# PTE RW FIB #32: Career Transition from Clinical...

Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks #32 - Level 3 - Feeds Reading

> Below is a text with blanks. Click on each blank, a list of choice will appear. Select the appropriate answer choice for each blank.

When I enrolled in my master's course at Oxford last year, I had come straight from medical school with the decision to leave clinical science for good. Thinking back, I realize that I didn't put very much ____ on this decision at the time. But today, I more clearly understand the ____ of leaving my original profession. When I meet old friends who are now physicians and surgeons, I sense how our views on medical problems have ____ .They scrutinize the effects of disease and try to eliminate or alleviate them; I try to understand how they come about in the first place. I feel happier working on this side of the problem, although I do occasionally miss clinical work and seeing patients. However, when I think about the rate at which my medical skills and knowledge have ____ , the years spent reading weighty medical textbooks, the hours spent at the bedside, I sometimes wonder if these years were partly a ____ of time now that I am pursuing a research career. Nonetheless, I know the value of my medical education. It is easy to forget the importance of the biosciences when working with model organisms in basic research that seem to have nothing to do with a sick child or a suffering elderly person. Yet, I still have vivid memories of the cruel kaleidoscope of severe diseases and of how they can ____ a human being. I hope to retain these memories as a guide in my current occupation.

## Answer

When I enrolled in my master's course at Oxford last year, I had come straight from medical school with the decision to leave clinical science for good. Thinking back, I realize that I didn't put very much **weight** on this decision at the time. But today, I more clearly understand the **consequences** of leaving my original profession. When I meet old friends who are now physicians and surgeons, I sense how our views on medical problems have **diverged** .They scrutinize the effects of disease and try to eliminate or alleviate them; I try to understand how they come about in the first place. I feel happier working on this side of the problem, although I do occasionally miss clinical work and seeing patients. However, when I think about the rate at which my medical skills and knowledge have **dissipated** , the years spent reading weighty medical textbooks, the hours spent at the bedside, I sometimes wonder if these years were partly a **waste** of time now that I am pursuing a research career. Nonetheless, I know the value of my medical education. It is easy to forget the importance of the biosciences when working with model organisms in basic research that seem to have nothing to do with a sick child or a suffering elderly person. Yet, I still have vivid memories of the cruel kaleidoscope of severe diseases and of how they can **strike** a human being. I hope to retain these memories as a guide in my current occupation.

## Explanation

Blank 3 follows "our views have," so you need a past participle. "Diverged" means moved apart, which matches friends treating disease while the writer studies its causes. "Converged" means the opposite. In blank 1, the phrase is "put weight on," meaning give importance to. "Put attention on" is not a natural pairing.

## Hints

- Focus on the tone of the passage; the author is reflecting on a significant life change with both regret and acceptance.
- Look for collocations. For example, consider what typically happens to skills that are not practiced over a long period.

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