Reading Portfolio

Submitted by Watcharit Polsen

Passage #1
Stem cell biology has emerged from the intellectual traditions of cell and developmental
biology to occupy an ever more prominent role in modern biology and medicine. While
developmental biology focuses on how the embryo is made, stem cell biology addresses how
tissues and organs are formed and maintained throughout life. Given the common
(Line 5) themes of stem cell function, cell and molecular biologists from previously disparate
areas of medicine including neuroscience, hematology, cardiology, gastroenterology, and
dermatology have organized themselves into new intellectual communities and institutional
structures. With the genetic code in hand, deciphering information in the genome is increasingly
the provenance of stem cell biology, a discipline that endeavors to define the
(Line 10) connections between epigenetic regulation and cell fate.The scientific mission of stem
cell biology is to reveal how genetic information is translated into tissue formation and
organogenesis.

Stem cell biology also encompasses applications for treating diseases of tissue malformation,
degeneration, trauma, and genetic deficiency, and efforts to translate scientific insights
(Line 15) into new therapies is gaining momentum. Cell-based assays that employ differentiated
products of stem cells represent a novel strategy for chemical biology and small molecule drug
discovery and indeed promise to provide drugs that enhance natural repair and regeneration.
Moreover, stem cells offer the promise that delivering cells will restore function to diseased
tissues. This seductive combination of exciting fundamental scientific questions and
(Line 20) opportunities to contribute to human health have made stem cell biology a magnet for
talented young students and changed the careers of even seasoned investigators. It is hoped that
the articles in this Review series, which cover some of the most compelling opportunities in stem
cell biology, comprise a rich resource for all these individuals as well as those wishing to learn
more about this exciting field.

Source:https://www.jci.org/articles/view/41801

1. The word seasoned in line 21 is closest in meaning to...

(A) experienced
(B) well-educated
(C) inexperienced
(D) uneducated

2. The word deciphering in line 8 is closest in meaning to

(A) encrypting
(B) decrypting
 (C) translating
(D) hacking

3. The word those in line 23 refers to...

(A) doctor
(B) scientists
(C) students
(D) teachers

4. Which of the following areas is not concerned with the stem cell?
(A) dermatology
(B) hematology
(C) cardiology
(D) endocrinology

5. How can stem cells enhance our bodys natural repair and regeneration?
(A) organizing new communities
(B) provide healthy drugs
(C) restore functions of diseased cells
(D) discover small drug molecule

6. Which one of these diseases is not treated by stem cell?

(A) degeneration
(B) trauma
(C) tissue malfunction
(D) sprain

7. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as the part of a novel strategy from stem cells
differentiated products?
(A) delivering drugs to enhance natural repair
(B) learning chemical biology in our body
(C) changing the genome informations
(D) discovering small drug molecules

8. According to the passage, how can the stem cell define the connections between epigenetic
regulation and cell fate?
(A) deciphering genome informations
(B) enhance natural repair and regeneration
 (C) maintained the tissues and organs functions
(D) translate scientific insights into new therapies

9. What is the main idea of this passage?

(A) the development of stem cell
(B) functions of the stem cell
(C) stem cells experiment results
(D) advantages and disadvantages of Stem Cell

10. Which of the following is true about stem cell?

(A) they only lived in our skin
(B) their main function is to destroy diseased cell
(C) they are only applied for the treatments of a few diseases
(D) they emerged from the intellectual traditions of cell

Passage#2
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern
engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other
structures used for this purpose. In a more restricted use, aqueduct (occasionally water bridge)
applies to any bridge or viaduct that transports water - instead of a path, road or railway - across
(Line 5)a gap. Large navigable aqueducts are used as transport links for boats or ships.
Aqueducts must span a crossing at the same level as the watercourses on each end. The word is
derived from the Latin aqua ("water") and ducere ("to lead").

The Romans constructed aqueducts to bring a constant flow of water from distant sources into
cities and towns, supplying public baths, latrines, fountains and private households. Wastewater
(Line 10)was removed by the sewage systems and released into nearby bodies of water, keeping
the towns clean and free from noxious waste. Some aqueducts also served water for mining,
processing, manufacturing, and agriculture. Aqueducts moved water through gravity alone, along
a slight downward gradient within conduits of stone, brick or concrete. Most were buried beneath
the ground, and followed its contours; obstructing peaks were circumvented or less often,
(Line 15)tunneled through. Where valleys or lowlands intervened, the conduit was carried on
bridgework, or its contents fed into high-pressure lead, ceramic or stone pipes and siphoned
across. Most aqueduct systems included sedimentation tanks, sluices and distribution tanks to
regulate the supply at need. Rome's first aqueduct supplied a water-fountain sited at the city's
cattle-market. By the 3rd century AD, the city had eleven aqueducts, to sustain a population of
(20)over 1,000,000 in a water-extravagant economy; most of the water supplied the city's many
public baths. Cities and municipalities throughout the Roman Empire emulated this model, and
funded aqueducts as objects of public interest and civic pride, "an expensive yet necessary luxury
to which all could, and did, aspire."

source:http://www.crystalinks.com/romeaqueducts.html

1. The word viaduct in line 4 is closest in meaning to

(A) transported bridge
(B) canals
(C) railway
(D) pavement road

2. The word noxious in line 11 is closest in meaning to

(A) clean
(B) hazard
(C) useful
(D) expensive

3. The word its in line 16 refers to...

(A) aqueduct
(B) contour
(C) tunnel
(D) conduit

4. Where does the Romes first aqueduct supplied the water to?
(A) mine
(B) mill
(C) viaduct
(D) water-fountain

5. According to the passage, how many people lived in Rome during the 3rd century?
(A) 100 people
(B) 10,000 people
(C) 1,000,000 people
(D) 10,000,000 people
6. Which of the following is NOT a material used for the construction of a conduit?
(A) high-pressure lead
(B) timber
(C) ceramic
(D) stone pipes

7. Aqueducts must have the same crossing bridge level as the watercourse in order to...
(A) deliver water supply
(B) bring out wastes
(C) prevent enemys assaults
(D) erode rocks on the mountain

8. Which of the following is a language the aqueduct derived from?

(A) english
(B) yiddish
(C) russian
(D) latin

9. What is the main idea of this passage?

(A) the decline of Rome aqueduct system
(B) introduction to Rome aqueduct system
(C) a brief history about Roman empire
(D) how mills and bakeries important to Roman people

10. Why aqueducts in Rome are considered as an expensive yet necessary luxury?
(A) they were made completely out of gold but made only to attract people
(B) they took a long time to build and always broken down in a few years
(C) they took a long time to build but they brought the water for the people
(D) they were built as passageways for boats to transport people