# Questão ea52fd82-d7 — Inglês

> Questão de múltipla escolha com gabarito, do acervo do Dicas do ENEM.
> Página com a questão respondível: https://dicasdoenem.com.br/questao/ea52fd82-d7

- **Código:** ea52fd82-d7
- **Disciplina:** [Inglês](https://dicasdoenem.com.br/disciplina/16-ingles)
- **Área:** [Linguagens](https://dicasdoenem.com.br/area/linguagens)
- **Ano:** [2016](https://dicasdoenem.com.br/ano/2016)
- **Instituição:** Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto
- **Assuntos:** Interpretação de texto | Reading comprehension
- **Nível:** Difícil
- **Gabarito:** alternativa A

## Enunciado

Leia o texto para responder à questão.

The placebo effect: amazing and real



November 2, 2015

Robert H. Shmerling

![Imagem da questão de Inglês, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto 2016, Interpretação de texto | Reading comprehension](https://dicasdoenem.com.br/imagens/0c/0cddc577e5b3affa8916e72248afa2fa0d06ec2a8e1d37cc2ea175c77484a707.png)

The placebo effect is a mysterious thing. I’ve long been
fascinated by the idea that something as inert and harmless
as a sugar pill could relieve a person’s pain or hasten their
recovery just by the expectation that it would. Studies use
placebos – an inactive treatment, such as a sugar pill – in
an attempt to understand the true impact of the active drug.
Comparing what happens to a group of patients taking the
active drug with the results of those taking a placebo can help
researchers understand just how good the active drug is.

The word “placebo” comes from Latin and means “I shall
please.” And “please” it does. In study after study, many
patients who take a placebo show improvement in their
symptoms or condition.

The placebo effect is for real

Recent research on the placebo effect only confirms how
powerful it can be – and that the benefits of a placebo treatment
aren’t just “all in your head.” Measureable physiological
changes can be observed in those taking a placebo, similar to
those observed among people taking effective medications.
In particular, blood pressure, heart rate, and blood test results
have been shown to improve among subsets of research
subjects who responded to a placebo.

Of course, not everyone has a therapeutic response to a
placebo. If that were the case, we wouldn’t need medications
at all. Instead, we could simply wield the power of suggestion.
Understanding why certain people improve with placebo
treatment and others do not is the “holy grail” of placebo research.

Nocebo: Placebo’s evil twin


The power of suggestion is a double-edged sword. If
you expect a treatment to help you, it’s more likely to do so.
And if you expect a treatment will be harmful, you are more
likely to experience negative effects. That phenomenon is
called the “nocebo effect” (from the Latin “I shall harm”). For
example, if you tell a person that a headache is a common
side effect of a particular medication, that person is more
likely to report headaches even if they are actually taking a
placebo. The power of expectation is formidable and probably
plays a significant role in the benefits and the side effects of
commonly prescribed medications.

(www.health.harvard.edu. Adaptado.)

No trecho do terceiro parágrafo “similar to those observed
among people taking effective medications”, o termo em destaque refere-se a

## Alternativas

- **A)** measureable physiological changes. ✔ **correta**
- **B)** benefits of a placebo treatment.
- **C)** patients taking a placebo.
- **D)** people taking effective medications.
- **E)** effective medications.

## Resposta correta

Alternativa **A**.

## Como citar

Dicas do ENEM. Questão ea52fd82-d7. Disponível em: https://dicasdoenem.com.br/questao/ea52fd82-d7