Exam I6 LV

Complete each sentence with the correct word from the box. 

Match the underlined part of each sentence to a word that has a similar meaning. Write the answer like this: “a. advances“

• a. advances
• b. conduct
• c. experiment
• d. invasive
• e. laboratory
• f. mission
• g. procedure

The Snake Chaser 

A As a boy, Zoltan Takacs caught snakes and kept them in his room. Now he pursues them in the world’s most remote jungles, deserts, and oceans.

B Takacs collects snake venom so that he can study it. He is searching for venom components – called “toxins” – that can be used as medicine to cure various diseases. Usually, he travels alone with only a backpack, a camera bag, and equipment for collecting venom. He often flies small planes to reach remote places, and has traveled to more than 160 countries. His trips are often dangerous: He has faced pirates, wars, and angry elephants. He has also survived six venomous snake bites. Takacs’s adventures are like action movies, but he is driven by his desire to make new scientific discoveries. “Animal venoms,” he explains, “are the source of over a dozen lifesaving medications. They have been used to develop drugs that treat high blood pressure, heart attacks, diabetes, and other diseases.”

C Many drugs produce certain side effects. These side effects happen because the drugs affect more than one target in the body. For example, cancer drugs sometimes can’t tell the difference between cancer cells and healthy cells – so the drugs kill both. This causes side effects like severe headaches, hair loss, nausea, and vomiting. Toxins are a good model for medications because they can hit a single target. But finding the right toxin to fight a specific disease can take years of work. That’s why Takacs and his colleagues have developed a new technology called “Designer Toxins.” This allows the creation of “toxin libraries.”

D Designer toxin libraries – which could eventually hold the venom toxins of every animal on Earth – help researchers identify which toxin might cure a specific disease. With this new technology, testing can happen much more quickly and efficiently. A researcher can test many different toxins at once to see if any of them have an effect on a specific disease. Takacs believes the technology will help researchers develop new toxin-based drugs. But he is also concerned that a lot of possible toxin-based drugs are being lost.

E So far, scientists have studied only a couple thousand toxins. But according to Takacs, some 20 million more exist in nature. Some of these venom toxins come from endangered species. So if a venomous animal becomes extinct, it’s possible that a new drug is lost, too. The venom of an endangered snake could potentially lead to a medicine that saves human lives.

F Once a species becomes extinct, there’s no way to bring it back. Takacs says, “For me, losing biodiversity means losing beauty and a wealth of knowledge and resources, including possibilities for treating diseases.” Losing species, he explains, is “like peeling out pages from a book we’ve never read, then burning them.”

Review the passage before from Unit 6. Then read the statements and decide whether each is TRUE or FALSE writing the answer in CAPITAL LETTERS. 

Captive Breeding Pros and Cons 

A All over the world, animal species are becoming endangered because of habitat destruction, competition with other species, hunting, pollution, and disease. Many zoos and research institutions have captive breeding programs to rebuild endangered populations and prevent extinction. Although captive breeding has had some successes, it is also a controversial concept for many reasons.

B Captive breeding is the process of breeding selected animals in controlled conditions in zoos or other enclosed facilities to prevent the extinction or dying out of a species. The main goal of the program is to create a large, healthy population of animals, some of which may be reintroduced to their wild habitats. In general, it is human activity that has caused wild populations to decline in their natural settings. Some examples of human impact on wild environments include agricultural expansion, road building, mining, pollution, and hunting.

C In some cases, animals that live in zoos are mated with other animals that are captured in the wild. Scientists recognize the importance of genetic variety and biodiversity, so they try to avoid inbreeding among a small group of related animals. Perhaps the most famous example of captive breeding is giant pandas. Even though there are still about 1600 wild pandas in the mountains of China, the country has made pandas available for breeding to zoos around the world. There are now about 300 giant pandas living in zoos. Pandas are popular animals with zoo visitors who find them very cute, especially the baby pandas that are born in captivity. One conservationist has called pandas the “poster animals for zoos” because people are so attracted to them and willing to donate money for their care. The popularity of pandas raises public awareness of endangered species.

D However, some conservationists are concerned about the cost of captive breeding pandas. China charges each zoo a million dollars a year for the loan of one panda and it costs that much again to provide the facilities, resources and staff to create a healthy environment for the zoo pandas. Even though a few pandas from captive breeding programs have been released back into nature, the success rate for their adaptation back into the wild has not been high. Some critics argue that it would be better to spend the money on improving the natural environment for the pandas in China.

E In fact, there is considerable concern about reintroduction of animals from captive breeding into natural settings. A study done at University of Exeter focused on captive-bred carnivores such as tigers and wolves that were released into the wild. Only about a third of the animals survived. Biologists say that animals raised in zoos have poor hunting skills and often starve. As the animals grew up in captivity, they failed to develop the social skills necessary in wild packs of carnivores. Moreover, they didn’t have the same fear of predators as their wild relatives.

F Although there are many drawbacks to captive breeding, some animals like the Arabian oryx, the Yellowstone wolf, and the peregrine falcon have been saved from extinction through captive breeding. As in the panda situation, a key factor in advancing captive breeding is improving the natural environment so that animal populations – whether born in the wild or captivity – can thrive there and reproduce. Who knows if the program will be successful in the future?

Read the passage before. Then read each question and choose the correct answer. 

23. What is the main idea of Paragraph A?

24. Which location would be best for a captive breeding program?

25. What are pandas a successful example of?

26. Which of the following is a concern for critics and conservationists?

27. Which of these would most help a captive-bred tiger that will be released into the wild?

28. Read the last sentence of Paragraph E below. In the second sentence, what does they refer to?

“As the animals grew up in captivity, they failed to develop the social skills necessary in wild packs of carnivores. Moreover, they didn’t have the same fear of predators as their wild relatives.” 

29. Which statement would the author most likely agree with?

Read each statement and decide whether it is a PRO or a CON (remember to write the answer in CAPITAL LETTER). 

In sentences with concession clauses, one idea is more important than the other. Read each sentence. Choose M if the underlined clause is MORE important, or L if the underlined clause is LESS important. Remember to write the answer in CAPITAL LETTER and only the initial like this: “L/M“

Skim the outline and notice the missing parts. Then match each sentence (a – e) with a suitable part of the outline.

In each pair of sentences, one sentence has an error. Choose the sentence that is correct by writing in CAPITAL LETTER A or B in the space. 

Cosmetics and other beauty products should not be tested on animals. Do you agree? 

46. Write a paragraph saying whether you agree or disagree. Give two supporting ideas and two concession statements for your opinion. End with a concluding sentence that restates your point of view.