Coronavirus Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Coronavirus
Reading Comprehension
1. Warm-up
Look at this picture and say what you know about the situation:
• What's happening?
Right now, our world is fighting with a newly discovered virus, called Coronavirus. It cause a
disease named Covid-19.
• How did it start?
The pandemic started with the first outbreak in the city of Wuhan(China), in December 2019,
where severly cases of pneumonia were reported.
• Have similar things happened before?
As far as I know, 100 years ago, the world faced a pandemic caused by the Spanish flu. Also,
if I have to be more specific, I think this disease is similar to the SARS virus, which caused
an epidemic in 2002.
• What might happen in the future?

The researchers are saying there are a couple of scenarious about the evolution of the
Coronavirus, but I think no one knows for sure what is going to happen. What is certain is
that our lifes won’t be the same anymore.
2. Read for main idea
You are going to read an article about the coronavirus epidemic. First, read the article quickly
and choose the best title for it:
• Coronavirus - the situation today
• Coronavirus - lessons from the past
• Coronavirus - what will the future bring?
In December 2019, a number of pneumonia cases were reported in Wuhan, eastern

China. The pneumonia is associated with a new type of coronavirus. This virus has now
spread to other cities in China. There have also been cases in other countries around the
world.
Coronaviruses get their names because they look like crowns under the microscope.
This group of viruses cause disease in humans and other animals, including pigs and
chickens.
It is thought that the new coronavirus outbreak started in a market in Wuhan, which
sold meat and live animals. Scientists say that the virus is not closely related to any human
virus currently known.
The World Health Organization has told countries around the world to track
respiratory infections in their populations. There is currently no vaccination against the
corona virus.
The Wuhan coronavirus outbreak is similar to the 2002-03 epidemic of SARS (severe
acute respiratory syndrome) coronavirus. This outbreak, which started in south China, lasted
for over nine months. It spread to 37 countries, causing 8,098 people to become ill and 774 to
die.
Nearly 10% of people who were infected with SARS died. The deadly nature of the
disease, the frequent human-to-human spread, and infection of hospital staff contributed to
the seriousness of the outbreak.
SARS was traced to several types of wild animals, which were sold as food in
markets. The infected animals had no symptoms. The outbreak was stopped by closing
markets and killing animals, and by treating and isolating patients.
SARS has not been seen since 2003 and it is thought that the virus has now
disappeared. The new Wuhan coronavirus is similar to viruses related to SARS which are
found in bats.
There are seven coronaviruses known to infect people, including the new Wuhan
coronavirus and SARS. Other human coronaviruses are those that cause the common cold, as
well as the deadly MERS virus.
MERS is a common cold virus that often jumps from camels to humans in the Middle
East. It can cause severe pneumonia in people and spread from person to person. MERS was
identified in 2012 and continues to be a significant problem in the Middle East. Nearly 2,500
cases of MERS have been identified, causing 858 deaths.
Coronaviruses appear to jump easily between species, and the Wuhan virus could be
the third time this has happened with humans in the last 20 years. In 2016, another
coronavirus was responsible for 24,000 pig deaths in southern China. This particular virus
jumped from bats to pigs but did not spread to humans.
How the new Wuhan coronavirus came to be in humans, and how closely it will
resemble the SARS outbreak, will be a focus of ongoing research.
Outbreaks of new viruses, such as the Wuhan coronavirus, are a reminder of the need
to invest in research in virus biology and evolution, how viruses infect and interact with
human cells, and most importantly, to identify safe and effective drugs to treat or vaccines to
prevent serious disease.
Vocabulary to help
Before you read the article again, you need to know these words. Read this summary of the
article and explain what the words in bold mean.
The article describes how viruses have spread to humans from different species of
animals. People with these infections develop severe symptoms and can sometimes
die. Several factors have contributed to these outbreaks of the coronavirus.
Viruses= living things, that can’t be seen without a microscope, that causes disease in
animals, plants and humans
Spread=Transmitted
Species=Types
Infections=an illness caused by a a virus or a bacteria
Severe symptoms= signs that shows there is something wrong going in your body
Contributed=Led to
Outbreaks=sudden start of a disease
Here are some more words you need to know. Match each word/phrase in bold from the
article with its meaning.
1. In December 2019, a number of pneumonia cases were reported in Wuhan, eastern China.
2. Coronaviruses ... look like crowns under the microscope.
3. The World Health Organization has told countries around the world to track respiratory
infections in their populations.
4. There is currently no vaccination against the coronavirus.
5. SARS was traced to several types of wild animals, which were sold as food in markets.
6. The outbreak was stopped ... by isolating patients.
a. count how many people have lung/breathing infections 3
b. items worn by a king or queen on their head, usually made of gold, to show their position 2
c. keeping sick people alone so that they cannot make anyone else ill 6
d. medicine to prevent sickness, which is delivered into the body by a needle 4
e. people who were sick with a serious disease of the lungs 1
f. the origin of something was identified 5
4 Read for detail
Now read the article again and complete the table below, comparing three types of
coronaviruses. If the article does not include this information, write NG (not given).
SARS MERS THE NEW

CORONAVIRUS
Year 2002-2003 2012 2019
Place it started South China Middle East Wuhan, China
How long it went on Over 9 months The MERS virus NG

for continues to be a
problem in Middle
East.
Number of countries 37 countries NG Not given a specific
affected number, but the text
says China and other
countries around the
world.
How many people 8,098 Nearly 2,500 NG
got ill
How many people 774 858 NG
died
Source-where it It was traced from Camels Meat and live
came from several types of wild animals
nimals.
5 Answer these questions. Use vocabulary and information from the lesson, and phrases from
the useful language presented below.
• How are the three outbreaks described in the article the same? How are they
different?
From what I’ve read, the three outbreaks are similar in the terms of the spread of the virus:
SARS, MERS and Covid-19 jumped from animals to humans. Also, they all cause diseases
that affects the lungs. These 3 outbreaks are different from the number of cases: Covid-19
infected by now almost 5 million of people, while the SARS infected around 8000 people and
the MERS 774 persons, which shows that the neu Coronavirus is way more easily to spread.
• What should people do in the future to avoid coming into contact with coronaviruses?
I’m not an expert, but it seems to me that the best way to avoid coming into contact with
coronaviruses is to keep a strict hygiene and avoid the crowded spaces as much as we can, at
least until the curbe flattens.
• What can governments do to help slow down the spread of viruses?
The governments can implement some restrictions, like closed restaurants, pubs and other
places where a large group of people can be at the same time, but also introduce safety
measures, like the mandatory wear of face masks in public places.
• What two areas for future research does the author list? Which do you think is more
important and why?
The author considers that the Wuhan virus is a reminder for the authorities that they need to
invest more in the research in virus biology and evolution and to identify a safe and effective
vaccine to prevent the diseases, or at least drugs that can treat them.
In my opinion, at this moment, the most important thing that governments can do is to invest
in the research for drugs and vaccination, because a new wave of cases is expected to appear
in fall.
Useful language for talking about something you aren't very sure about:
I'm not an expert, but... ...it seems to me that...
From what I've heard/read... ...it's likely that...
I guess nobody really knows, but... ...maybe...

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Coronavirus

• How did it start?

• Have similar things happened before?

• What might happen in the future?

2. Read for main idea

• Coronavirus - the situation today

• Coronavirus - lessons from the past

• Coronavirus - what will the future bring?

In December 2019, a number of pneumonia cases were reported in Wuhan, eastern

die. Several factors have contributed to these outbreaks of the coronavirus.

Infections=an illness caused by a a virus or a bacteria

Outbreaks=sudden start of a disease

2. Coronaviruses ... look like crowns under the microscope.

6. The outbreak was stopped ... by isolating patients.

a. count how many people have lung/breathing infections 3

d. medicine to prevent sickness, which is delivered into the body by a needle 4

e. people who were sick with a serious disease of the lungs 1

f. the origin of something was identified 5

4 Read for detail

SARS MERS THE NEW

Place it started South China Middle East Wuhan, China

How long it went on Over 9 months The MERS virus NG

• What can governments do to help slow down the spread of viruses?

I'm not an expert, but... ...it seems to me that...

From what I've heard/read... ...it's likely that...

I guess nobody really knows, but... ...maybe...

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