Alligators,
which often engage in violent fights over territories and mates, have made
scientists puzzled why their wounds rarely get infected. Now researchers think
the secret lies in the reptiles’ blood. Chemists in Louisiana found that blood
from the American alligator can successfully destroy 23 strains of bacteria,
including strains known to be resistant to antibiotics. In addition, the blood
was able to deplete and destroy a significant amount of HIV, the virus that
causes AIDS.
Study
co-author Lancis Darville at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge believes
that peptides – fragments of proteins – within alligator blood help the animals
stop fatal infections. Such peptides are also found in the skin of frogs and
toads, as well as komodo, dragons and crocodiles. The scientists think that
these peptides could one day lead to medicines that would provide humans with
the same antibiotic protection. ’We are in the process of separating and
identifying the specific peptides in alligator blood,’ said Darville. ’Once we
sequence these peptides, we can obtain their chemical structure to potentially
create new drugs.’
Study
co-author Mark Merchant, a biochemist at Mc Neese State University in Lake
Charles, Louisiana, was among the first to notice alligators’ unusual
resistance. He was intrigued that, despite living in swampy environments where
bacteria thrive, alligators that suffered frequent scratches and bruises rarely
developed fatal infections. Merchant therefore created human and alligator
serum-protein-rich blood plasma that has been able to remove clotting agents,
and exposed each of them to 23 strains of bacteria. Human serum destroyed only
eight of the bacterial strains while the alligator serum killed all 23. When
the alligator was exposed to HIV, the researchers found that a good amount of
the virus was destroyed.
The
study team thinks that pills and creams containing alligator peptides could be
available at level pharmacies within seven to ten years. Such products would be
a solution to patients that need extra help preventing infections, such as
diabetes patients with foot ulcers, burn victims and people suffering from
auto-immune diseases. However, there may be potential problems before
alligator-based medicines can reach drugstore shelves. For example, initial
tests have revealed that higher concentrations of the alligator serum tend to
be toxic to human cells.
Gunakan Petunjuk A dalam
menjawab soal nomor 41 sampai nomor 45.
41. The paragraph that
precedes the passage is likely about ...
(A) preliminary study
on alligators in Lousiana swamps.
(B) alligator serum as
infection-combat agent.
(C) the habitat and
behavior of alligators.
(D) a strain of
bacteria found in alligators.
(E) other studies on
animal-based medicines.
42. The word ’deplete’
in line 4 is closest in meaning to ...
(A) diminish.
(B) drain.
(C) devastate.
(D) damage.
(E) demolish.
43. Which of the
following statements is NOT TRUE about peptides within alligators’ blood?
(A) They are fragments
of proteins.
(B) They may stop
fatal infections.
(C) They are injected
in the human body.
(D) They are within
the blood of reptiles.
(E) They have the same
function as antibiotics.
44. The followings are
what Merchant, the biochemist,experienced EXCEPT that he ...
(A) developed two
kinds of serum, each can destroy23 strains of bacteria.
(B) learned why
alligators can survive in bacterialenvironments.
(C) became interested
in alligators’ resistance toinfections.
(D) created a serum
which can remove things thatcause clotting.
(E) found out that
crocodiles can decrease infectioncaused by HIV.
45. The writer
concludes his essay by saying that ...
(A) scientists are now
searching for a medicine against HIV.
(B) alligators have
contributed a lot to stop human life.
(C) reptiles have
peptides which can be used as serum.
(D) peptides in the
blood are only found in American alligators.
(E) alligator serum
has the possibility to harm human beings.
A
civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or
republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly
united nation state. The aim of one side may be to take control of the country
or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change (46)_____
policies. Civil wars since the end of World War II have lasted on (47)_____
just over four years, a dramatic rise from the one-and-a-half year average of
the 1900-1944 period. (48)_____ the rate of emergence of new civil wars has
been relatively steady since the mid-19th century, the increasing length of
those wars resulted in increasing numbers of wars ongoing at any one time. For
example, there were no more than five civil wars underway (49)_____ in the
first half of the 20th century, while over 20 concurrent civil wars were
occurring at the end of the Cold War, before a significant decrease as
conflicts strongly associated with the superpower rivalry came to an end. Since
1945, civil wars have resulted in the deaths of over 25 million people, as well
as the forced displacement of millions more. Civil wars have further resulted
in economic collapse; Burma (Myanmar), Uganda and Angola are examples of
nations that were (50)_____ to have promising futures before being engulfed in
civil wars.
Gunakan Petunjuk A dalam
menjawab soal nomor 46 sampai nomor 50.
46. ....
(A) government
(B) governed
(C) governing
(D) governmental
(E) govern
47. ....
(A) approximation
(B) standard
(C) median
(D) estimate
(E) average
48. ....
(A) Because
(B) Unless
(C) Before
(D) While
(E) As if
49. ....
(A) consecutively
(B) simultaneously
(C) spontaneously
(D) separately
(E) repeatedly
50. ....
(A) consider
(B) considering
(C) considered
(D) considerate
(E) consideration
Mangroves
live life on the edge. With one foot on land and one in the sea, these
botanical amphibians occupy a zone of desiccating heat, choking mud, and salt
levels that would kill an ordinary plant within hours. Yet the forests
mangroves form are among (52)_____. Birds roost in the canopy, shellfish attach
themselves to the roots, and snakes and crocodiles come to hunt. Mangroves
provide nursery grounds for fish; a food source for monkeys, deer,
tree-climbing crabs, even kangaroos; and a nectar source for bats and honeybees.
As
a group, mangroves cannot (53)_____ too closely. There are some 70 species from
two dozen families—among them palm, hibiscus, holly, plumbago, acanthus,
legumes, and myrtle. They range from prostrate shrubs to 200-foot-high (60
meters) timber trees. Though most prolific in Southeast Asia, where they are
thought to have originated, mangroves circle the globe. Most live within 30
degrees of the Equator, but a few hardy types (54)_____ to temperate climates,
and one lives as far from the tropical sun as New Zealand. Wherever they live,
they share one thing in common: They’re brilliant adapters. Each mangrove has
an ultrafiltration system to keep much of the salt out and a complex root
system that allows it to survive in the intertidal zone. Some have (56)_____
that stick out of the mud to help them take in air; others use prop roots or
buttresses to keep their trunks upright in the soft sediments at tide’s edge.
These
plants are also landbuilders par excellence. Some Aborigines in northern
Australia believe one mangrove species resembles their primal ancestor,
Giyapara, who walked across the mudflats and brought the tree into existence.
The plants’ interlocking roots stop riverborne sediments from (57)_____ out to
sea, and their trunks and branches serve as a palisade that diminishes the
erosive power of waves.
They
are sacrificed for salt pans, aquaculture ponds, housing developments, roads,
port facilities, hotels, golf courses, and farms. And they die from a thousand
indirect cuts: oil spills, chemical pollution, sediment overload, and
disruption of their sensitive water and salinity balance. Calls for mangrove
conservation gained a brief but significant hearing following the 2004 Indian
Ocean tsunami. Where mangrove forests were intact, they not only served as
natural breakwaters, (58)_____ by mitigating property damage, perhaps saving
lives. The logic of allowing a country’s mangrove "bioshields" to be
bulldozed looked flawed.
Gunakan Petunjuk A dalam
menjawab soal nomor 51 sampai nomor 58.
51. The sentence
’Despite their strategic importance, mangroves are under threat worldwide.’
should be put as ...
(A) the last sentence
of paragraph 1.
(B) the first sentence
of paragraph 2.
(C) the last sentence
of paragraph 2.
(D) the first sentence
of paragraph 3.
(E) the first sentence
of paragraph 4.
52. ....
(A) the most
productive and complex biologically ecosystem on Earth
(B) the most
productive and biologically complex ecosystem on Earth
(C) Earth most
productive and biologically complex ecosystems
(D) biologically and
most productive complex ecosystems on Earth
(E) the most complex
ecosystems and biologically productive on Earth
53. ....
(A) define
(B) defined
(C) be defined
(D) defining
(E) be defining
54. ....
(A) adapt
(B) adapted
(C) are adapting
(D) have adapted
(E) had adapted
55. The expression
’they share one thing in common’ in the second paragraph means that they ...
(A) have to share one
common thing.
(B) are sharing their
similar things.
(C) have one similar
characteristic.
(D) are common in most
things.
(E) commonly share
their things.
56. ....
(A)
pneumatophores-like roots called snorkel
(B) snorkel which are
like roots called pneumatophores
(C)
pneumatophores-like snorkel roots
(D) roots which are
like pneumatophores snorkel
(E) snorkel-like roots
called pneumatophores
57. ....
(A) course
(B) courses
(C) coursed
(D) coursing
(E) the course
58. ....
(A) and broke up the
energy of the waves
(B) but also breaking
up the energy of the waves
(C) as well as
breaking up the energy of the waves
(D) but also broke up
the energy of the waves
(E) but breaking up
the energy of the waves too
Journalism
in the modern sense is one of the younger professions. The first prototype of
the modern newspaper was the series of public announcements, known during the
Roman Empire as the Acta Diurna and later in Venice as the Gazzetta.
Similar official reports were made in China, where the earliest newspaper, the
Tching-pao, or News of the Palace, began its daily appearance in Peking in the
middle of the 8th century A.D. Until the invention of printing, however, the
dissemination of news was largely dependent upon private correspondence or word
of mouth. The invention of printing from movable type by Johann Gutenberg in
Mainz about 1450 revolutionized the spreading of news. According to one
tradition, the first printed newssheet appeared at Nuremberg in 1457. The
letter of Christopher Columbus announcing in 1493 the results of his first
expedition to the New World was distributed as a news broadside, as was the
announcement of the British triumph over the Spanish Armada in July 1588. Some
800 of these occasional newssheets, all printed before 1610, are extant in
libraries. This kind of publishing became a profitable business, and as a
result the reporting of news spread rapidly throughout Europe.
Gunakan Petunjuk A dalam
menjawab soal nomor 59 sampai nomor 60.
59. Which of the
following would be the best title for the passage?
(A) Printed Media and
Journalism
(B) The Prototype of
Newspapers
(C) Journalism and Its
Revolution
(D) The Early History
of Journalism
(E) The Development of
Modern News
60. The following
paragraph most likely discusses ...
(A) fast development
of journalism in Europe.
(B) some European news
report controversies.
(C) benefits of
journalism in many countries.
(D) the growing number
of reporters in the world.
(E) standard
professional development for journalists.
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