SSAT Reading Question 269: Answer and Explanation
Home > SSAT Test > SSAT Reading Practice Test
Test Information
- Use your browser's back button to return to your test results.
- Do more SSAT Reading Practice Test.
Question: 269
5. Which of the following best describes how vaccines work?
- A. They directly attack the disease-causing organism.
- B. They fool the body into producing antibodies that protect against the real disease-causing organism.
- C. They contain deadly disease-producing organisms that are injected directly into the blood stream.
- D. They contain antibodies that protect the body from deadly diseases.
Correct Answer: B
Explanation:
B is correct. According to the last paragraph, "Scientists use vaccines to ‘trick’ the human immune system into producing antibodies or immune cells that protect against the real disease-causing organism." Choice A is wrong because the vaccine does not directly attack the disease-causing organism, instead it causes the body to produce antibodies against the disease-causing organism. Choice C is wrong because vaccines contain "weakened microbes, killed microbes, inactivated toxins, and purified proteins or polysaccharides derived from microbes," not deadly disease-producing organisms. Choice D is wrong because the vaccine does not contain antibodies, rather it triggers the body to produce antibodies. Choice E is wrong because although some people may have an allergic reaction to some vaccines, vaccines do not work by producing an allergic reaction.