-even seemed impervious to the
powerful scientific and societal forces challenging it.
Critics argue that the oath is outdated; its fixed moral
rules, they say, are incompatible with more flexible
(15) modern ideas about ethics. It also encourages doctors
to adopt an authoritarian stance that depreciates the
privacy and autonomy of the patient. Furthermore, its
emphasis on the individual patient without regard for
the wider social context frustrates the physician's
(20) emerging role as gatekeeper in managed care plans
and impedes competitive market forces, which, some
critics believe, should determine the quality, price,
and distribution of health care as they do those of
other commodities. The oath is also faulted for its
(25) omissions: its failure to mention such vital
contemporary issues as human experimentation and
the relationships of physicians to other health
professionals. Some respected opponents even cite
historical doubts about the oath's origin and
(30) authorship, presenting evidence that it was formulated
by a small group of reformist physicians in ancient
Greece and that for centuries it was not uniformly
accepted by medical practitioners.
This historical issue may be dismissed at the
(35) outset as irrelevant to the oath's current
appropriateness. Regardless of the specific origin of
its text-which, admittedly, is at best
uncertain-those in each generation who critically
appraise its content and judge it to express valid
(40) principles of medical ethics become, in a more
meaningful sense, its authors. More importantly, even
the more substantive, morally based arguments
concerning contemporary values and newly relevant
issues cannot negate the patients' need for assurance
(45) that physicians will pursue appropriate goals in
treatment in accordance with generally acceptable
standards of professionalism. To fulfill that need, the
core value of beneficence-which does not actually
conflict with most reformers' purposes-should be
(50) retained, with adaptations at the oath's periphery by
some combination of revision, supplementation, and
modern interpretation. In fact, there is already a
tradition of peripheral reinterpretation of traditional
wording; for example, the oath's vaguely and
(55) archaically worded proscription against "cutting for
the stone" may once have served to forbid surgery,
but with today's safer and more effective surgical
techniques it is understood to function as a promise
to practice within the confines of one's expertise,
(60) which remains a necessary safeguard for patients'
safety and well-being.

7. Which one of the following most accurately states the
main point of the passage?
(A) The Hippocratic oath ought to be reevaluated
carefully, with special regard to the role of the
physician, to make certain that its fundamental
moral rules still apply today.
(B) Despite recent criticisms of the Hippocratic oath,
some version of it that will continue to assure
patients of physicians' professionalism and
beneficent treatment ought to be retained.
(C) Codes of ethics developed for one society at a
particular point in history may lose some
specific application in later societies but can
retain a useful fundamental moral purpose.
(D) Even the criticisms of the Hippocratic oath based
on contemporary values and newly relevant
medical issues cannot negate patients' need for
assurance.
(E) Modern ideas about ethics, especially medical
ethics, obviate the need for and appropriateness
of a single code of medical ethics like the
Hippocratic oath.
8. Which one of the following most accurately describes
the organization of the material presented in the
passage?
(A) A general principle is described, criticisms of
the principle are made, and modifications of
the principle are made in light of these
criticisms.
(B) A set of criticisms is put forward, and possible
replies to those criticisms are considered and
dismissed.
(C) The history of a certain code of conduct is
discussed, criticisms of the code are mentioned
and partially endorsed, and the code is
modified as a response.
(D) A general principle is formulated, a partial
defense of that principle is presented, and
criticisms of the principle are discussed and
rejected.
(E) The tradition surrounding a certain code of
conduct is discussed, criticisms of that code are
mentioned, and a general defense of the code is
presented.

10. The author's primary purpose in the passage is to
(A) affirm society's continuing need for a code
embodying certain principles
(B) chastise critics within the medical community
who support reinterpretation of a code
embodying certain principles
(C) argue that historical doubts about the origin of a
certain code are irrelevant to its interpretation
(D) outline the pros and cons of revising a code
embodying certain principles
(E) propose a revision of a code embodying certain
principles that will increase the code's
applicability to modern times
11. Based on information in the passage, it can be inferred
that which one of the following sentences could most
logically be added to the passage as a concluding
sentence?
(A) The fact that such reinterpretations are so easy,
however, suggests that our rejection of the
historical issue was perhaps premature.
(B) Yet, where such piecemeal reinterpretation is
not possible, revisions to even the core value
of the oath may be necessary.
(C) It is thus simply a failure of the imagination,
and not any changes in the medical profession
or society in general, that has motivated critics
of the Hippocratic oath.
(D) Because of this tradition of reinterpretation of
the Hippocratic oath, therefore, modern ideas
about medical ethics must be much more
flexible than they have been in the past.
(E) Despite many new challenges facing the medical
profession, therefore, there is no real need for
wholesale revision of the Hippocratic oath.

12. Each of the following is mentioned in the passage as a
criticism of the Hippocratic oath EXCEPT:
(A) The oath encourages authoritarianism on the
part of physicians.
(B) The version of the oath in use today is not
identical to the oath formulated in ancient
Greece.
(C) The oath fails to address modern medical
dilemmas that could not have been foreseen in
ancient Greece.
(D) The oath's absolutism is incompatible with
contemporary views of morality.
(E) The oath's emphasis on the individual patient is
often not compatible with a market-driven
medical industry.
13. Which one of the following can most accurately be
used to describe the author's attitude toward critics of
the Hippocratic oath?
(A) enthusiastic support
(B) bemused dismissal
(C) reasoned disagreement
(D) strict neutrality
(E) guarded agreement
14. Which one of the following would be most suitable as
a title for this passage if it were to appear as an
editorial piece?
(A) "The Ancients versus the Moderns: Conflicting
Ideas About Medical Ethics"
(B) "Hypocritical Oafs: Why 'Managed Care'
Proponents are Seeking to Repeal an Ancient
Code"
(C) "Genetic Fallacy in the Age of Gene-Splicing:
Why the Origins of the Hippocratic Oath Don't
Matter"
(D) "The Dead Hand of Hippocrates: Breaking the
Hold of Ancient Ideas on Modern Medicine"
(E) "Prescription for the Hippocratic Oath: Facelift
or Major Surgery?"

from lsat

My take:

(7-10)B B A E

maihuna wrote:I got most of these wrong but tried in 8 min only

The moral precepts embodied in the Hippocratic
oath, which physicians standardly affirm upon
beginning medical practice, have long been
considered the immutable bedrock of medical ethics,
(5) binding physicians in a moral community that reaches
across temporal, cultural, and national barriers. Until
very recently the promises expressed in that oath-for
example to act primarily for the benefit and not the
harm of patients and to conform to various standards
(10) of professional conduct including the preservation of
patients' confidences-even seemed impervious to the
powerful scientific and societal forces challenging it.
Critics argue that the oath is outdated; its fixed moral
rules, they say, are incompatible with more flexible
(15) modern ideas about ethics. It also encourages doctors
to adopt an authoritarian stance that depreciates the
privacy and autonomy of the patient. Furthermore, its
emphasis on the individual patient without regard for
the wider social context frustrates the physician's
(20) emerging role as gatekeeper in managed care plans
and impedes competitive market forces, which, some
critics believe, should determine the quality, price,
and distribution of health care as they do those of
other commodities. The oath is also faulted for its
(25) omissions: its failure to mention such vital
contemporary issues as human experimentation and
the relationships of physicians to other health
professionals. Some respected opponents even cite
historical doubts about the oath's origin and
(30) authorship, presenting evidence that it was formulated
by a small group of reformist physicians in ancient
Greece and that for centuries it was not uniformly
accepted by medical practitioners.
This historical issue may be dismissed at the
(35) outset as irrelevant to the oath's current
appropriateness. Regardless of the specific origin of
its text-which, admittedly, is at best
uncertain-those in each generation who critically
appraise its content and judge it to express valid
(40) principles of medical ethics become, in a more
meaningful sense, its authors. More importantly, even
the more substantive, morally based arguments
concerning contemporary values and newly relevant
issues cannot negate the patients' need for assurance
(45) that physicians will pursue appropriate goals in
treatment in accordance with generally acceptable
standards of professionalism. To fulfill that need, the
core value of beneficence-which does not actually
conflict with most reformers' purposes-should be
(50) retained, with adaptations at the oath's periphery by
some combination of revision, supplementation, and
modern interpretation. In fact, there is already a
tradition of peripheral reinterpretation of traditional
wording; for example, the oath's vaguely and
(55) archaically worded proscription against "cutting for
the stone" may once have served to forbid surgery,
but with today's safer and more effective surgical
techniques it is understood to function as a promise
to practice within the confines of one's expertise,
(60) which remains a necessary safeguard for patients'
safety and well-being.

7. Which one of the following most accurately states the
main point of the passage?
(A) The Hippocratic oath ought to be reevaluated
carefully, with special regard to the role of the
physician, to make certain that its fundamental
moral rules still apply today.
(B) Despite recent criticisms of the Hippocratic oath,
some version of it that will continue to assure
patients of physicians' professionalism and
beneficent treatment ought to be retained.
(C) Codes of ethics developed for one society at a
particular point in history may lose some
specific application in later societies but can
retain a useful fundamental moral purpose.
(D) Even the criticisms of the Hippocratic oath based
on contemporary values and newly relevant
medical issues cannot negate patients' need for
assurance.
(E) Modern ideas about ethics, especially medical
ethics, obviate the need for and appropriateness
of a single code of medical ethics like the
Hippocratic oath.
8. Which one of the following most accurately describes
the organization of the material presented in the
passage?
(A) A general principle is described, criticisms of
the principle are made, and modifications of
the principle are made in light of these
criticisms.
(B) A set of criticisms is put forward, and possible
replies to those criticisms are considered and
dismissed.
(C) The history of a certain code of conduct is
discussed, criticisms of the code are mentioned
and partially endorsed, and the code is
modified as a response.
(D) A general principle is formulated, a partial
defense of that principle is presented, and
criticisms of the principle are discussed and
rejected.
(E) The tradition surrounding a certain code of
conduct is discussed, criticisms of that code are
mentioned, and a general defense of the code is
presented.

10. The author's primary purpose in the passage is to
(A) affirm society's continuing need for a code
embodying certain principles
(B) chastise critics within the medical community
who support reinterpretation of a code
embodying certain principles
(C) argue that historical doubts about the origin of a
certain code are irrelevant to its interpretation
(D) outline the pros and cons of revising a code
embodying certain principles
(E) propose a revision of a code embodying certain
principles that will increase the code's
applicability to modern times
11. Based on information in the passage, it can be inferred
that which one of the following sentences could most
logically be added to the passage as a concluding
sentence?
(A) The fact that such reinterpretations are so easy,
however, suggests that our rejection of the
historical issue was perhaps premature.
(B) Yet, where such piecemeal reinterpretation is
not possible, revisions to even the core value
of the oath may be necessary.
(C) It is thus simply a failure of the imagination,
and not any changes in the medical profession
or society in general, that has motivated critics
of the Hippocratic oath.
(D) Because of this tradition of reinterpretation of
the Hippocratic oath, therefore, modern ideas
about medical ethics must be much more
flexible than they have been in the past.
(E) Despite many new challenges facing the medical
profession, therefore, there is no real need for
wholesale revision of the Hippocratic oath.

12. Each of the following is mentioned in the passage as a
criticism of the Hippocratic oath EXCEPT:
(A) The oath encourages authoritarianism on the
part of physicians.
(B) The version of the oath in use today is not
identical to the oath formulated in ancient
Greece.
(C) The oath fails to address modern medical
dilemmas that could not have been foreseen in
ancient Greece.
(D) The oath's absolutism is incompatible with
contemporary views of morality.
(E) The oath's emphasis on the individual patient is
often not compatible with a market-driven
medical industry.
13. Which one of the following can most accurately be
used to describe the author's attitude toward critics of
the Hippocratic oath?
(A) enthusiastic support
(B) bemused dismissal
(C) reasoned disagreement
(D) strict neutrality
(E) guarded agreement
14. Which one of the following would be most suitable as
a title for this passage if it were to appear as an
editorial piece?
(A) "The Ancients versus the Moderns: Conflicting
Ideas About Medical Ethics"
(B) "Hypocritical Oafs: Why 'Managed Care'
Proponents are Seeking to Repeal an Ancient
Code"
(C) "Genetic Fallacy in the Age of Gene-Splicing:
Why the Origins of the Hippocratic Oath Don't
Matter"
(D) "The Dead Hand of Hippocrates: Breaking the
Hold of Ancient Ideas on Modern Medicine"
(E) "Prescription for the Hippocratic Oath: Facelift
or Major Surgery?"

Hi, it's an interesting reading and it take me lots of time.
My answers are:
8: C
9: A
10: E
11: D
12
13: E
14 :A
My reading skill is not so good, I always read a difficult passage twice to understand it.
Therefore I need to practice more frequently
Please give out the OAs
Thanks for your share.

Thanks cooly, let me look for the test. Imay take some time responding with OA though. Do remind me if it gets too late.

IMO

7-A
8-E
10-E
11-B
12-D
13-C
14-A

Can you post the OA