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You are going to read an article about Swift Foxes. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
The fast fox struggles to live in its grassland habitat, competing with coyotes and other bigger canines.
The fast fox is the most endangered wild dog in North America. It is also the fastest, capable of reaching speeds of more than 35 miles per hour over short distances. (1)__________________ Speed is essential for life in the dry grasslands of the midwestern plains, which it shares with its archenemy, the coyote. That is, most of the time, but not always.
“Swift foxes blend in nicely with the dry grass where they’re located,” says Moehrenschlager, an Oxford University researcher who recently examined the species along the US-Canada border for three years. (2)_________________ This is clearly abnormal canine behavior. “It appears to be especially typical of fast foxes,” he says.
As it turns out, the fast fox (Vulpes velox) possesses a variety of characteristics that distinguish it from its larger, more numerous, and better-known canine family cousins, most notably the red fox and the coyote. (3)______________________
The fast fox, formerly abundant on the midwestern prairies, has fallen dramatically in our country during the last century and vanished entirely in Canada, a victim of coyote and wolf traps and poisons, as well as the shrinkage of short-grass and mid-grass grasslands. Swift foxes may currently be found along a short north-south ribbon spanning from Montana to Texas in the United States; in Canada, reintroduction efforts that began in the 1980s have resulted in a tiny but steady population that is officially classed as “endangered.”
The biggest threat to the fast fox’s existence is habitat loss. (4)______________________ The consequences on native species are severe as grasslands, which formerly spanned 40% of the United States, vanish.
New research is focusing on another hazard to the fast fox: the sophisticated method in which this unaggressive creature fits into the vicious canine pecking order of the midwestern plains. “If we put canid species that can’t live together through transplants and reintroductions, it might be a futile effort,” says Eileen Dowd Stukel, a South Dakota state wildlife scientist. (5)_______________________ “This is one canid that no one seems to dislike. It would be a tragedy to see it go extinct on the prairie.”
The fast fox, being a carnivore, poses considerably fewer difficulties for humans than larger wild canines, which occasionally feed on cattle. (6)__________________ An adult weighs only four to six pounds, which is almost half the weight of the more common red fox. When its fur is wet, a fast fox resembles a huge house cat.
Dowd Stukel describes swift foxes as naive and weak. (7)________________________ Some have dubbed the critter a stupid fox, but far too little is known about it to support such a judgment. In any case, she says, “they’re at times not very shy around people, in contrast to red foxes.”
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. The relative aggressiveness of fast foxes may be related to their subterranean existence.
B. “If you got too close, they’ll simply sit there with their ears back flat against their head, not moving even their eyes.”
C. It hunts at night and feeds on mice, voles, crickets, ground squirrels, and other small animals, as well as berries and seeds.
D. “It’s like a sideways flash of lightning when you see one in your headlights rushing across the road at night,” says scientist Axel Möhrenschlager.
E. Dowd Stukel is one of the co-chairs of the Swift Fox Conservation Team, a 10-state, a two-province organization that is driving the current research.
F. They’re quite simple to catch, and juveniles frequently end up as roadkill.
G. Scientists believe that up to half of the species’ original range has been turned into farmland.
H. These are just now becoming public as biologists and wildlife managers rush to learn more about the species, which is now a candidate for Endangered Species Act protection.
Question 1
You are going to read an article about Swift Foxes. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
The fast fox struggles to live in its grassland habitat, competing with coyotes and other bigger canines.
The fast fox is the most endangered wild dog in North America. It is also the fastest, capable of reaching speeds of more than 35 miles per hour over short distances. (1)__________________ Speed is essential for life in the dry grasslands of the midwestern plains, which it shares with its archenemy, the coyote. That is, most of the time, but not always.
“Swift foxes blend in nicely with the dry grass where they’re located,” says Moehrenschlager, an Oxford University researcher who recently examined the species along the US-Canada border for three years. (2)_________________ This is clearly abnormal canine behavior. “It appears to be especially typical of fast foxes,” he says.
As it turns out, the fast fox (Vulpes velox) possesses a variety of characteristics that distinguish it from its larger, more numerous, and better-known canine family cousins, most notably the red fox and the coyote. (3)______________________
The fast fox, formerly abundant on the midwestern prairies, has fallen dramatically in our country during the last century and vanished entirely in Canada, a victim of coyote and wolf traps and poisons, as well as the shrinkage of short-grass and mid-grass grasslands. Swift foxes may currently be found along a short north-south ribbon spanning from Montana to Texas in the United States; in Canada, reintroduction efforts that began in the 1980s have resulted in a tiny but steady population that is officially classed as “endangered.”
The biggest threat to the fast fox’s existence is habitat loss. (4)______________________ The consequences on native species are severe as grasslands, which formerly spanned 40% of the United States, vanish.
New research is focusing on another hazard to the fast fox: the sophisticated method in which this unaggressive creature fits into the vicious canine pecking order of the midwestern plains. “If we put canid species that can’t live together through transplants and reintroductions, it might be a futile effort,” says Eileen Dowd Stukel, a South Dakota state wildlife scientist. (5)_______________________ “This is one canid that no one seems to dislike. It would be a tragedy to see it go extinct on the prairie.”
The fast fox, being a carnivore, poses considerably fewer difficulties for humans than larger wild canines, which occasionally feed on cattle. (6)__________________ An adult weighs only four to six pounds, which is almost half the weight of the more common red fox. When its fur is wet, a fast fox resembles a huge house cat.
Dowd Stukel describes swift foxes as naive and weak. (7)________________________ Some have dubbed the critter a stupid fox, but far too little is known about it to support such a judgment. In any case, she says, “they’re at times not very shy around people, in contrast to red foxes.”
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. The relative aggressiveness of fast foxes may be related to their subterranean existence.
B. “If you got too close, they’ll simply sit there with their ears back flat against their head, not moving even their eyes.”
C. It hunts at night and feeds on mice, voles, crickets, ground squirrels, and other small animals, as well as berries and seeds.
D. “It’s like a sideways flash of lightning when you see one in your headlights rushing across the road at night,” says scientist Axel Möhrenschlager.
E. Dowd Stukel is one of the co-chairs of the Swift Fox Conservation Team, a 10-state, a two-province organization that is driving the current research.
F. They’re quite simple to catch, and juveniles frequently end up as roadkill.
G. Scientists believe that up to half of the species’ original range has been turned into farmland.
H. These are just now becoming public as biologists and wildlife managers rush to learn more about the species, which is now a candidate for Endangered Species Act protection.
Question 2
You are going to read an article about Swift Foxes. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
The fast fox struggles to live in its grassland habitat, competing with coyotes and other bigger canines.
The fast fox is the most endangered wild dog in North America. It is also the fastest, capable of reaching speeds of more than 35 miles per hour over short distances. (1)__________________ Speed is essential for life in the dry grasslands of the midwestern plains, which it shares with its archenemy, the coyote. That is, most of the time, but not always.
“Swift foxes blend in nicely with the dry grass where they’re located,” says Moehrenschlager, an Oxford University researcher who recently examined the species along the US-Canada border for three years. (2)_________________ This is clearly abnormal canine behavior. “It appears to be especially typical of fast foxes,” he says.
As it turns out, the fast fox (Vulpes velox) possesses a variety of characteristics that distinguish it from its larger, more numerous, and better-known canine family cousins, most notably the red fox and the coyote. (3)______________________
The fast fox, formerly abundant on the midwestern prairies, has fallen dramatically in our country during the last century and vanished entirely in Canada, a victim of coyote and wolf traps and poisons, as well as the shrinkage of short-grass and mid-grass grasslands. Swift foxes may currently be found along a short north-south ribbon spanning from Montana to Texas in the United States; in Canada, reintroduction efforts that began in the 1980s have resulted in a tiny but steady population that is officially classed as “endangered.”
The biggest threat to the fast fox’s existence is habitat loss. (4)______________________ The consequences on native species are severe as grasslands, which formerly spanned 40% of the United States, vanish.
New research is focusing on another hazard to the fast fox: the sophisticated method in which this unaggressive creature fits into the vicious canine pecking order of the midwestern plains. “If we put canid species that can’t live together through transplants and reintroductions, it might be a futile effort,” says Eileen Dowd Stukel, a South Dakota state wildlife scientist. (5)_______________________ “This is one canid that no one seems to dislike. It would be a tragedy to see it go extinct on the prairie.”
The fast fox, being a carnivore, poses considerably fewer difficulties for humans than larger wild canines, which occasionally feed on cattle. (6)__________________ An adult weighs only four to six pounds, which is almost half the weight of the more common red fox. When its fur is wet, a fast fox resembles a huge house cat.
Dowd Stukel describes swift foxes as naive and weak. (7)________________________ Some have dubbed the critter a stupid fox, but far too little is known about it to support such a judgment. In any case, she says, “they’re at times not very shy around people, in contrast to red foxes.”
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. The relative aggressiveness of fast foxes may be related to their subterranean existence.
B. “If you got too close, they’ll simply sit there with their ears back flat against their head, not moving even their eyes.”
C. It hunts at night and feeds on mice, voles, crickets, ground squirrels, and other small animals, as well as berries and seeds.
D. “It’s like a sideways flash of lightning when you see one in your headlights rushing across the road at night,” says scientist Axel Möhrenschlager.
E. Dowd Stukel is one of the co-chairs of the Swift Fox Conservation Team, a 10-state, a two-province organization that is driving the current research.
F. They’re quite simple to catch, and juveniles frequently end up as roadkill.
G. Scientists believe that up to half of the species’ original range has been turned into farmland.
H. These are just now becoming public as biologists and wildlife managers rush to learn more about the species, which is now a candidate for Endangered Species Act protection.
Question 3
You are going to read an article about Swift Foxes. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
The fast fox struggles to live in its grassland habitat, competing with coyotes and other bigger canines.
The fast fox is the most endangered wild dog in North America. It is also the fastest, capable of reaching speeds of more than 35 miles per hour over short distances. (1)__________________ Speed is essential for life in the dry grasslands of the midwestern plains, which it shares with its archenemy, the coyote. That is, most of the time, but not always.
“Swift foxes blend in nicely with the dry grass where they’re located,” says Moehrenschlager, an Oxford University researcher who recently examined the species along the US-Canada border for three years. (2)_________________ This is clearly abnormal canine behavior. “It appears to be especially typical of fast foxes,” he says.
As it turns out, the fast fox (Vulpes velox) possesses a variety of characteristics that distinguish it from its larger, more numerous, and better-known canine family cousins, most notably the red fox and the coyote. (3)______________________
The fast fox, formerly abundant on the midwestern prairies, has fallen dramatically in our country during the last century and vanished entirely in Canada, a victim of coyote and wolf traps and poisons, as well as the shrinkage of short-grass and mid-grass grasslands. Swift foxes may currently be found along a short north-south ribbon spanning from Montana to Texas in the United States; in Canada, reintroduction efforts that began in the 1980s have resulted in a tiny but steady population that is officially classed as “endangered.”
The biggest threat to the fast fox’s existence is habitat loss. (4)______________________ The consequences on native species are severe as grasslands, which formerly spanned 40% of the United States, vanish.
New research is focusing on another hazard to the fast fox: the sophisticated method in which this unaggressive creature fits into the vicious canine pecking order of the midwestern plains. “If we put canid species that can’t live together through transplants and reintroductions, it might be a futile effort,” says Eileen Dowd Stukel, a South Dakota state wildlife scientist. (5)_______________________ “This is one canid that no one seems to dislike. It would be a tragedy to see it go extinct on the prairie.”
The fast fox, being a carnivore, poses considerably fewer difficulties for humans than larger wild canines, which occasionally feed on cattle. (6)__________________ An adult weighs only four to six pounds, which is almost half the weight of the more common red fox. When its fur is wet, a fast fox resembles a huge house cat.
Dowd Stukel describes swift foxes as naive and weak. (7)________________________ Some have dubbed the critter a stupid fox, but far too little is known about it to support such a judgment. In any case, she says, “they’re at times not very shy around people, in contrast to red foxes.”
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. The relative aggressiveness of fast foxes may be related to their subterranean existence.
B. “If you got too close, they’ll simply sit there with their ears back flat against their head, not moving even their eyes.”
C. It hunts at night and feeds on mice, voles, crickets, ground squirrels, and other small animals, as well as berries and seeds.
D. “It’s like a sideways flash of lightning when you see one in your headlights rushing across the road at night,” says scientist Axel Möhrenschlager.
E. Dowd Stukel is one of the co-chairs of the Swift Fox Conservation Team, a 10-state, a two-province organization that is driving the current research.
F. They’re quite simple to catch, and juveniles frequently end up as roadkill.
G. Scientists believe that up to half of the species’ original range has been turned into farmland.
H. These are just now becoming public as biologists and wildlife managers rush to learn more about the species, which is now a candidate for Endangered Species Act protection.
Question 4
You are going to read an article about Swift Foxes. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
The fast fox struggles to live in its grassland habitat, competing with coyotes and other bigger canines.
The fast fox is the most endangered wild dog in North America. It is also the fastest, capable of reaching speeds of more than 35 miles per hour over short distances. (1)__________________ Speed is essential for life in the dry grasslands of the midwestern plains, which it shares with its archenemy, the coyote. That is, most of the time, but not always.
“Swift foxes blend in nicely with the dry grass where they’re located,” says Moehrenschlager, an Oxford University researcher who recently examined the species along the US-Canada border for three years. (2)_________________ This is clearly abnormal canine behavior. “It appears to be especially typical of fast foxes,” he says.
As it turns out, the fast fox (Vulpes velox) possesses a variety of characteristics that distinguish it from its larger, more numerous, and better-known canine family cousins, most notably the red fox and the coyote. (3)______________________
The fast fox, formerly abundant on the midwestern prairies, has fallen dramatically in our country during the last century and vanished entirely in Canada, a victim of coyote and wolf traps and poisons, as well as the shrinkage of short-grass and mid-grass grasslands. Swift foxes may currently be found along a short north-south ribbon spanning from Montana to Texas in the United States; in Canada, reintroduction efforts that began in the 1980s have resulted in a tiny but steady population that is officially classed as “endangered.”
The biggest threat to the fast fox’s existence is habitat loss. (4)______________________ The consequences on native species are severe as grasslands, which formerly spanned 40% of the United States, vanish.
New research is focusing on another hazard to the fast fox: the sophisticated method in which this unaggressive creature fits into the vicious canine pecking order of the midwestern plains. “If we put canid species that can’t live together through transplants and reintroductions, it might be a futile effort,” says Eileen Dowd Stukel, a South Dakota state wildlife scientist. (5)_______________________ “This is one canid that no one seems to dislike. It would be a tragedy to see it go extinct on the prairie.”
The fast fox, being a carnivore, poses considerably fewer difficulties for humans than larger wild canines, which occasionally feed on cattle. (6)__________________ An adult weighs only four to six pounds, which is almost half the weight of the more common red fox. When its fur is wet, a fast fox resembles a huge house cat.
Dowd Stukel describes swift foxes as naive and weak. (7)________________________ Some have dubbed the critter a stupid fox, but far too little is known about it to support such a judgment. In any case, she says, “they’re at times not very shy around people, in contrast to red foxes.”
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. The relative aggressiveness of fast foxes may be related to their subterranean existence.
B. “If you got too close, they’ll simply sit there with their ears back flat against their head, not moving even their eyes.”
C. It hunts at night and feeds on mice, voles, crickets, ground squirrels, and other small animals, as well as berries and seeds.
D. “It’s like a sideways flash of lightning when you see one in your headlights rushing across the road at night,” says scientist Axel Möhrenschlager.
E. Dowd Stukel is one of the co-chairs of the Swift Fox Conservation Team, a 10-state, a two-province organization that is driving the current research.
F. They’re quite simple to catch, and juveniles frequently end up as roadkill.
G. Scientists believe that up to half of the species’ original range has been turned into farmland.
H. These are just now becoming public as biologists and wildlife managers rush to learn more about the species, which is now a candidate for Endangered Species Act protection.
Question 5
You are going to read an article about Swift Foxes. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
The fast fox struggles to live in its grassland habitat, competing with coyotes and other bigger canines.
The fast fox is the most endangered wild dog in North America. It is also the fastest, capable of reaching speeds of more than 35 miles per hour over short distances. (1)__________________ Speed is essential for life in the dry grasslands of the midwestern plains, which it shares with its archenemy, the coyote. That is, most of the time, but not always.
“Swift foxes blend in nicely with the dry grass where they’re located,” says Moehrenschlager, an Oxford University researcher who recently examined the species along the US-Canada border for three years. (2)_________________ This is clearly abnormal canine behavior. “It appears to be especially typical of fast foxes,” he says.
As it turns out, the fast fox (Vulpes velox) possesses a variety of characteristics that distinguish it from its larger, more numerous, and better-known canine family cousins, most notably the red fox and the coyote. (3)______________________
The fast fox, formerly abundant on the midwestern prairies, has fallen dramatically in our country during the last century and vanished entirely in Canada, a victim of coyote and wolf traps and poisons, as well as the shrinkage of short-grass and mid-grass grasslands. Swift foxes may currently be found along a short north-south ribbon spanning from Montana to Texas in the United States; in Canada, reintroduction efforts that began in the 1980s have resulted in a tiny but steady population that is officially classed as “endangered.”
The biggest threat to the fast fox’s existence is habitat loss. (4)______________________ The consequences on native species are severe as grasslands, which formerly spanned 40% of the United States, vanish.
New research is focusing on another hazard to the fast fox: the sophisticated method in which this unaggressive creature fits into the vicious canine pecking order of the midwestern plains. “If we put canid species that can’t live together through transplants and reintroductions, it might be a futile effort,” says Eileen Dowd Stukel, a South Dakota state wildlife scientist. (5)_______________________ “This is one canid that no one seems to dislike. It would be a tragedy to see it go extinct on the prairie.”
The fast fox, being a carnivore, poses considerably fewer difficulties for humans than larger wild canines, which occasionally feed on cattle. (6)__________________ An adult weighs only four to six pounds, which is almost half the weight of the more common red fox. When its fur is wet, a fast fox resembles a huge house cat.
Dowd Stukel describes swift foxes as naive and weak. (7)________________________ Some have dubbed the critter a stupid fox, but far too little is known about it to support such a judgment. In any case, she says, “they’re at times not very shy around people, in contrast to red foxes.”
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. The relative aggressiveness of fast foxes may be related to their subterranean existence.
B. “If you got too close, they’ll simply sit there with their ears back flat against their head, not moving even their eyes.”
C. It hunts at night and feeds on mice, voles, crickets, ground squirrels, and other small animals, as well as berries and seeds.
D. “It’s like a sideways flash of lightning when you see one in your headlights rushing across the road at night,” says scientist Axel Möhrenschlager.
E. Dowd Stukel is one of the co-chairs of the Swift Fox Conservation Team, a 10-state, a two-province organization that is driving the current research.
F. They’re quite simple to catch, and juveniles frequently end up as roadkill.
G. Scientists believe that up to half of the species’ original range has been turned into farmland.
H. These are just now becoming public as biologists and wildlife managers rush to learn more about the species, which is now a candidate for Endangered Species Act protection.
Question 6
You are going to read an article about Swift Foxes. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
The fast fox struggles to live in its grassland habitat, competing with coyotes and other bigger canines.
The fast fox is the most endangered wild dog in North America. It is also the fastest, capable of reaching speeds of more than 35 miles per hour over short distances. (1)__________________ Speed is essential for life in the dry grasslands of the midwestern plains, which it shares with its archenemy, the coyote. That is, most of the time, but not always.
“Swift foxes blend in nicely with the dry grass where they’re located,” says Moehrenschlager, an Oxford University researcher who recently examined the species along the US-Canada border for three years. (2)_________________ This is clearly abnormal canine behavior. “It appears to be especially typical of fast foxes,” he says.
As it turns out, the fast fox (Vulpes velox) possesses a variety of characteristics that distinguish it from its larger, more numerous, and better-known canine family cousins, most notably the red fox and the coyote. (3)______________________
The fast fox, formerly abundant on the midwestern prairies, has fallen dramatically in our country during the last century and vanished entirely in Canada, a victim of coyote and wolf traps and poisons, as well as the shrinkage of short-grass and mid-grass grasslands. Swift foxes may currently be found along a short north-south ribbon spanning from Montana to Texas in the United States; in Canada, reintroduction efforts that began in the 1980s have resulted in a tiny but steady population that is officially classed as “endangered.”
The biggest threat to the fast fox’s existence is habitat loss. (4)______________________ The consequences on native species are severe as grasslands, which formerly spanned 40% of the United States, vanish.
New research is focusing on another hazard to the fast fox: the sophisticated method in which this unaggressive creature fits into the vicious canine pecking order of the midwestern plains. “If we put canid species that can’t live together through transplants and reintroductions, it might be a futile effort,” says Eileen Dowd Stukel, a South Dakota state wildlife scientist. (5)_______________________ “This is one canid that no one seems to dislike. It would be a tragedy to see it go extinct on the prairie.”
The fast fox, being a carnivore, poses considerably fewer difficulties for humans than larger wild canines, which occasionally feed on cattle. (6)__________________ An adult weighs only four to six pounds, which is almost half the weight of the more common red fox. When its fur is wet, a fast fox resembles a huge house cat.
Dowd Stukel describes swift foxes as naive and weak. (7)________________________ Some have dubbed the critter a stupid fox, but far too little is known about it to support such a judgment. In any case, she says, “they’re at times not very shy around people, in contrast to red foxes.”
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. The relative aggressiveness of fast foxes may be related to their subterranean existence.
B. “If you got too close, they’ll simply sit there with their ears back flat against their head, not moving even their eyes.”
C. It hunts at night and feeds on mice, voles, crickets, ground squirrels, and other small animals, as well as berries and seeds.
D. “It’s like a sideways flash of lightning when you see one in your headlights rushing across the road at night,” says scientist Axel Möhrenschlager.
E. Dowd Stukel is one of the co-chairs of the Swift Fox Conservation Team, a 10-state, a two-province organization that is driving the current research.
F. They’re quite simple to catch, and juveniles frequently end up as roadkill.
G. Scientists believe that up to half of the species’ original range has been turned into farmland.
H. These are just now becoming public as biologists and wildlife managers rush to learn more about the species, which is now a candidate for Endangered Species Act protection.
Question 7
You are going to read an article about The Danger of Sun in Winter. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (8-14). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
Wintertime: The days are short and the sun seems weak–so why does American Academy of Dermatology president Lynn Drake want you to slather on sunscreen? “The fact is,” she says, “that people engaged in outdoor activities need to wear sunscreen and take other measures to protect themselves from the sun every day, year-round.”
And why does Central Queensland University ophthalmologist Jason West want you to wear sunglasses? (8)_______________________
Drake and West are not alone. An array of medical professionals and biologists have become concerned with some urgency about the downside of exposure to ultraviolet light. Not only are they finding evidence– including an alarming rise in the rate of human skin cancers–that it can damage a number of Earth’s susceptible life-forms, but their understanding of how the rays do their dirty work is rapidly growing. (9)____________________
When ultraviolet light causes harm to live organisms, the culprits are two parts of the spectrum known as UV-B and UV-A. Most burns and tanning are due to UV-B, which is more powerful in summer. But in winter it still can burn, and both parts of the spectrum can intensify as they reflect from surfaces such as snow and ice. (10)________________________
Levels of UV-A do not drop dramatically in winter like those of UV-B. UV-A penetrates deeper into the skin’s layers than UV-B and probably plays a role along with UV-B in the development of melanoma, the most deadly skin cancer. One new study by researchers at Duke University and the University of Illinois found that UV-A exposure results in the creation in the skin of injurious substances called oxygen-free radicals–which likely is the reason ultraviolet light also has been found to age the skin and impair the immune system.
Ultraviolet light can also damage the human eye: It promotes macular degeneration as well as cataracts, which cloud the eyes’ lenses. (11)______________________ “Every time you go out into the sun, your eyes can take a hit,” says ophthalmologist West.
Another factor in ultraviolet exposure is the quality of the stratospheric ozone layer (not to be confused with polluting ground-level ozone), which absorbs some UV-B, effectively protecting the Earth’s surface. Although there is an unprecedented worldwide effort to stop the release of the chemicals such as Freons that are eroding the layer, the healing will take time. (12)____________________________ Most Americans live at latitudes and altitudes that probably experience only small increases in UV-B because of the dwindling layer, but no one knows for sure how much is reaching the planet’s surface and how much is enough to cause additional harm. Says dermatologist Ceilley, “We feel the thinning ozone layer may play a role in rising skin-cancer rates.”
Certainly, it is implicated in Australia, which lies under the seasonal ozone hole that now opens up every year over the southern end of the Earth. (13)________________________ In the United States, the rate is 12 per 100,000. That may sound reassuringly small by comparison, but it is rapidly growing: Among whites, whose skin is most susceptible to sun damage, the rate of melanoma in the United States doubled between 1973 and 1991. It is increasing among all Americans by about 3 per cent a year, and skin cancers now are diagnosed more often in this country than any other type of cancer.
(14)________________________ “Our ancestors wore broad-brimmed hats and used parasols,” says Ceilley. “They were aware of the consequences of being out in the sun; they used to call skin that had been tanned and burned sailor skin.” In recent decades, tan became chic, and summer clothing became much less modest. That timeline roughly corresponds with the rise in skin cancers, as cancer can take 20 years or more to develop. As for risk, experts say that just one bad sunburn in childhood can double a person’s chances of developing skin cancer many years later.
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. A recent Central Queensland University study found that even a small amount of sunlight leads to an increased risk of cataracts.
B. The reasons for the increase are not completely understood, but they all point to human sun exposure, which has grown greatly since about the first third of this century.
C. “People of all ages, races and both sexes should protect their eyes from sunlight year-round,” he says.
D. For people, at least, the findings bear some good news: The more we learn, the better we can protect ourselves.
E. Two-thirds of all Australians will suffer from melanoma in their lifetime, and every year Australia reports 50 new cases of malignant melanoma for every 100,000 people.
F. That means each sunrise still delivers more UV-B to the planet’s surface than that of the day before.
G. Humans are not the only organisms affected by the ultraviolet light streaming through the ozone hole.
H. “Some of the worst sunburns I’ve seen have been on people who’ve been skiing,” says University of Iowa dermatologist Roger Ceilley, past president of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Question 8
You are going to read an article about The Danger of Sun in Winter. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (8-14). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
Wintertime: The days are short and the sun seems weak–so why does American Academy of Dermatology president Lynn Drake want you to slather on sunscreen? “The fact is,” she says, “that people engaged in outdoor activities need to wear sunscreen and take other measures to protect themselves from the sun every day, year-round.”
And why does Central Queensland University ophthalmologist Jason West want you to wear sunglasses? (8)_______________________
Drake and West are not alone. An array of medical professionals and biologists have become concerned with some urgency about the downside of exposure to ultraviolet light. Not only are they finding evidence– including an alarming rise in the rate of human skin cancers–that it can damage a number of Earth’s susceptible life-forms, but their understanding of how the rays do their dirty work is rapidly growing. (9)____________________
When ultraviolet light causes harm to live organisms, the culprits are two parts of the spectrum known as UV-B and UV-A. Most burns and tanning are due to UV-B, which is more powerful in summer. But in winter it still can burn, and both parts of the spectrum can intensify as they reflect from surfaces such as snow and ice. (10)________________________
Levels of UV-A do not drop dramatically in winter like those of UV-B. UV-A penetrates deeper into the skin’s layers than UV-B and probably plays a role along with UV-B in the development of melanoma, the most deadly skin cancer. One new study by researchers at Duke University and the University of Illinois found that UV-A exposure results in the creation in the skin of injurious substances called oxygen-free radicals–which likely is the reason ultraviolet light also has been found to age the skin and impair the immune system.
Ultraviolet light can also damage the human eye: It promotes macular degeneration as well as cataracts, which cloud the eyes’ lenses. (11)______________________ “Every time you go out into the sun, your eyes can take a hit,” says ophthalmologist West.
Another factor in ultraviolet exposure is the quality of the stratospheric ozone layer (not to be confused with polluting ground-level ozone), which absorbs some UV-B, effectively protecting the Earth’s surface. Although there is an unprecedented worldwide effort to stop the release of the chemicals such as Freons that are eroding the layer, the healing will take time. (12)____________________________ Most Americans live at latitudes and altitudes that probably experience only small increases in UV-B because of the dwindling layer, but no one knows for sure how much is reaching the planet’s surface and how much is enough to cause additional harm. Says dermatologist Ceilley, “We feel the thinning ozone layer may play a role in rising skin-cancer rates.”
Certainly, it is implicated in Australia, which lies under the seasonal ozone hole that now opens up every year over the southern end of the Earth. (13)________________________ In the United States, the rate is 12 per 100,000. That may sound reassuringly small by comparison, but it is rapidly growing: Among whites, whose skin is most susceptible to sun damage, the rate of melanoma in the United States doubled between 1973 and 1991. It is increasing among all Americans by about 3 per cent a year, and skin cancers now are diagnosed more often in this country than any other type of cancer.
(14)________________________ “Our ancestors wore broad-brimmed hats and used parasols,” says Ceilley. “They were aware of the consequences of being out in the sun; they used to call skin that had been tanned and burned sailor skin.” In recent decades, tan became chic, and summer clothing became much less modest. That timeline roughly corresponds with the rise in skin cancers, as cancer can take 20 years or more to develop. As for risk, experts say that just one bad sunburn in childhood can double a person’s chances of developing skin cancer many years later.
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. A recent Central Queensland University study found that even a small amount of sunlight leads to an increased risk of cataracts.
B. The reasons for the increase are not completely understood, but they all point to human sun exposure, which has grown greatly since about the first third of this century.
C. “People of all ages, races and both sexes should protect their eyes from sunlight year-round,” he says.
D. For people, at least, the findings bear some good news: The more we learn, the better we can protect ourselves.
E. Two-thirds of all Australians will suffer from melanoma in their lifetime, and every year Australia reports 50 new cases of malignant melanoma for every 100,000 people.
F. That means each sunrise still delivers more UV-B to the planet’s surface than that of the day before.
G. Humans are not the only organisms affected by the ultraviolet light streaming through the ozone hole.
H. “Some of the worst sunburns I’ve seen have been on people who’ve been skiing,” says University of Iowa dermatologist Roger Ceilley, past president of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Question 9
You are going to read an article about The Danger of Sun in Winter. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (8-14). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
Wintertime: The days are short and the sun seems weak–so why does American Academy of Dermatology president Lynn Drake want you to slather on sunscreen? “The fact is,” she says, “that people engaged in outdoor activities need to wear sunscreen and take other measures to protect themselves from the sun every day, year-round.”
And why does Central Queensland University ophthalmologist Jason West want you to wear sunglasses? (8)_______________________
Drake and West are not alone. An array of medical professionals and biologists have become concerned with some urgency about the downside of exposure to ultraviolet light. Not only are they finding evidence– including an alarming rise in the rate of human skin cancers–that it can damage a number of Earth’s susceptible life-forms, but their understanding of how the rays do their dirty work is rapidly growing. (9)____________________
When ultraviolet light causes harm to live organisms, the culprits are two parts of the spectrum known as UV-B and UV-A. Most burns and tanning are due to UV-B, which is more powerful in summer. But in winter it still can burn, and both parts of the spectrum can intensify as they reflect from surfaces such as snow and ice. (10)________________________
Levels of UV-A do not drop dramatically in winter like those of UV-B. UV-A penetrates deeper into the skin’s layers than UV-B and probably plays a role along with UV-B in the development of melanoma, the most deadly skin cancer. One new study by researchers at Duke University and the University of Illinois found that UV-A exposure results in the creation in the skin of injurious substances called oxygen-free radicals–which likely is the reason ultraviolet light also has been found to age the skin and impair the immune system.
Ultraviolet light can also damage the human eye: It promotes macular degeneration as well as cataracts, which cloud the eyes’ lenses. (11)______________________ “Every time you go out into the sun, your eyes can take a hit,” says ophthalmologist West.
Another factor in ultraviolet exposure is the quality of the stratospheric ozone layer (not to be confused with polluting ground-level ozone), which absorbs some UV-B, effectively protecting the Earth’s surface. Although there is an unprecedented worldwide effort to stop the release of the chemicals such as Freons that are eroding the layer, the healing will take time. (12)____________________________ Most Americans live at latitudes and altitudes that probably experience only small increases in UV-B because of the dwindling layer, but no one knows for sure how much is reaching the planet’s surface and how much is enough to cause additional harm. Says dermatologist Ceilley, “We feel the thinning ozone layer may play a role in rising skin-cancer rates.”
Certainly, it is implicated in Australia, which lies under the seasonal ozone hole that now opens up every year over the southern end of the Earth. (13)________________________ In the United States, the rate is 12 per 100,000. That may sound reassuringly small by comparison, but it is rapidly growing: Among whites, whose skin is most susceptible to sun damage, the rate of melanoma in the United States doubled between 1973 and 1991. It is increasing among all Americans by about 3 per cent a year, and skin cancers now are diagnosed more often in this country than any other type of cancer.
(14)________________________ “Our ancestors wore broad-brimmed hats and used parasols,” says Ceilley. “They were aware of the consequences of being out in the sun; they used to call skin that had been tanned and burned sailor skin.” In recent decades, tan became chic, and summer clothing became much less modest. That timeline roughly corresponds with the rise in skin cancers, as cancer can take 20 years or more to develop. As for risk, experts say that just one bad sunburn in childhood can double a person’s chances of developing skin cancer many years later.
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. A recent Central Queensland University study found that even a small amount of sunlight leads to an increased risk of cataracts.
B. The reasons for the increase are not completely understood, but they all point to human sun exposure, which has grown greatly since about the first third of this century.
C. “People of all ages, races and both sexes should protect their eyes from sunlight year-round,” he says.
D. For people, at least, the findings bear some good news: The more we learn, the better we can protect ourselves.
E. Two-thirds of all Australians will suffer from melanoma in their lifetime, and every year Australia reports 50 new cases of malignant melanoma for every 100,000 people.
F. That means each sunrise still delivers more UV-B to the planet’s surface than that of the day before.
G. Humans are not the only organisms affected by the ultraviolet light streaming through the ozone hole.
H. “Some of the worst sunburns I’ve seen have been on people who’ve been skiing,” says University of Iowa dermatologist Roger Ceilley, past president of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Question 10
You are going to read an article about The Danger of Sun in Winter. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (8-14). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
Wintertime: The days are short and the sun seems weak–so why does American Academy of Dermatology president Lynn Drake want you to slather on sunscreen? “The fact is,” she says, “that people engaged in outdoor activities need to wear sunscreen and take other measures to protect themselves from the sun every day, year-round.”
And why does Central Queensland University ophthalmologist Jason West want you to wear sunglasses? (8)_______________________
Drake and West are not alone. An array of medical professionals and biologists have become concerned with some urgency about the downside of exposure to ultraviolet light. Not only are they finding evidence– including an alarming rise in the rate of human skin cancers–that it can damage a number of Earth’s susceptible life-forms, but their understanding of how the rays do their dirty work is rapidly growing. (9)____________________
When ultraviolet light causes harm to live organisms, the culprits are two parts of the spectrum known as UV-B and UV-A. Most burns and tanning are due to UV-B, which is more powerful in summer. But in winter it still can burn, and both parts of the spectrum can intensify as they reflect from surfaces such as snow and ice. (10)________________________
Levels of UV-A do not drop dramatically in winter like those of UV-B. UV-A penetrates deeper into the skin’s layers than UV-B and probably plays a role along with UV-B in the development of melanoma, the most deadly skin cancer. One new study by researchers at Duke University and the University of Illinois found that UV-A exposure results in the creation in the skin of injurious substances called oxygen-free radicals–which likely is the reason ultraviolet light also has been found to age the skin and impair the immune system.
Ultraviolet light can also damage the human eye: It promotes macular degeneration as well as cataracts, which cloud the eyes’ lenses. (11)______________________ “Every time you go out into the sun, your eyes can take a hit,” says ophthalmologist West.
Another factor in ultraviolet exposure is the quality of the stratospheric ozone layer (not to be confused with polluting ground-level ozone), which absorbs some UV-B, effectively protecting the Earth’s surface. Although there is an unprecedented worldwide effort to stop the release of the chemicals such as Freons that are eroding the layer, the healing will take time. (12)____________________________ Most Americans live at latitudes and altitudes that probably experience only small increases in UV-B because of the dwindling layer, but no one knows for sure how much is reaching the planet’s surface and how much is enough to cause additional harm. Says dermatologist Ceilley, “We feel the thinning ozone layer may play a role in rising skin-cancer rates.”
Certainly, it is implicated in Australia, which lies under the seasonal ozone hole that now opens up every year over the southern end of the Earth. (13)________________________ In the United States, the rate is 12 per 100,000. That may sound reassuringly small by comparison, but it is rapidly growing: Among whites, whose skin is most susceptible to sun damage, the rate of melanoma in the United States doubled between 1973 and 1991. It is increasing among all Americans by about 3 per cent a year, and skin cancers now are diagnosed more often in this country than any other type of cancer.
(14)________________________ “Our ancestors wore broad-brimmed hats and used parasols,” says Ceilley. “They were aware of the consequences of being out in the sun; they used to call skin that had been tanned and burned sailor skin.” In recent decades, tan became chic, and summer clothing became much less modest. That timeline roughly corresponds with the rise in skin cancers, as cancer can take 20 years or more to develop. As for risk, experts say that just one bad sunburn in childhood can double a person’s chances of developing skin cancer many years later.
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. A recent Central Queensland University study found that even a small amount of sunlight leads to an increased risk of cataracts.
B. The reasons for the increase are not completely understood, but they all point to human sun exposure, which has grown greatly since about the first third of this century.
C. “People of all ages, races and both sexes should protect their eyes from sunlight year-round,” he says.
D. For people, at least, the findings bear some good news: The more we learn, the better we can protect ourselves.
E. Two-thirds of all Australians will suffer from melanoma in their lifetime, and every year Australia reports 50 new cases of malignant melanoma for every 100,000 people.
F. That means each sunrise still delivers more UV-B to the planet’s surface than that of the day before.
G. Humans are not the only organisms affected by the ultraviolet light streaming through the ozone hole.
H. “Some of the worst sunburns I’ve seen have been on people who’ve been skiing,” says University of Iowa dermatologist Roger Ceilley, past president of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Question 11
You are going to read an article about The Danger of Sun in Winter. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (8-14). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
Wintertime: The days are short and the sun seems weak–so why does American Academy of Dermatology president Lynn Drake want you to slather on sunscreen? “The fact is,” she says, “that people engaged in outdoor activities need to wear sunscreen and take other measures to protect themselves from the sun every day, year-round.”
And why does Central Queensland University ophthalmologist Jason West want you to wear sunglasses? (8)_______________________
Drake and West are not alone. An array of medical professionals and biologists have become concerned with some urgency about the downside of exposure to ultraviolet light. Not only are they finding evidence– including an alarming rise in the rate of human skin cancers–that it can damage a number of Earth’s susceptible life-forms, but their understanding of how the rays do their dirty work is rapidly growing. (9)____________________
When ultraviolet light causes harm to live organisms, the culprits are two parts of the spectrum known as UV-B and UV-A. Most burns and tanning are due to UV-B, which is more powerful in summer. But in winter it still can burn, and both parts of the spectrum can intensify as they reflect from surfaces such as snow and ice. (10)________________________
Levels of UV-A do not drop dramatically in winter like those of UV-B. UV-A penetrates deeper into the skin’s layers than UV-B and probably plays a role along with UV-B in the development of melanoma, the most deadly skin cancer. One new study by researchers at Duke University and the University of Illinois found that UV-A exposure results in the creation in the skin of injurious substances called oxygen-free radicals–which likely is the reason ultraviolet light also has been found to age the skin and impair the immune system.
Ultraviolet light can also damage the human eye: It promotes macular degeneration as well as cataracts, which cloud the eyes’ lenses. (11)______________________ “Every time you go out into the sun, your eyes can take a hit,” says ophthalmologist West.
Another factor in ultraviolet exposure is the quality of the stratospheric ozone layer (not to be confused with polluting ground-level ozone), which absorbs some UV-B, effectively protecting the Earth’s surface. Although there is an unprecedented worldwide effort to stop the release of the chemicals such as Freons that are eroding the layer, the healing will take time. (12)____________________________ Most Americans live at latitudes and altitudes that probably experience only small increases in UV-B because of the dwindling layer, but no one knows for sure how much is reaching the planet’s surface and how much is enough to cause additional harm. Says dermatologist Ceilley, “We feel the thinning ozone layer may play a role in rising skin-cancer rates.”
Certainly, it is implicated in Australia, which lies under the seasonal ozone hole that now opens up every year over the southern end of the Earth. (13)________________________ In the United States, the rate is 12 per 100,000. That may sound reassuringly small by comparison, but it is rapidly growing: Among whites, whose skin is most susceptible to sun damage, the rate of melanoma in the United States doubled between 1973 and 1991. It is increasing among all Americans by about 3 per cent a year, and skin cancers now are diagnosed more often in this country than any other type of cancer.
(14)________________________ “Our ancestors wore broad-brimmed hats and used parasols,” says Ceilley. “They were aware of the consequences of being out in the sun; they used to call skin that had been tanned and burned sailor skin.” In recent decades, tan became chic, and summer clothing became much less modest. That timeline roughly corresponds with the rise in skin cancers, as cancer can take 20 years or more to develop. As for risk, experts say that just one bad sunburn in childhood can double a person’s chances of developing skin cancer many years later.
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. A recent Central Queensland University study found that even a small amount of sunlight leads to an increased risk of cataracts.
B. The reasons for the increase are not completely understood, but they all point to human sun exposure, which has grown greatly since about the first third of this century.
C. “People of all ages, races and both sexes should protect their eyes from sunlight year-round,” he says.
D. For people, at least, the findings bear some good news: The more we learn, the better we can protect ourselves.
E. Two-thirds of all Australians will suffer from melanoma in their lifetime, and every year Australia reports 50 new cases of malignant melanoma for every 100,000 people.
F. That means each sunrise still delivers more UV-B to the planet’s surface than that of the day before.
G. Humans are not the only organisms affected by the ultraviolet light streaming through the ozone hole.
H. “Some of the worst sunburns I’ve seen have been on people who’ve been skiing,” says University of Iowa dermatologist Roger Ceilley, past president of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Question 12
You are going to read an article about The Danger of Sun in Winter. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (8-14). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
Wintertime: The days are short and the sun seems weak–so why does American Academy of Dermatology president Lynn Drake want you to slather on sunscreen? “The fact is,” she says, “that people engaged in outdoor activities need to wear sunscreen and take other measures to protect themselves from the sun every day, year-round.”
And why does Central Queensland University ophthalmologist Jason West want you to wear sunglasses? (8)_______________________
Drake and West are not alone. An array of medical professionals and biologists have become concerned with some urgency about the downside of exposure to ultraviolet light. Not only are they finding evidence– including an alarming rise in the rate of human skin cancers–that it can damage a number of Earth’s susceptible life-forms, but their understanding of how the rays do their dirty work is rapidly growing. (9)____________________
When ultraviolet light causes harm to live organisms, the culprits are two parts of the spectrum known as UV-B and UV-A. Most burns and tanning are due to UV-B, which is more powerful in summer. But in winter it still can burn, and both parts of the spectrum can intensify as they reflect from surfaces such as snow and ice. (10)________________________
Levels of UV-A do not drop dramatically in winter like those of UV-B. UV-A penetrates deeper into the skin’s layers than UV-B and probably plays a role along with UV-B in the development of melanoma, the most deadly skin cancer. One new study by researchers at Duke University and the University of Illinois found that UV-A exposure results in the creation in the skin of injurious substances called oxygen-free radicals–which likely is the reason ultraviolet light also has been found to age the skin and impair the immune system.
Ultraviolet light can also damage the human eye: It promotes macular degeneration as well as cataracts, which cloud the eyes’ lenses. (11)______________________ “Every time you go out into the sun, your eyes can take a hit,” says ophthalmologist West.
Another factor in ultraviolet exposure is the quality of the stratospheric ozone layer (not to be confused with polluting ground-level ozone), which absorbs some UV-B, effectively protecting the Earth’s surface. Although there is an unprecedented worldwide effort to stop the release of the chemicals such as Freons that are eroding the layer, the healing will take time. (12)____________________________ Most Americans live at latitudes and altitudes that probably experience only small increases in UV-B because of the dwindling layer, but no one knows for sure how much is reaching the planet’s surface and how much is enough to cause additional harm. Says dermatologist Ceilley, “We feel the thinning ozone layer may play a role in rising skin-cancer rates.”
Certainly, it is implicated in Australia, which lies under the seasonal ozone hole that now opens up every year over the southern end of the Earth. (13)________________________ In the United States, the rate is 12 per 100,000. That may sound reassuringly small by comparison, but it is rapidly growing: Among whites, whose skin is most susceptible to sun damage, the rate of melanoma in the United States doubled between 1973 and 1991. It is increasing among all Americans by about 3 per cent a year, and skin cancers now are diagnosed more often in this country than any other type of cancer.
(14)________________________ “Our ancestors wore broad-brimmed hats and used parasols,” says Ceilley. “They were aware of the consequences of being out in the sun; they used to call skin that had been tanned and burned sailor skin.” In recent decades, tan became chic, and summer clothing became much less modest. That timeline roughly corresponds with the rise in skin cancers, as cancer can take 20 years or more to develop. As for risk, experts say that just one bad sunburn in childhood can double a person’s chances of developing skin cancer many years later.
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. A recent Central Queensland University study found that even a small amount of sunlight leads to an increased risk of cataracts.
B. The reasons for the increase are not completely understood, but they all point to human sun exposure, which has grown greatly since about the first third of this century.
C. “People of all ages, races and both sexes should protect their eyes from sunlight year-round,” he says.
D. For people, at least, the findings bear some good news: The more we learn, the better we can protect ourselves.
E. Two-thirds of all Australians will suffer from melanoma in their lifetime, and every year Australia reports 50 new cases of malignant melanoma for every 100,000 people.
F. That means each sunrise still delivers more UV-B to the planet’s surface than that of the day before.
G. Humans are not the only organisms affected by the ultraviolet light streaming through the ozone hole.
H. “Some of the worst sunburns I’ve seen have been on people who’ve been skiing,” says University of Iowa dermatologist Roger Ceilley, past president of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Question 13
You are going to read an article about The Danger of Sun in Winter. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (8-14). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
Wintertime: The days are short and the sun seems weak–so why does American Academy of Dermatology president Lynn Drake want you to slather on sunscreen? “The fact is,” she says, “that people engaged in outdoor activities need to wear sunscreen and take other measures to protect themselves from the sun every day, year-round.”
And why does Central Queensland University ophthalmologist Jason West want you to wear sunglasses? (8)_______________________
Drake and West are not alone. An array of medical professionals and biologists have become concerned with some urgency about the downside of exposure to ultraviolet light. Not only are they finding evidence– including an alarming rise in the rate of human skin cancers–that it can damage a number of Earth’s susceptible life-forms, but their understanding of how the rays do their dirty work is rapidly growing. (9)____________________
When ultraviolet light causes harm to live organisms, the culprits are two parts of the spectrum known as UV-B and UV-A. Most burns and tanning are due to UV-B, which is more powerful in summer. But in winter it still can burn, and both parts of the spectrum can intensify as they reflect from surfaces such as snow and ice. (10)________________________
Levels of UV-A do not drop dramatically in winter like those of UV-B. UV-A penetrates deeper into the skin’s layers than UV-B and probably plays a role along with UV-B in the development of melanoma, the most deadly skin cancer. One new study by researchers at Duke University and the University of Illinois found that UV-A exposure results in the creation in the skin of injurious substances called oxygen-free radicals–which likely is the reason ultraviolet light also has been found to age the skin and impair the immune system.
Ultraviolet light can also damage the human eye: It promotes macular degeneration as well as cataracts, which cloud the eyes’ lenses. (11)______________________ “Every time you go out into the sun, your eyes can take a hit,” says ophthalmologist West.
Another factor in ultraviolet exposure is the quality of the stratospheric ozone layer (not to be confused with polluting ground-level ozone), which absorbs some UV-B, effectively protecting the Earth’s surface. Although there is an unprecedented worldwide effort to stop the release of the chemicals such as Freons that are eroding the layer, the healing will take time. (12)____________________________ Most Americans live at latitudes and altitudes that probably experience only small increases in UV-B because of the dwindling layer, but no one knows for sure how much is reaching the planet’s surface and how much is enough to cause additional harm. Says dermatologist Ceilley, “We feel the thinning ozone layer may play a role in rising skin-cancer rates.”
Certainly, it is implicated in Australia, which lies under the seasonal ozone hole that now opens up every year over the southern end of the Earth. (13)________________________ In the United States, the rate is 12 per 100,000. That may sound reassuringly small by comparison, but it is rapidly growing: Among whites, whose skin is most susceptible to sun damage, the rate of melanoma in the United States doubled between 1973 and 1991. It is increasing among all Americans by about 3 per cent a year, and skin cancers now are diagnosed more often in this country than any other type of cancer.
(14)________________________ “Our ancestors wore broad-brimmed hats and used parasols,” says Ceilley. “They were aware of the consequences of being out in the sun; they used to call skin that had been tanned and burned sailor skin.” In recent decades, tan became chic, and summer clothing became much less modest. That timeline roughly corresponds with the rise in skin cancers, as cancer can take 20 years or more to develop. As for risk, experts say that just one bad sunburn in childhood can double a person’s chances of developing skin cancer many years later.
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. A recent Central Queensland University study found that even a small amount of sunlight leads to an increased risk of cataracts.
B. The reasons for the increase are not completely understood, but they all point to human sun exposure, which has grown greatly since about the first third of this century.
C. “People of all ages, races and both sexes should protect their eyes from sunlight year-round,” he says.
D. For people, at least, the findings bear some good news: The more we learn, the better we can protect ourselves.
E. Two-thirds of all Australians will suffer from melanoma in their lifetime, and every year Australia reports 50 new cases of malignant melanoma for every 100,000 people.
F. That means each sunrise still delivers more UV-B to the planet’s surface than that of the day before.
G. Humans are not the only organisms affected by the ultraviolet light streaming through the ozone hole.
H. “Some of the worst sunburns I’ve seen have been on people who’ve been skiing,” says University of Iowa dermatologist Roger Ceilley, past president of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Question 14
You are going to read an article about The Corpse Flower. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (15-21). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
Last summer, in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, we were captivated by the impending bloom of a rare tropical plant called titan arum. I’d been following the growth of this massive protuberance growing in a tub at a University of Wisconsin (UW) greenhouse, and had developed a daily routine of visiting its Web site, replete with a camera aimed at the plant’s every move, like everyone else. Soon, the plant was expected to open its skirt-sized bloom—which it only does two or three times in a 40-year lifespan—and emit the flower’s characteristic stench, a choking odour that lends the titan arum its other popular name, corpse flower.
(15)_________________________ A computer server was briefly down, according to a child at the help desk. However, the evening news claimed that the flower had actually unfolded, attracting thousands of people who wanted to see the spectacle live. For the first time, the university’s servers were brought to a standstill as a result of the increased traffic to the website (at a pace of 225 visits per second).
(16)________________________ Crowds and a carnival-like atmosphere emerge every time this potted plant blooms—and more and more of them are doing so these days. Botanists accompanying television naturalist David Attenborough on an expedition to the plant’s native Sumatran rainforest in 1993 brought back seeds from a wildflower and distributed them to facilities around the world, significantly increasing the number of corpse flowers in gardens and greenhouses. Growers, like modern-day Johnny Appleseeds, exchange pollen and seeds and spend years coaxing the plants to blossom. (17)___________________
What is it about a simple plant that necessitates the use of cops and porta-potties to deal with the subsequent crowds? The corpse flower looks nothing like a blooming plant before it blooms. A stalk-like object with the texture of an underinflated basketball protrudes from what seems to be a massive head of Chinese cabbage bok choy. (18)__________________
UW biologist Paul Berry explains the plant’s attraction by saying that Amorphophallus titanum is more like an animal than a plant in many respects. Its stalk-like structure rises almost imperceptibly, ratcheting skyward at a four-inch-per-day rate. The plant may grow higher than a man and smells like an overripe banana when fully bloomed. The corpse flower, like its relative skunk cabbage, warms up to near human body temperature in order to emit the sulfuric fumes that attract carrion beetles and other insects that perform its work. (19)___________________
Whatever the plant’s recipe is, it also works on people. “People are hungry for this stuff, for nature and natural history,” retired UW botanist Hugh Iltis said after answering questions from some of the 20,000 people who waited in line to view and smell the bloom. It’s also possible that the titan arum, which is scarce and endangered in its tropical rainforest habitat, has discovered the same survival strategy as the poinsettia, potato, and many other plants have: Make yourself so attractive, healthy, or, in the case of the titan arum, outlandishly amusing that others will take over the hit-or-miss pollination task. (20)________________________
Madison’s corpse flower had buttoned up its frilly skirt and released only mild puffs of stink by the time I arrived at the greenhouse the morning after it flowered. But it’s unlikely to be the last time I see and smell the plant. Houseflies swarming around its bloom distribute pollen supplied by scientists to all of its small blooms, fertilizing them. (21)_____________________ Prepare yourself: the big stink might be coming to a greenhouse near you shortly.
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. The bok choy fringe then briefly unfolds, revealing a rich crimson inside and a slew of small blooms waiting to be pollinated.
B. Christine Mlot is a scientific writer located in Madison, Wisconsin, who enjoys taking time to smell the roses.
C. Its inside, which is the hue of fresh carrion, may contribute to its allure.
D. With the corpse flower, we’ve been enticed not only to fill in for carrion insects but also to stand by and watch.
E. A half-dozen have blossomed in the United States alone in the last three years; one 1999 occasion at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, drew 76,000 visitors.
F. When I couldn’t access the website one evening, I didn’t think much of it.
G. This was more than simply a summer pastime for a Midwestern college town.
H. After months of waiting, 1,000 persimmon-orange berries ripened, and by spring, UW botanists were ready to ship fruit-encased titan arum seeds to farmers throughout the country.
Question 15
You are going to read an article about The Corpse Flower. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (15-21). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
Last summer, in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, we were captivated by the impending bloom of a rare tropical plant called titan arum. I’d been following the growth of this massive protuberance growing in a tub at a University of Wisconsin (UW) greenhouse, and had developed a daily routine of visiting its Web site, replete with a camera aimed at the plant’s every move, like everyone else. Soon, the plant was expected to open its skirt-sized bloom—which it only does two or three times in a 40-year lifespan—and emit the flower’s characteristic stench, a choking odour that lends the titan arum its other popular name, corpse flower.
(15)_________________________ A computer server was briefly down, according to a child at the help desk. However, the evening news claimed that the flower had actually unfolded, attracting thousands of people who wanted to see the spectacle live. For the first time, the university’s servers were brought to a standstill as a result of the increased traffic to the website (at a pace of 225 visits per second).
(16)________________________ Crowds and a carnival-like atmosphere emerge every time this potted plant blooms—and more and more of them are doing so these days. Botanists accompanying television naturalist David Attenborough on an expedition to the plant’s native Sumatran rainforest in 1993 brought back seeds from a wildflower and distributed them to facilities around the world, significantly increasing the number of corpse flowers in gardens and greenhouses. Growers, like modern-day Johnny Appleseeds, exchange pollen and seeds and spend years coaxing the plants to blossom. (17)___________________
What is it about a simple plant that necessitates the use of cops and porta-potties to deal with the subsequent crowds? The corpse flower looks nothing like a blooming plant before it blooms. A stalk-like object with the texture of an underinflated basketball protrudes from what seems to be a massive head of Chinese cabbage bok choy. (18)__________________
UW biologist Paul Berry explains the plant’s attraction by saying that Amorphophallus titanum is more like an animal than a plant in many respects. Its stalk-like structure rises almost imperceptibly, ratcheting skyward at a four-inch-per-day rate. The plant may grow higher than a man and smells like an overripe banana when fully bloomed. The corpse flower, like its relative skunk cabbage, warms up to near human body temperature in order to emit the sulfuric fumes that attract carrion beetles and other insects that perform its work. (19)___________________
Whatever the plant’s recipe is, it also works on people. “People are hungry for this stuff, for nature and natural history,” retired UW botanist Hugh Iltis said after answering questions from some of the 20,000 people who waited in line to view and smell the bloom. It’s also possible that the titan arum, which is scarce and endangered in its tropical rainforest habitat, has discovered the same survival strategy as the poinsettia, potato, and many other plants have: Make yourself so attractive, healthy, or, in the case of the titan arum, outlandishly amusing that others will take over the hit-or-miss pollination task. (20)________________________
Madison’s corpse flower had buttoned up its frilly skirt and released only mild puffs of stink by the time I arrived at the greenhouse the morning after it flowered. But it’s unlikely to be the last time I see and smell the plant. Houseflies swarming around its bloom distribute pollen supplied by scientists to all of its small blooms, fertilizing them. (21)_____________________ Prepare yourself: the big stink might be coming to a greenhouse near you shortly.
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. The bok choy fringe then briefly unfolds, revealing a rich crimson inside and a slew of small blooms waiting to be pollinated.
B. Christine Mlot is a scientific writer located in Madison, Wisconsin, who enjoys taking time to smell the roses.
C. Its inside, which is the hue of fresh carrion, may contribute to its allure.
D. With the corpse flower, we’ve been enticed not only to fill in for carrion insects but also to stand by and watch.
E. A half-dozen have blossomed in the United States alone in the last three years; one 1999 occasion at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, drew 76,000 visitors.
F. When I couldn’t access the website one evening, I didn’t think much of it.
G. This was more than simply a summer pastime for a Midwestern college town.
H. After months of waiting, 1,000 persimmon-orange berries ripened, and by spring, UW botanists were ready to ship fruit-encased titan arum seeds to farmers throughout the country.
Question 16
You are going to read an article about The Corpse Flower. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (15-21). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
Last summer, in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, we were captivated by the impending bloom of a rare tropical plant called titan arum. I’d been following the growth of this massive protuberance growing in a tub at a University of Wisconsin (UW) greenhouse, and had developed a daily routine of visiting its Web site, replete with a camera aimed at the plant’s every move, like everyone else. Soon, the plant was expected to open its skirt-sized bloom—which it only does two or three times in a 40-year lifespan—and emit the flower’s characteristic stench, a choking odour that lends the titan arum its other popular name, corpse flower.
(15)_________________________ A computer server was briefly down, according to a child at the help desk. However, the evening news claimed that the flower had actually unfolded, attracting thousands of people who wanted to see the spectacle live. For the first time, the university’s servers were brought to a standstill as a result of the increased traffic to the website (at a pace of 225 visits per second).
(16)________________________ Crowds and a carnival-like atmosphere emerge every time this potted plant blooms—and more and more of them are doing so these days. Botanists accompanying television naturalist David Attenborough on an expedition to the plant’s native Sumatran rainforest in 1993 brought back seeds from a wildflower and distributed them to facilities around the world, significantly increasing the number of corpse flowers in gardens and greenhouses. Growers, like modern-day Johnny Appleseeds, exchange pollen and seeds and spend years coaxing the plants to blossom. (17)___________________
What is it about a simple plant that necessitates the use of cops and porta-potties to deal with the subsequent crowds? The corpse flower looks nothing like a blooming plant before it blooms. A stalk-like object with the texture of an underinflated basketball protrudes from what seems to be a massive head of Chinese cabbage bok choy. (18)__________________
UW biologist Paul Berry explains the plant’s attraction by saying that Amorphophallus titanum is more like an animal than a plant in many respects. Its stalk-like structure rises almost imperceptibly, ratcheting skyward at a four-inch-per-day rate. The plant may grow higher than a man and smells like an overripe banana when fully bloomed. The corpse flower, like its relative skunk cabbage, warms up to near human body temperature in order to emit the sulfuric fumes that attract carrion beetles and other insects that perform its work. (19)___________________
Whatever the plant’s recipe is, it also works on people. “People are hungry for this stuff, for nature and natural history,” retired UW botanist Hugh Iltis said after answering questions from some of the 20,000 people who waited in line to view and smell the bloom. It’s also possible that the titan arum, which is scarce and endangered in its tropical rainforest habitat, has discovered the same survival strategy as the poinsettia, potato, and many other plants have: Make yourself so attractive, healthy, or, in the case of the titan arum, outlandishly amusing that others will take over the hit-or-miss pollination task. (20)________________________
Madison’s corpse flower had buttoned up its frilly skirt and released only mild puffs of stink by the time I arrived at the greenhouse the morning after it flowered. But it’s unlikely to be the last time I see and smell the plant. Houseflies swarming around its bloom distribute pollen supplied by scientists to all of its small blooms, fertilizing them. (21)_____________________ Prepare yourself: the big stink might be coming to a greenhouse near you shortly.
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. The bok choy fringe then briefly unfolds, revealing a rich crimson inside and a slew of small blooms waiting to be pollinated.
B. Christine Mlot is a scientific writer located in Madison, Wisconsin, who enjoys taking time to smell the roses.
C. Its inside, which is the hue of fresh carrion, may contribute to its allure.
D. With the corpse flower, we’ve been enticed not only to fill in for carrion insects but also to stand by and watch.
E. A half-dozen have blossomed in the United States alone in the last three years; one 1999 occasion at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, drew 76,000 visitors.
F. When I couldn’t access the website one evening, I didn’t think much of it.
G. This was more than simply a summer pastime for a Midwestern college town.
H. After months of waiting, 1,000 persimmon-orange berries ripened, and by spring, UW botanists were ready to ship fruit-encased titan arum seeds to farmers throughout the country.
Question 17
You are going to read an article about The Corpse Flower. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (15-21). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
Last summer, in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, we were captivated by the impending bloom of a rare tropical plant called titan arum. I’d been following the growth of this massive protuberance growing in a tub at a University of Wisconsin (UW) greenhouse, and had developed a daily routine of visiting its Web site, replete with a camera aimed at the plant’s every move, like everyone else. Soon, the plant was expected to open its skirt-sized bloom—which it only does two or three times in a 40-year lifespan—and emit the flower’s characteristic stench, a choking odour that lends the titan arum its other popular name, corpse flower.
(15)_________________________ A computer server was briefly down, according to a child at the help desk. However, the evening news claimed that the flower had actually unfolded, attracting thousands of people who wanted to see the spectacle live. For the first time, the university’s servers were brought to a standstill as a result of the increased traffic to the website (at a pace of 225 visits per second).
(16)________________________ Crowds and a carnival-like atmosphere emerge every time this potted plant blooms—and more and more of them are doing so these days. Botanists accompanying television naturalist David Attenborough on an expedition to the plant’s native Sumatran rainforest in 1993 brought back seeds from a wildflower and distributed them to facilities around the world, significantly increasing the number of corpse flowers in gardens and greenhouses. Growers, like modern-day Johnny Appleseeds, exchange pollen and seeds and spend years coaxing the plants to blossom. (17)___________________
What is it about a simple plant that necessitates the use of cops and porta-potties to deal with the subsequent crowds? The corpse flower looks nothing like a blooming plant before it blooms. A stalk-like object with the texture of an underinflated basketball protrudes from what seems to be a massive head of Chinese cabbage bok choy. (18)__________________
UW biologist Paul Berry explains the plant’s attraction by saying that Amorphophallus titanum is more like an animal than a plant in many respects. Its stalk-like structure rises almost imperceptibly, ratcheting skyward at a four-inch-per-day rate. The plant may grow higher than a man and smells like an overripe banana when fully bloomed. The corpse flower, like its relative skunk cabbage, warms up to near human body temperature in order to emit the sulfuric fumes that attract carrion beetles and other insects that perform its work. (19)___________________
Whatever the plant’s recipe is, it also works on people. “People are hungry for this stuff, for nature and natural history,” retired UW botanist Hugh Iltis said after answering questions from some of the 20,000 people who waited in line to view and smell the bloom. It’s also possible that the titan arum, which is scarce and endangered in its tropical rainforest habitat, has discovered the same survival strategy as the poinsettia, potato, and many other plants have: Make yourself so attractive, healthy, or, in the case of the titan arum, outlandishly amusing that others will take over the hit-or-miss pollination task. (20)________________________
Madison’s corpse flower had buttoned up its frilly skirt and released only mild puffs of stink by the time I arrived at the greenhouse the morning after it flowered. But it’s unlikely to be the last time I see and smell the plant. Houseflies swarming around its bloom distribute pollen supplied by scientists to all of its small blooms, fertilizing them. (21)_____________________ Prepare yourself: the big stink might be coming to a greenhouse near you shortly.
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. The bok choy fringe then briefly unfolds, revealing a rich crimson inside and a slew of small blooms waiting to be pollinated.
B. Christine Mlot is a scientific writer located in Madison, Wisconsin, who enjoys taking time to smell the roses.
C. Its inside, which is the hue of fresh carrion, may contribute to its allure.
D. With the corpse flower, we’ve been enticed not only to fill in for carrion insects but also to stand by and watch.
E. A half-dozen have blossomed in the United States alone in the last three years; one 1999 occasion at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, drew 76,000 visitors.
F. When I couldn’t access the website one evening, I didn’t think much of it.
G. This was more than simply a summer pastime for a Midwestern college town.
H. After months of waiting, 1,000 persimmon-orange berries ripened, and by spring, UW botanists were ready to ship fruit-encased titan arum seeds to farmers throughout the country.
Question 18
You are going to read an article about The Corpse Flower. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (15-21). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
Last summer, in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, we were captivated by the impending bloom of a rare tropical plant called titan arum. I’d been following the growth of this massive protuberance growing in a tub at a University of Wisconsin (UW) greenhouse, and had developed a daily routine of visiting its Web site, replete with a camera aimed at the plant’s every move, like everyone else. Soon, the plant was expected to open its skirt-sized bloom—which it only does two or three times in a 40-year lifespan—and emit the flower’s characteristic stench, a choking odour that lends the titan arum its other popular name, corpse flower.
(15)_________________________ A computer server was briefly down, according to a child at the help desk. However, the evening news claimed that the flower had actually unfolded, attracting thousands of people who wanted to see the spectacle live. For the first time, the university’s servers were brought to a standstill as a result of the increased traffic to the website (at a pace of 225 visits per second).
(16)________________________ Crowds and a carnival-like atmosphere emerge every time this potted plant blooms—and more and more of them are doing so these days. Botanists accompanying television naturalist David Attenborough on an expedition to the plant’s native Sumatran rainforest in 1993 brought back seeds from a wildflower and distributed them to facilities around the world, significantly increasing the number of corpse flowers in gardens and greenhouses. Growers, like modern-day Johnny Appleseeds, exchange pollen and seeds and spend years coaxing the plants to blossom. (17)___________________
What is it about a simple plant that necessitates the use of cops and porta-potties to deal with the subsequent crowds? The corpse flower looks nothing like a blooming plant before it blooms. A stalk-like object with the texture of an underinflated basketball protrudes from what seems to be a massive head of Chinese cabbage bok choy. (18)__________________
UW biologist Paul Berry explains the plant’s attraction by saying that Amorphophallus titanum is more like an animal than a plant in many respects. Its stalk-like structure rises almost imperceptibly, ratcheting skyward at a four-inch-per-day rate. The plant may grow higher than a man and smells like an overripe banana when fully bloomed. The corpse flower, like its relative skunk cabbage, warms up to near human body temperature in order to emit the sulfuric fumes that attract carrion beetles and other insects that perform its work. (19)___________________
Whatever the plant’s recipe is, it also works on people. “People are hungry for this stuff, for nature and natural history,” retired UW botanist Hugh Iltis said after answering questions from some of the 20,000 people who waited in line to view and smell the bloom. It’s also possible that the titan arum, which is scarce and endangered in its tropical rainforest habitat, has discovered the same survival strategy as the poinsettia, potato, and many other plants have: Make yourself so attractive, healthy, or, in the case of the titan arum, outlandishly amusing that others will take over the hit-or-miss pollination task. (20)________________________
Madison’s corpse flower had buttoned up its frilly skirt and released only mild puffs of stink by the time I arrived at the greenhouse the morning after it flowered. But it’s unlikely to be the last time I see and smell the plant. Houseflies swarming around its bloom distribute pollen supplied by scientists to all of its small blooms, fertilizing them. (21)_____________________ Prepare yourself: the big stink might be coming to a greenhouse near you shortly.
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. The bok choy fringe then briefly unfolds, revealing a rich crimson inside and a slew of small blooms waiting to be pollinated.
B. Christine Mlot is a scientific writer located in Madison, Wisconsin, who enjoys taking time to smell the roses.
C. Its inside, which is the hue of fresh carrion, may contribute to its allure.
D. With the corpse flower, we’ve been enticed not only to fill in for carrion insects but also to stand by and watch.
E. A half-dozen have blossomed in the United States alone in the last three years; one 1999 occasion at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, drew 76,000 visitors.
F. When I couldn’t access the website one evening, I didn’t think much of it.
G. This was more than simply a summer pastime for a Midwestern college town.
H. After months of waiting, 1,000 persimmon-orange berries ripened, and by spring, UW botanists were ready to ship fruit-encased titan arum seeds to farmers throughout the country.
Question 19
You are going to read an article about The Corpse Flower. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (15-21). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
Last summer, in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, we were captivated by the impending bloom of a rare tropical plant called titan arum. I’d been following the growth of this massive protuberance growing in a tub at a University of Wisconsin (UW) greenhouse, and had developed a daily routine of visiting its Web site, replete with a camera aimed at the plant’s every move, like everyone else. Soon, the plant was expected to open its skirt-sized bloom—which it only does two or three times in a 40-year lifespan—and emit the flower’s characteristic stench, a choking odour that lends the titan arum its other popular name, corpse flower.
(15)_________________________ A computer server was briefly down, according to a child at the help desk. However, the evening news claimed that the flower had actually unfolded, attracting thousands of people who wanted to see the spectacle live. For the first time, the university’s servers were brought to a standstill as a result of the increased traffic to the website (at a pace of 225 visits per second).
(16)________________________ Crowds and a carnival-like atmosphere emerge every time this potted plant blooms—and more and more of them are doing so these days. Botanists accompanying television naturalist David Attenborough on an expedition to the plant’s native Sumatran rainforest in 1993 brought back seeds from a wildflower and distributed them to facilities around the world, significantly increasing the number of corpse flowers in gardens and greenhouses. Growers, like modern-day Johnny Appleseeds, exchange pollen and seeds and spend years coaxing the plants to blossom. (17)___________________
What is it about a simple plant that necessitates the use of cops and porta-potties to deal with the subsequent crowds? The corpse flower looks nothing like a blooming plant before it blooms. A stalk-like object with the texture of an underinflated basketball protrudes from what seems to be a massive head of Chinese cabbage bok choy. (18)__________________
UW biologist Paul Berry explains the plant’s attraction by saying that Amorphophallus titanum is more like an animal than a plant in many respects. Its stalk-like structure rises almost imperceptibly, ratcheting skyward at a four-inch-per-day rate. The plant may grow higher than a man and smells like an overripe banana when fully bloomed. The corpse flower, like its relative skunk cabbage, warms up to near human body temperature in order to emit the sulfuric fumes that attract carrion beetles and other insects that perform its work. (19)___________________
Whatever the plant’s recipe is, it also works on people. “People are hungry for this stuff, for nature and natural history,” retired UW botanist Hugh Iltis said after answering questions from some of the 20,000 people who waited in line to view and smell the bloom. It’s also possible that the titan arum, which is scarce and endangered in its tropical rainforest habitat, has discovered the same survival strategy as the poinsettia, potato, and many other plants have: Make yourself so attractive, healthy, or, in the case of the titan arum, outlandishly amusing that others will take over the hit-or-miss pollination task. (20)________________________
Madison’s corpse flower had buttoned up its frilly skirt and released only mild puffs of stink by the time I arrived at the greenhouse the morning after it flowered. But it’s unlikely to be the last time I see and smell the plant. Houseflies swarming around its bloom distribute pollen supplied by scientists to all of its small blooms, fertilizing them. (21)_____________________ Prepare yourself: the big stink might be coming to a greenhouse near you shortly.
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. The bok choy fringe then briefly unfolds, revealing a rich crimson inside and a slew of small blooms waiting to be pollinated.
B. Christine Mlot is a scientific writer located in Madison, Wisconsin, who enjoys taking time to smell the roses.
C. Its inside, which is the hue of fresh carrion, may contribute to its allure.
D. With the corpse flower, we’ve been enticed not only to fill in for carrion insects but also to stand by and watch.
E. A half-dozen have blossomed in the United States alone in the last three years; one 1999 occasion at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, drew 76,000 visitors.
F. When I couldn’t access the website one evening, I didn’t think much of it.
G. This was more than simply a summer pastime for a Midwestern college town.
H. After months of waiting, 1,000 persimmon-orange berries ripened, and by spring, UW botanists were ready to ship fruit-encased titan arum seeds to farmers throughout the country.
Question 20
You are going to read an article about The Corpse Flower. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (15-21). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.
Last summer, in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, we were captivated by the impending bloom of a rare tropical plant called titan arum. I’d been following the growth of this massive protuberance growing in a tub at a University of Wisconsin (UW) greenhouse, and had developed a daily routine of visiting its Web site, replete with a camera aimed at the plant’s every move, like everyone else. Soon, the plant was expected to open its skirt-sized bloom—which it only does two or three times in a 40-year lifespan—and emit the flower’s characteristic stench, a choking odour that lends the titan arum its other popular name, corpse flower.
(15)_________________________ A computer server was briefly down, according to a child at the help desk. However, the evening news claimed that the flower had actually unfolded, attracting thousands of people who wanted to see the spectacle live. For the first time, the university’s servers were brought to a standstill as a result of the increased traffic to the website (at a pace of 225 visits per second).
(16)________________________ Crowds and a carnival-like atmosphere emerge every time this potted plant blooms—and more and more of them are doing so these days. Botanists accompanying television naturalist David Attenborough on an expedition to the plant’s native Sumatran rainforest in 1993 brought back seeds from a wildflower and distributed them to facilities around the world, significantly increasing the number of corpse flowers in gardens and greenhouses. Growers, like modern-day Johnny Appleseeds, exchange pollen and seeds and spend years coaxing the plants to blossom. (17)___________________
What is it about a simple plant that necessitates the use of cops and porta-potties to deal with the subsequent crowds? The corpse flower looks nothing like a blooming plant before it blooms. A stalk-like object with the texture of an underinflated basketball protrudes from what seems to be a massive head of Chinese cabbage bok choy. (18)__________________
UW biologist Paul Berry explains the plant’s attraction by saying that Amorphophallus titanum is more like an animal than a plant in many respects. Its stalk-like structure rises almost imperceptibly, ratcheting skyward at a four-inch-per-day rate. The plant may grow higher than a man and smells like an overripe banana when fully bloomed. The corpse flower, like its relative skunk cabbage, warms up to near human body temperature in order to emit the sulfuric fumes that attract carrion beetles and other insects that perform its work. (19)___________________
Whatever the plant’s recipe is, it also works on people. “People are hungry for this stuff, for nature and natural history,” retired UW botanist Hugh Iltis said after answering questions from some of the 20,000 people who waited in line to view and smell the bloom. It’s also possible that the titan arum, which is scarce and endangered in its tropical rainforest habitat, has discovered the same survival strategy as the poinsettia, potato, and many other plants have: Make yourself so attractive, healthy, or, in the case of the titan arum, outlandishly amusing that others will take over the hit-or-miss pollination task. (20)________________________
Madison’s corpse flower had buttoned up its frilly skirt and released only mild puffs of stink by the time I arrived at the greenhouse the morning after it flowered. But it’s unlikely to be the last time I see and smell the plant. Houseflies swarming around its bloom distribute pollen supplied by scientists to all of its small blooms, fertilizing them. (21)_____________________ Prepare yourself: the big stink might be coming to a greenhouse near you shortly.
Using the following options, Fill the Gaps.
A. The bok choy fringe then briefly unfolds, revealing a rich crimson inside and a slew of small blooms waiting to be pollinated.
B. Christine Mlot is a scientific writer located in Madison, Wisconsin, who enjoys taking time to smell the roses.
C. Its inside, which is the hue of fresh carrion, may contribute to its allure.
D. With the corpse flower, we’ve been enticed not only to fill in for carrion insects but also to stand by and watch.
E. A half-dozen have blossomed in the United States alone in the last three years; one 1999 occasion at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, drew 76,000 visitors.
F. When I couldn’t access the website one evening, I didn’t think much of it.
G. This was more than simply a summer pastime for a Midwestern college town.
H. After months of waiting, 1,000 persimmon-orange berries ripened, and by spring, UW botanists were ready to ship fruit-encased titan arum seeds to farmers throughout the country.
Question 21