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 pharmacieswithin
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. This passage would
probably be found in a(n) ...
(A) academic journal.
(B) lifestyle
magazine.
(C) medical journal.
(D) health magazine.
(E) men magazine.
42. 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.
43. The word
’clotting’ in line 15 is closest in meaning to ...
(A) setting.
(B) accumulating.
(C) thickening.
(D) dotting.
(E) softening.
44. The followings are
what Merchant, the biochemist, experienced EXCEPT that he ...
(A) developed two
kinds of serum, each can destroy 23 strains of bacteria.
(B) learned why
alligators can survive in bacterial environments.
(C) became interested
in alligators’ resistance to infections.
(D) created a serum
which can remove things that cause clotting.
(E) found out that
crocodiles can decrease infection caused 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.
Wood
plays a part in more activities of the modern economy than does any other
commodity. There is (46)_____ any industry that does not use wood or wood products
somewhere in its manufacturing and marketing processes. Think about the
(47)_____ of junk mail, newspapers, photocopies and other paper products that
each of us handles, stores, and disposes of in a single day. Total annual world
wood consumption is about 3.7 billion metric tons or about 3.7 billion m3. This
is more than steel and plastic consumption together. International trade in
wood and wood products amounts to more than $100 billion each year. Developed
countries produce less than half of all (48)_____ wood but account for about 80
percent of its consumption. Less-developed countries, mainly in the tropic,
produce more than half of all wood used by industries but use only 20 percent.
The largest producers of this kind of wood and paper pulp are the United
States, the former Soviet Union, and Canada. Much of the logging in North
America and Europe occurs in (49)_____ forests, where cut trees are grown as
crop. (50)_____, tropical hardwoods in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin
America are being cut at an unsustainable rate, mostly from old-growth forests.
Gunakan Petunjuk A dalam
menjawab soal nomor 46 sampai nomor 50.
46. ....
(A) almost
(B) nearly
(C) hardly
(D) never
(E) virtually
47. ....
(A) accumulation
(B) number
(C) total
(D) amount
(E) figure
48. ....
(A) industrial
(B) industrially
(C) industrious
(D) industrialized
(E) industry
49. ....
(A) managed
(B) managing
(C) management
(D) managerial
(E) manageable
50. ....
(A) For example
(B) Similarly
(C) In addition
(D) In contrast
(E) Therefore
The
unique combination of ground-floor, first-time moviemakers and international
stars creates an environment that is unlike any other. On the one hand, you
have the very grand, art-above-all philosophy of the Cannes Film Festival, stated
on the officialWeb site as an intent to be "a crossroads for world
cinema", an apolitical "melting pot of creativity" (52)_____ the
"linguistic boundaries should fade away in the face of universal
images". On the other hand, you have the celebrities strolling down the
red carpet at the main screening, the press snapping pictures at every turn,
and festival guards who have been unofficially known to refuse admittance to
people whose attire doesn’t meet their standards.
This
intense meeting of art, stardom and finance – Cannes is the number-one
international market for first-time films, and multi-million dollar deals are
signed there every year – (53)_____ in the neighborhood of 27,000 film industry
representatives, countless tourists and hardcore film enthusiasts. The perfect
warm spring weather in Cannes doesn’t hurt, either. People from all ages and
different background would gather in multitude to celebrate the event.
The
international feel of the festival, the focus on (54)_____ national boundaries in
the name of cinematic art, goes back to the political mood of the 1930s. During
that period the fascist regimes in Europe (55)_____ influence, and this
influence was affecting the art world. The main international film festival at
that time was held in Venice, Italy, and in 1939, a French film was the shoe-in
for first place. Instead, a German film and an Italian film – both with
political ties – shared the prize. The French, British and American judges
resigned in protest. All in all, the climate was formidable with the prospect
of a very gloomy future at sight.
In
response to what was perceived as the political corruption of the film festival
in Venice, France started its own. The Festival International du Film began in
1939; though that one (57)_____ after a single screening (William Dieterle’s
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame") because Germany invaded Poland and
France joinedWorldWar II. The festival gave it another try in 1946, and it
stuck. Now known as the Festival de Cannes, what began as a protest has become
(58)_____ in the world.
Gunakan Petunjuk A dalam
menjawab soal nomor 51 sampai nomor 58.
51. This sentence
"The atmosphere of the ceremony is beyond any doubt incomparable to other
situations happening elsewhere." should be put as ...
(A) the last sentence
of paragraph 1.
(B) the last sentence
of paragraph 2.
(C) the last sentence
of paragraph 3.
(D) the first sentence
of paragraph 4.
(E) the last sentence
of paragraph 4.
52. ....
(A) which
(B) in which
(C) that
(D) where in
(E) who
53. ....
(A) attracts
(B) attracting
(C) will attract
(D) has attracted
(E) is attracting
54. ....
(A) to erase
(B) to erasing
(C) erasing
(D) erased
(E) erase
55. ....
(A) gaining
(B) are gaining
(C) gained
(D) have gained
(E) were gaining
56. The phrase
"was the shoe-in for the first time" in paragraph 3 means ...
(A) was predicted to
win the first place.
(B) nearly won the
first place.
(C) was the winner of
the festival.
(D) was about the shoe
industry.
(E) won the award
easily.
57. ....
(A) have been cancelled
(B) had cancelled
(C) cancelled
(D) was cancelled
(E) were cancelling
58. ....
(A) the most widely
recognised festival film
(B) the most
recognised widely film festival
(C) the most widely
recognised film festival
(D) the most
recognised widely festival film
(E) the most
recognised widely festival films
....
(1) Every culture interprets body language, gestures, posture and carriage,
vocal noises, and degree of eye contact differently. (2) A poor traveler might
have expected that nodding his or her head up and down or giving a thumbs-up
would indicate yes. (3) However, in the Middle East, nodding the head down
indicates agreement, while nodding it up is a sign of disagreement. (4) In
Japan, an up-and-down nod might just be a signal that someone is listening. (5)
Yet, saying ’thank you’ to appreciate someone signals the same meaning. (6) The
thumbs-up signal is vulgar in Iran. (7) Point with the wrong finger or with
anything less than your entire hand and you risk offending somebody. (8) While
some cultures value eye contact as a sign of respect, averting your eyes may be
the sign of respect in others. (9) In some places, people value a certain
degree of personal space in conversation, while those from the Middle East
might get right up in your face when they want to converse. (10) Restrain the
desire to pat a child on the head in Asia; there’s a belief that such a touch
would damage the child’s soul. (11) Clearly body language expresses different
things in other countries.
Gunakan Petunjuk A dalam
menjawab soal nomor 59 sampai nomor 60.
59. The paragraph
should begin with ...
(A) Non-verbal
communication can be picked up easily in a foreign land.
(B) Non-verbal
communication will be a start in learning a culture.
(C) Natives welcome
good intention shown through non-verbal communication.
(D) Contrary to
popular beliefs, nonverbal communication is not universal.
(E) Basic non-verbal
communication is the same wherever you go.
60. Which of the
following sentences is irrelevant?
(A) Sentence (3).
(B) Sentence (5).
(C) Sentence (7).
(D) Sentence (8).
(E) Sentence (10).
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