Directions: In the passage given below, some words and phrases are underlined and numbered. In the answer column, you will find alternatives for the words and phrases that are underlined. Choose the alternative that you think is best. If you think that the original version is best, choose “NO CHANGE,” which will always be either answer choice (A) or (F).
Walter Reed’s Medical Breakthrough
[ 1 ]
Just over 100 years ago, one of the most important medical \[\frac{\text{discoveries, in modern times}}{1}\] relieved the suffering and saved the lives of untold thousands. This major breakthrough was the identification of the cause and spread of the disease yellow fever. For several centuries, yellow fever \[\frac{\text{was a scourge upon societies}}{2}\] in various parts of the world, striking towns and killing thousands of people.
[ 2 ]
\[\frac{\text{Thanks to}}{3}\] the efforts of Major Walter Reed and many courageous volunteers, the mechanisms for contracting and spreading yellow fever were uncovered. During Reed’s lifetime, \[\frac{\text{it was a common acceptance}}{4}\] that yellow fever was spread by contact with infected \[\frac{\text{items; such as}}{5}\] the clothing or blankets of a person with yellow fever. Some doctors, however, questioned this notion, as the spread of yellow fever was not consistent with the spread of other communicable diseases.