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READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-14 which are based on Reading Passage 1.Spider silk cuts weight of bridges
A strong, light bio-material made by genes from spiders could transform construction and industry.
A Scientists have succeeded in copying the silk-producing gene of the Golden Orb Weaver spider and are using them to create a synthetic material which they believe is the model for a new generation of advanced bio-materials. The new material, biosilk, which has been spun for the first time by researchers at DuPont, has an enormous range of potential uses in construction and manufacturing. B The attraction of the silk spun by the spider is a combination of great strength and enormous elasticity, which man-made fibres have been unable to replicate. On an equal-weight basis, spider silk is far stronger than steel and it is estimated that if a single strand could be made about 10m in diameter, it would be strong enough to stop a jumbo jet in flight. A third important factor is that it is extremely light. Army scientists are already looking at the possibilities of using it for lightweight, bullet-proof vests and parachutes. C For some time, biochemists have been trying to synthesise the drag-line silk of the Golden Orb Weaver. The drag-line silk, which forms the radial arms of the web, is stronger than the other parts of the web and some biochemists believe a synthetic version could prove to be as important a material as nylon, which has been around for 50 years, since the discoveries of Wallace Carothers and his team ushered in the age of polymers. D To recreate the material, scientists, including Randolph Lewis at the University of Wyoming, first examined the silk-producing gland of the spider. \silk and looked at the coding for the protein material they make, which is spun into a web. We then went looking for clones with the right DNA,\E At DuPont, researchers have used both yeast and bacteria as hosts to grow the raw material, which they have spun into fibres. Robert Dorsch, DuPont’s director of biochemical development, says the globules of protein, comparable with marbles in an egg, are harvested and processed. \as the raw starting material. With yeast, the gene system can be designed so that the material excretes the protein outside the yeast for better access,\
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F \in the drag lines of the web. The spider mixes the protein into a water-based solution and then spins it into a solid fibre in one go. Since we are not as clever as the spider and we are not using such sophisticated organisms, we substituted man-made approaches and dissolved the protein in chemical solvents, which are then spun to push the material through small holes to form the solid fibre.” G Researchers at DuPont say they envisage many possible uses for a new biosilk material. They say that earthquake-resistant suspension bridges hung from cables of synthetic spider silk fibres may become a reality. Stronger ropes, safer seat belts, shoe soles that do not wear out so quickly and tough new clothing are among the other applications. Biochemists such as Lewis see the potential range of uses of biosilk as almost limitless. \is very strong and retains elasticity; there are no man-made materials that can mimic both these properties. It is also a biological material with all the advantages that has over petrochemicals,\H At DuPond’s laboratories, Dorsch is excited by the prospect of new super-strong materials but he warns they are many years away. \that we will wind up with a very strong, tough material, with an ability to absorb shock, which is stronger and tougher than the man-made materials that are conventionally available to us,\says. I The spider is not the only creature that has aroused the interest of material scientists. They have also become envious of the natural adhesive secreted by the sea mussel. It produces a protein adhesive to attach itself to rocks. It is tedious and expensive to extract the protein from the mussel, so researchers have already produced a synthetic gene for use in surrogate bacteria.
Questions 1-5 The passage has nine paragraphs A-I. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-I in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet. 1 a comparison of the ways two materials are used to replace silk-producing glands 2 predictions regarding the availability of the synthetic silk 3 on-going research into other synthetic materials 4 the research into the part of the spider that manufactures silk 5 the possible application of the silk in civil engineering
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Questions 6- 11
Complete the flow chart below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 6-11 on your answer sheet..
Synthetic gene growth in 6_______ or 7_________
globules of 8 ________
dissolved in 9__________
passed through 10 ________
to produce 11 ___________
Questions 12- 14
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 12-14 on your answer sheet write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE
if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
12 Biosilk has already replaced nylon in parachute manufacture. 13 14
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The spider produces silk of varying strengths. Lewis and Dorsch co-operated in the synthetic production of silk.
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 15-27 which are based on Reading Passage 2.
TEACHING IN UNIVERSITIES
In the 19th century, an American academic, Newman, characterised a university as: “a place of teaching universal knowledge…(a plane for) the diffusion and extension of knowledge rather than its advancement.” Newman argued that if universities were not for teaching but rather for scientific discovery, then they would not need students. Interestingly, during this century, while still teaching thousands of students each year, the resources of most universities have been steadily channelled away from teaching into research activities. Most recently, however, there have been strong moves in both North America and the United Kingdom to develop initiatives that would enhance the profile of the teaching institutions of higher education. In the near future, therefore, as well as the intrinsic rewards gained from working with students and the sense that they are contributing to their overall growth and development, there should soon be extrinsic rewards, in the form of job promotion, for those pursuing academic excellence in teaching in universities. In the future, there will be more focus in universities on the quality of their graduates and their progression rates. Current degree courses, whose assessment strategies require students to learn by rote and reiterate the course material, and which do not require the student to interact with the material, or construct a personal meaning about it or even to understand the discipline, are resulting in poor learning outcomes. This traditional teaching approach does not take into account modern theories of education, the individual needs of the learner, nor his or her prior learning experience. In order for universities to raise both the quality and status of teaching, it is first necessary to have some kind of understanding of what constitutes good practice. A 1995 report, compiled in Australia, lists eight qualities that researchers agree are essential to good teaching. Good teachers... A are themselves good learners - resulting in teaching that is dynamic, reflective and constantly evolving as they learn more and more about teaching; B display enthusiasm for their subject and the desire to share it with their students; C recognise the importance of context and adjust their teaching accordingly; D encourage deep learning approaches and are concerned with developing their students' critical thinking skills, problem solving skills and problem-approach behaviours: E demonstrate an ability to transform and extend knowledge, rather than merely transmit it; F recognise individual differences in their students and take advantage of these; G set clear goals, use valid assessment techniques and provide high-quality feedback to their students; H show respect for, and interest in, their students and sustain high expectations of them.
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