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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,
1
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,
Dorsc
h 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
2
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
3
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
kn
owledge
…(
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.
4
In
addition
to
aiming
to
engage
students
in
the
learning
process,
there
is also a
need
to address
the
changing
needs
of
the
marketplace.
Because
in
many
academic
disciplines
the
body
of
relevant
knowledge
is
growing
at
an
exponential
rate,
it
is
no
longer
possible,
or
even
desirable,
for
an
individual
to
have a complete
knowledge
base. Rather,
it
is
preferable
that
he
or
she should
have an
understanding
of
the
concepts
and
the
principles
of
the
subject,
have
the
ability
to
apply
this
understanding to new situations and
have the wherewithal to seek out the information
that is needed.
As the world continues
to increase in complexity, university graduates
will need to be equipped to cope
with
rapid changes in technology and to enter careers
that may not yet be envisaged, with change of
profession being commonplace. To
produce graduates equipped
for this
workforce, it is essential that
educators teach in ways that encourage
learners to engage in deep learning, which may be
built upon in
the later years of their
course, and also be transferred to the workplace.
The new role of the university teacher,
then, is one that focuses on the students'
learning rather than the
instructor's
teaching. The syllabus is more likely to move from
being a set of learning materials made
up
of
lecture
notes,
to
a
set
of
learning
materials
made
up
of
print,
cassettes,
disks
and
computer
programs.
Class
contact
hours will cease
to
be
the
major
determinant
of
an
academic
workload.
The
teacher will then be released from
being the sole source of information transmission
and will become
instead
more
a
learning
manager,
able
to
pay
more
attention
to
the
development
and
delivery
of
education rather than content.
Student-centred
learning
activities
will
also
require
innovative
assessment
strategies.
Traditional
assessment and reporting has aimed to
produce a single mark or grade for each student.
The mark is
intended to
indicate three things: the extent to which the
learned material was mastered or understood;
the
level
at
which
certain
skills
were
performed
and
the
degree
to
which
certain
attitudes
were
displayed.
A
deep learning approach would test a student’s
ab
ility to identify and tackle new and
unfamiliar 'real
world' problems. A
major assessment goal will be to increase the size
and complexity of assignments
and
minimise
what
can
be
achieved
by
memorising
or
reproducing
content.
Wherever
possible,
students
will
be
involved
in
the
assessment
process
to assist
them
to
learn
how
to make
judgments
about themselves
and their work.
Questions
15-18
Do the following statements agree
with the information given in
Reading
Passage 2
?
In the boxes
15-18 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
15
16
17
Newman believed that the primary focus
of universities was teaching.
Job
promotion is already used to reward outstanding
teaching.
Traditional approaches to
assessment at degree level are having a negative
effect on the
learning
process.
18
University students have complained
about bad teaching and poor results.
5