Unit 21: Genes and Cancer

Click or select any word to translate.

Word List

  • v. To attack something is to hurt or damage it.
    She watched the lizard attack its prey.
  • n. A breast is one of the two soft parts on a woman's chest.
    She was diagnosed with breast cancer.
  • n. Cancer is a serious disease that causes cells to grow abnormally.
    He was a leading scientist in finding a cure for cancer.
  • adj. Cancerous cells are the result of cancer.
    The exam found cancerous cells in the patient's blood.
  • n. A cell is the smallest part of a living thing that can live by itself.
    A red blood cell carries oxygen.
  • n. A cigarette is a thinly wrapped paper tube filled with tobacco that is smoked.
    Cigarette smoking is terrible for your health.
  • n. A code is a set of symbols used to hide or read a message.
    She used the code to solve the puzzle.
  • n. A cure is a medical treatment to make a sickness go away.
    Scientists are still working on finding a cure for diabetes.
  • n. To damage something is to cause its destruction.
    The wildfires left the forest in a state of destruction.
  • n. DNA is the short form of deoxyribonucleic acid.
    The police sometimes use DNA to solve crime.
  • adj. Extensive means large in size or amount.
    The game drew extensive media coverage.
  • adj. Female refers to women or girls.
    She is the only female student in her class with short hair.
  • adv. Furthermore means more information will be added.
    She's clever, and furthermore, she is not afraid of work.
  • n. A gene controls what it looks like, how an organism grows, and how it develops.
    Gene therapy is sometimes used to treat an illness.
  • v. To inherit is to receive something that is passed down from a relative.
    All the girls in my family inherit red hair from my great-grandmother.
  • n. A link is a connection to something else.
    The two lines in the poem share a common link.
  • adj. Male refers to men or boys.
    He was the only male in the store.
  • n. A population is all the people living in an area.
    The population of our city is steadily growing.
  • n. A result happens because of something else.
    The result of her experiment was surprising.
  • n. Sugar comes from plants and is used to make food taste sweet.
    She added extra sugar to her tea.

 

Exercise

A ‣ Check (✔) the one that best fits the blank.

  1. I don't like cigarette smoke, so when my father said he would stop smoking, _____.
    • a. I was upset
    • b. I was happy
  2. The extensive report _____.
    • a. gave a lot of additional information
    • b. was written very quickly
  3. The male population of that village is higher, so there are _____.
    • a. more men than women
    • b. more women than men
  4. He did not want the dog to attack anyone, so he _____.
    • a. let the dog roam free
    • b. kept it locked up inside
  5. She measured her ingredients perfectly; therefore, _____.
    • a. the final result was excellent
    • b. she was able to sleep

 

B ‣ Write the phrase that best fits each sentence.

  1. sugar / population
    You need _____ to bake a cake.
    The city's _____ is decreasing.
  2. female / male
    My aunt is a _____ .
    My grandfather is a _____ .
  3. code / cure
    The _____ is easy to solve.
    There is no _____ for cancer yet.
  4. furthermore / cancerous
    He was bleeding, and _____ , he was in pain.
    The cyst was found not to be _____ .
  5. attack / inherit
    The wild dog wanted to _____ my cat.
    You will _____ the family fortune.

 

C ‣ Write the word from the word bank that best fits each sentence.

WORD BANK
  • result
  • code
  • female
  • link
  • breast
  1. A baby can get milk from its mother's _____ .
  2. DNA carries a special kind of _____ .
  3. A father is male, and a mother is _____ .
  4. There is a _____ between smoking and lung cancer.
  5. As a _____ of adding too much black paint, her picture was too dark.

 

Genes and Cancer

Cancer is a disease that develops because of unusual cell growth in the human body. Cancer cells take over and attack healthy cells, leaving the normal working cells in a state of destruction.

Extensive research has been done to understand the link between genes and cancer. A gene is what decides the traits a living thing may inherit. Genes can be found in the DNA of each cell in the body. DNA contains a code that carries all the needed information about the qualities of a living thing. Genes control how cells work by making proteins that have special jobs. These proteins make up everything-bones, teeth, muscles, blood, etc.—in our bodies. Genes pass on the DNA code to proteins that decide eye color, hair color, and skin color. Furthermore, damaged DNA can sometimes be passed on as well. The damaged DNA can eventually lead to gene changes, which then may result in a problem in the body. Over time, the problem may become a disease and, sometimes, even become cancerous.

There are many different types of cancers. Breast cancer is the most common in the female population, while prostate cancer is most common in the male population. Drinking alcohol increases the chances of developing cancer in different places of the body such as the head, neck, liver, or throat. Cigarette smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer in the United States. Studies also show a strong link between eating too much sugar and a higher risk of cancerous cells growing even faster.

Although scientists have been studying cancer, there is still no cure for the disease. Hopefully, a cure will eventually be found and prevent the sadness that comes from losing a loved one to cancer.

 

Reading Comprehension

Part A: Mark each statement T for true or F for false. Rewrite the false statements to make them true.

  1. _____ Cancer is caused by a fever.
    __________
  2. _____ Scientists have found a cure for cancer.
    __________
  3. _____ Sugar, alcohol, and cigarette smoke make cancer go away.
    __________
  4. _____ Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in the female population.
    __________
  5. _____ Cancer can be inherited through damaged DNA and gene mutation.
    __________
  6. _____ DNA is the name of a type of cancer.
    __________

 

Part B: Answer the questions.

  1. How may eating too much sugar affect cancer cells?
    • a. It may cause the cancerous cells to multiply faster.
    • b. It may be a cure for various forms of cancer.
    • c. It may tell cell proteins to develop breast cancer.
    • d. It may help a person live longer.
  2. What is the responsibility of the proteins in our cells?
    • a. They feed the cells in the human body.
    • b. They determine the physical traits in the human body.
    • c. They create diseases in the human body.
    • d. They supply sugar to the digestive tract.
  3. What do cancerous cells do to healthy cells?
    • a. They leave healthy cells in a state of destruction.
    • b. They make healthy cells multiply.
    • c. They create new DNA.
    • d. They wait for the healthy cells to destroy them.

 

Answer Key

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