11．The UCL team calculated the rates of electron hopping in a nose receptor that has an odorant molecule bound to it．This rate depends on various properties of the biomolecular system that are not known，but the researchers could estimate these parameters based on typical values for molecules of this sort．
12．The key issue is whether the hopping rate with the odorant in place is significantly greater than that without it．The calculations show that it is — which means that odour identification in this way seems theoretically possible．
13．But Horsfield stresses that that's different from a proof of Turin's idea．"So far things look plausible，but we need proper experimental verification．We're beginning to think about what experiments could be performed．"
14．Meanwhile，Turin is pressing ahead with his hypothesis．"At Flexitral we have been designing odorants exclusively on the basis of their computed vibrations，" he says．"Our success rate at odorant discovery is two orders of magnitude better than the competition．" At the very least，he is putting his money where his nose is．
(668 words Nature)
Questions 1-4
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Please write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the writer
FALSE if the statement does not agree with the writer
NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this in the passage
1．The result of the study at UCL agrees with Turin’s theory.
2．The study at UCL could conclusively prove what Luca Turin has hypothesized.
3．Turin left his post at UCL and started his own business because his theory was ignored.
4．The molecules of alcohols and those of thiols look alike.
Questions 5-9
Complete the sentences below with words from the passage. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
5．The hypothesis that we smell by sensing the molecular vibration was made by ______.
6．Turin’s company is based in ______.
7．Most scientists believed that our nose works in the same way as our ______.
8．Different isotopes can smell different when ______ weigh differently.
9．According to Audrew Horsfield, it is still to be proved that ______ could really occur in human nose.
Question 10-12
Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
10．What’s the name of the researcher who collaborated with Stoneham?
11．What is the next step of the UCL team’s study?
12．What is the theoretical basis in designing odorants in Turin’s company?
Answer Keys and Explanations
1．T 见第一段。“give sth the thumbs up”为“接受“的意思。
2．F 见第三段。“That's still some way from proving that the theory, proposed in the mid-1990s by biophysicist Luca Turin, is correct.”意即“现在尚无法证实生物物理学家Luca在九十年代中期提出的理论是否正确。”
3．NG
4．T 见第六段“Molecules that look almost identical can smell very different — such as alcohols, which smell like spirits, and thiols, which smell like rotten eggs.”“identical”一词是“完全相同”的意思。这句话是说alcohols和thiols的分子结构看起来一样，但是它们的味道却相去甚远。 |
