Read the paragraph below. What main point does the author make about the problem with over-using antibiotics? Antibiotics are medicines that treat infections caused by bacteria. Antibiotics have saved many lives since their invention in the 1920s. For example, hundreds of people in the U. S. used to die of tuberculosis every year. Now, such a death is very rare in this country. However, today many antibiotics don’t work as well as they used to work. Some people use antibiotics when they should not—they take them for a cold or virus, which antibiotics can’t cure. Other people don’t finish their medicine. They just stop taking it when they feel better. In both of these cases, bacteria can become resistant to the antibiotic—it no longer works against them. Once a type of bacteria becomes resistant to an antibiotic, patients with that kind of infection must use more powerful and expensive treatments. It’s important for everyone to use antibiotics correctly, so that we still have effective medicines against disease. Don’t push your doctor for antibiotics, and if you are prescribed some, take them all, exactly as you’re instructed.

1. Some people misuse antibiotics by not finishing their medicine.
2. Antibiotics are powerful drugs that can have serious side effects.
3. Using antibiotics the wrong way is making them not work as well.
4. Everyone should use antibiotics for any type of cold or illness.