The Saiga Antelope
In 1993 more than a million saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) crowded the steppes of Central Asia. However, by 2004 just 30,000 remained, many of them female. The species had fallen prey to relentless poaching – with motorbikes and automatic weapons – in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse. This 97% decline is one of the most dramatic population crashes of a large mammal ever seen. Poachers harvest males for their horns, which are used in fever cures in traditional Chinese medicine. The slaughter is embarrassing for conservationists. In the early 1990s, groups such as WWF actively encouraged the saiga hunt, promoting its horn as an alternative to the horn of the endangered rhino. “The saiga was an important resource, well managed by the Soviet Union,” says John Robinson, at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in New York City, US. “But with the breakdown of civil society and law and order, that management ceased.”
Questions 1 – 4
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
Write:
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
1. In the early nineties Central Asia’s steppes was home to over one million saiga.
2. This 97% decline is the most dramatic population crash of a large mammal ever seen.
3. Traditional medicine uses the poached horns of male members of the group.
4. The WWF managed to save many rhinos because it encouraged the hunting of saiga.
Small changes make all the difference
As question two about the saiga antelope shows, you must be careful with sentences that seem to be stating the same thing but might change the meaning in some way. Words like – more than, might, must – can either be left out of or put into a sentence and change the meaning. Question two states that, “This 97% decline is the most …”. But in the text it states, ” one of the most …” and so the answer must be FASLE.
For some questions, the text might not have any information connected to a NOT GIVEN question (not even keywords). In other situations, keywords might be found but not enough information is given in the text for you to say if the statement is TRUE or FALSE. Avoid a situation where you spend too long looking for information. It is possible that the answer is NOT GIVEN.
Now look at the reading passage on creating synthetic life and answer the questions that follow.
Have Researchers Created Synthetic Life at the J. Craig Venter Institute?
Researchers often insert a gene or two into an organism in order to make it do something unique. For example, researchers inserted the insulin gene into bacteria in order to make them produce human insulin. However, researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) in Rockville, MD, have now created organisms that contain a completely synthetic genome. This synthetic genome was designed by computer, resulting in the “first self-replicating species … whose parent is a computer,” as stated by Dr. Venter, the lead scientist on this project.
In essence, the JCVI scientists took the genome of one bacterial species, M. mycoides, synthesized it from scratch, and then transplanted it into a different bacterial species, M. capricolum. The DNA was synthesized as a series of cassettes, or pieces, spanning roughly 1,080 bases (the chemical units that make up DNA) each. These cassettes were then painstakingly assembled together and slowly input into the M. capricolum species.
The JVCI researchers also included several “watermarks” in the synthetic genome. Because DNA contains introns, which are non-expressed spans of DNA, as well as exons, which are expressed spans of DNA, much of the code can be altered without affecting the final organism. Also, the four bases of the DNA code – A,C,G, and T – can combine into triplets to code for 20 amino acids (the chemical units of which protein is composed), as well as start and stop instructions for gene expression. These amino acids are designated by single alphabetical letters; for example, tryptophan is designated by the letter W. Thus, by using the amino acid “alphabet,” the JCVI researchers were able to insert sequences of DNA that were specifically designed to spell out the names of study authors, project contributors, web addresses, and even include quotations from James Joyce, and Richard Feynman. Such engineering helped clarify that the M. capricolum genome is completely synthetic and not a product of natural bacterial growth and replication.
Over one million total bases were inserted into M. capricolum. The final result was a bacterial cell that originated from M. capricolum, but behaved like and expressed the proteins of M. mycoides. This synthetic M. mycoides bacterium was also able to self-replicate, a fundamental quality of life. 71
The demonstration that completely synthetic genomes can be used to start synthetic life promises other exciting discoveries and technologies. For example, photosynthetic algae could be transplanted with genomes that would enable these organisms to produce biofuel. In fact, the ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company has already worked out an agreement with Synthetic Genomics, the company that helped fund the JCVI research team, to start just such a project.
While some researchers agree that the technical feat of the JCVI team is astounding, detractors point to the difficulty of creating more complicated organisms from scratch. Other researchers point to the fact that some biofuels are already being produced by microorganisms via the genetic engineering of only a handful of genes. And Dr. David Baltimore, a leading geneticist at CalTech, has countered the significance of the work performed by the JCVI research team, stating that its lead researcher, Dr. Venter, “… has not created life, only mimicked it.”
Questions 1 – 7
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
Write:
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
1. DNA was also injected into animals.
2. Bacteria have been made to produce insulin.
3. Tryptophan is one example of an amino acid.
4. Bacteria were taught to spell.
5. Fuel is already being produced using genetically altered algae.
6.The research team gave money to ExxonMobil.
7. The synthetic bacteria can only replicate for several generations
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Though I got right, my doubt comes in Q.5. Here they have used word ‘Fuel’ and not ‘Biofuel’ – how as reader we deduce it’s one and same thing. I initially thought it to be NOT GIVEN considered passage speaks about biofuel and not fuel per se. Let me know your thoughts.
Biofuel. “bio = life, and biofuel = is from living organisms. algae = living organism
so biofuel = “Fuel is already being produced using genetically altered algae.”
Answer no-7 should be true because it mentioned upto 71 years old it can replicate. How come it will be not given?
It does not mention 71 years old. The number 71 appears at the end of the paragraph, that is the PAGE number form the book!
I am removing this to avoid confusion. Thanks
“Traditional medicine uses the poached horns of male members of the group.” is the question statement 3 of the first passage and in the passage it is clearly mentioned that …traditional Chinese medicine… then how come the answer is True? Isn’t traditional medicine representing a bigger scope while being Chinese makes it exclusive implying that we do not know if every traditional medicine uses poached horns of male. Please clarify.
Traditional Chinese medicine = a type of traditional medicine
This means the horns ARE used in traditional medicine and the answer is true
You seem to be overthinking this. It would be not given if this situation occurred:
1. The question mentions something specific like traditional Chinese medicine
2. The article didn’t mention traditional Chinese medicine specifically and just referred to traditional medicine in general
This case is true because the question is general “traditional medicine”… And the article mentions “traditional Chinese medicine” which can be included under traditional medicine.
10/11,the mistake was in passage 2 question 5
The Answer “false” is correct because of the word COULD. “photosynthetic algae could
be transplanted with genomes that would enable these organisms to produce biofuel”
The question says –
” In the early nineties Central Asia’s steppes was home to over one million saiga.”
please check on google, early nineties doesn’t mean 1900 -2000, in fact its mean 1800- 1900.
This mean answer is false not true.
Lot of people get confuse here.
Its 2018 its not early twenties, its rather early 21st century.
Thanks but the 90s = 1990 to 1999
We refer to decades this way and not centuries.
I know but they mention early 90’s right? So 1993 would be late 90’s. So the answer should be not given.
No, 1993 = early 90’s; so the answer is true.
Passage: This 97% decline is one of the most dramatic population crashes of a large mammal ever seen.
Q: This 97% decline is the most dramatic population crash of a large mammal ever seen.
Explanation:
True – When it is given in the passage that – “97% decline is the most dramatic population crash of a large mammal ever seen”
False – When it is given in the passage that – “97% decline is not the most dramatic population crash of a large mammal ever seen”
Not Given – We do not know if there are any other population crash or the crash of the large mammal is the most dramatic one.
So the correct answer has to be NOT GIVEN!!! Please make a correction.
So what is the correct answer? NG or False? Thanks.
There is a link for answers on the page
Thanks so much!
how is the answer for Q4 False? Please clarify, thanks!
Arguably it is not given. However, spelling is mentioned “insert sequences of DNA that were specifically designed to spell out the names of study authors” and it is not about the bacteria learning to spell, but being used to spell words.
Can u explain the answer of question 4 and 5…topic synthetic life
4. The word COULD means that ALGAE is not already being used to make fuel
“algae could be transplanted with genomes that would enable these organisms to produce biofuel.”
5. the team was funded by Synthetic Genomics and not ExxonMobil
“ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company has already worked out an agreement with Synthetic Genomics, the company that helped fund the JCVI research team”