Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to choose the word or phrase that best fits each other numbered blanks.
Wuhan Coronavirus Looks Increasingly Like a Pandemic, Experts Say
Rapidly rising caseloads alarm researchers, who fear the virus may make its way across the globe. (31) _________, scientists cannot yet predict how many deaths may result. The Wuhan coronavirus spreading from China is now likely to become a pandemic (32) _________ circles the globe, according to many of the world’s leading infectious disease experts. The prospect is daunting. A pandemic - an ongoing epidemic on two or more continents- may well have global consequences, despite the extraordinary travel restrictions and quarantines now imposed by China and (33) _________ countries, including the United States.
Scientists do not yet know how (34) _________ the new coronavirus is, however, so there is uncertainty about how much damage a pandemic might cause. But there is growing consensus that the pathogen is readily transmitted between humans. Many scientists have found that the Wuhan coronavirus is spreading more like influenza, which is highly (35) _________ than its slow-moving viral cousins, SARS and MERS. “It’s very, very transmissible, and it almost certainly is going to be a pandemic,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
(Adapted from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/02/health/coronavirus-pandemic-china.html)
(31) _________, scientists cannot yet predict how many deaths may result.
