READING PASSAGE NEW PERSPECTIVE ON BACTERIA

A. Microbes are organisms too small to be seen by the naked eye, including bacteria, blue-green algae, yeasts,
fungi, viruses, and viroids. A large, diverse group, almost all bacteria are between one and ten µ1 (larger ones
reach 0.5 mm). Generally single-celled, with a distinctive cellular structure lacking a true nucleus, most
bacterial genetic information is carried on a DNA loop in the cytoplasm2 with the membrane possessing some
nuclear properties.

There are three main kinds of bacteria – spherical, rod-like, and spiral – known by their Latin names of coccus,
bacillus, and spirillum. Bacteria occur alone, in pairs, clusters, chains, or more complex configurations. Some
live where oxygen is present; others, where it is absent. The relationship between bacteria and their hosts is
symbiotic, benefitting both organisms, or the hosts may be destroyed by parasitic or disease-causing bacteria.

B. In general, humans view bacteria suspiciously, yet it is now thought they partly owe their existence to
microbes living long, long ago. During photosynthesis, plants produce oxygen that humans need to fuel blood
cells. Most geologists believe the early atmosphere on Earth contained very little oxygen until around 2½
billion years ago when microbes bloomed. Ancestral forms of cyanobacteria, for example, evolved into
chloroplasts – the cells that carry out photosynthesis. Once plants inhabited the oceans, oxygen levels rose
dramatically, so complex life forms could eventually be sustained. The air humans breathe today is oxygen-
rich, and the majority of airborne microbes are harmless, but the air does contain industrial pollutants, allergens,
and infectious microbes or pathogens that cause illness.

C. The fact is that scientists barely understand microbes. Bacteria have been proven to exist only in the past 350
years; viruses were discovered just over 100 years ago, but in the past three decades, the ubiquity of microbes
has been established with bacteria found kilometres below the Earth’s crust and in the upper atmosphere.
Surprisingly, they survive in dry deserts and the frozen reaches of Antarctica; they dwell in rain and snow
clouds, as well as inside every living creature.

Air samples taken in 2006 from two cities in Texas contained at least 1,800 distinct species of bacteria, making
the air as rich as the soil. These species originated both in Texas and as far away as western China. It now
seems that the number of microbe species far exceeds the number of stars.

D. Inside every human being, there are trillions of bacteria with their weight estimated at 1.36 kg in an average
adult, or about as heavy as the brain. Although tiny, 90% of cells in a human are bacterial. With around eight
million genes, these bacteria outnumber genes in human cells by 300 times.

The large intestine contains the most bacteria – almost 34,000 species – but the crook of the elbow harbors over
2,000 species. Many bacteria are helpful: digesting food; aiding the immune system; creating moisturiser; and,
manufacturing vitamins. Some have highly specialised functions, like Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, which
breaks down plant starch, so an infant can make the transition from mother’s milk to a more varied diet.
Undeniably, some bacteria are life-threatening. One, known as golden staph, Staphylococcus aureus, plagues
hospitals, where it infects instruments and devours human tissue until patients die from toxic shock. Worse, it is
still resistant to antibiotics.

E. Antibiotics themselves are bacteria. In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered that a mould in his laboratory
produced a chemical he named penicillin. In 1951, William Bouw collected soil from the jungles of Borneo that
eventually became vancomycin. Pharmaceutical companies still hunt for beneficial bacteria, but Michael
Fischbach from the University of California believes that the human body itself is a ready supply.

F. Scientific ignorance about bacteria is largely due to an inability to cultivate many of them in a laboratory, but
recent DNA sequencing has meant populations can be analysed by a computer program without having to grow
them. Fischbach and his team have created and trained a computer program to identify gene clusters in
microbial DNA sequences that might produce useful molecules. Having collected microbial DNA from 242
healthy human volunteers, the scientists sequenced the genomes of 2,340 different species of microbes, most of
which were completely new discoveries.

In searching the gene clusters, Fischbach et al fund 3,118 common ones that could be used in pharmaceuticals,
for example, a gene cluster from the bacterium Lactobacillus gasseri, successfully reared in the lab, produced a
molecule they named lactocillin. Later, they discovered the structure of this was very similar to an antibiotic,
LFF571, undergoing clinical trials by a major pharmaceutical company. To date, lactocillin has killed harmful
bacteria, so it may also be a reliable antibiotic.

G. Naturally, the path to patenting medicine is strewn with failures, but, since bacteria have been living inside
humans for millions of years, they are probably safe to reintroduce in new combinations and in large amounts.
Undoubtedly, the fight against pathogens, like golden staph, must continue, but as scientists learn more about
microbes, respect and excitement for them grow, and their positive applications become ever more probable.

Questions 14-18
Passage 2 has seven sections, A-G.
Which section contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-G, in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.
NB: Any section can be chosen more than once.

14 examples of bacteria as a patented medicine F ( đoạn F đề cập đến latocillin và khả năng nó hoạt động như
một loại kháng sinh, liên quan đến thuốc được cấp bằng sáng chế )
15 a description of bacteria A ( mô tả đặc điểm như kích thước, cấu trúc tế bào, và cách vi khuẩn tồn tại trong
các môi trường khác nhau)
16 gene cluster detection and culture F ( giải thích các nhóm fischbach phát triển và một chương trình máy
tính để phân tích các cụm gen và tìm các lại vi khuẩn hữu ích)
17 humans are teeming with bacteria D( đề cập dến việc cơ thể người chứa hàng nghìn tỷ vi khuẩn, chiếm
90% số tế bào trong cơ thể)
18 Fischbach’s hypothesis F ( nếu giải thuyết của fischbach rằng cơ thể con người là một nguồn cung cấp vi
khuẩn hữu ích tiềm năng)

Questions 19-22
Choose the correct letter A, B, C, or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 19-22 on your answer sheet.
19 What do almost all bacteria share? ( môt tả hầu hết vi khuẩn là đơn bào và có cấu trúc tế bài đặc trưng)
A Their simple configurations B Their cellular organization
C Their survival without oxygen D Their parasitic nature
20 From the suffix ‘-bacillus’, what shape would you expect the bacterium Paenibacillus to be?( gthich từ -
bacillus chỉ hình dạng giống que)
A spherical B rod-like
C spiral D amorphous
21 Why were ancient bacteria invaluable to humans?( gthich rằng vi khuẩn cổ đại như cyanobacteria đã giúp
tăng mức độ oxy trên trái đất)
A They contributed to higher levels of oxygen. B They reduced widespread industrial pollution.
C They protected humans from intestinal ailments. D They provided scientists with antibiotics.
22 How prevalent are microbes?( vi khuẩn tônf tại khắp mọi nơi từ sâu trong vỏ trái đất đến tầng khí quyền)
A Not at all B Somewhat
C Very D Extremely
Questions 23-26
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer
Write your answers in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet.
23 Which organ does the total weight of bacteria in a human body equal? ( the brain)
Đoạn D nêu rằng tổng trọng lượng của vi khuẩn tương đương với trọng lượng của não
24 Roughly how many bacterial species live in a human’s large intestine? (34,000 species)
Đoạn D nêu rằng ruột già chứa khoảng 34,000 loài vi khuẩn
25 In Fischbach’s view, where might useful bacteria come from in the future?( the human body)
Đoạn F cho biết fischbach tin rằng cơ thể con người có thể là nguồn cung cấp vi khuẩn hữu ích
26 What do some scientists now feel towards microbes?( respect and excitement)
Đoạn G kết luận rằng các nhà khoa học ngày càng tôn trọng và hào hứng với vi khuẩn