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Fill in the blanks in each text with the words in their corresponding
word banks.
TEXT 1
Amazon River exhales carbon dioxide
(1) _____________ to scientists, the Amazon River is "(2) _______________" – exhaling
CO2 (or carbon dioxide) – similar to the way that you or I expel this (3) _______ with every
out breath.
(4) _________ and plants take in CO2 during photosynthesis. Now it's known that the
Amazon River, in effect, breathes CO2 back out again. It happens because (5) ________,
bark and leaf litter are washed into the river. The teeming tropical river life –
microorganisms, (6) __________, fish – gobble up this material, and (7) ___________ the
CO2 back out.
How much, and how fast the Amazon River "breathes" is the question for Jeff Richey at
the University of Washington. His research shows that CO2 from plants with short life
(8)_________ – like (9) _________ – make the river breathe faster than older carbon –
say, from big, old trees.
“The land and the water are much more tightly tied together than people thought. So, it
also means that if you start changing the land, the whole water system is going to change
as well.” Says Jeff Richey.
Richey now wants to learn how changes in a river's respiration affect river life and water
(10) ______________.
Jeff Richey adds: “Think of it as: it gives you the pulse of the system. So, if the CO2 level is
changing in the water, that can be a sign that the overall metabolism is changing. So, it
signals something.”
GAS / INSECTS / TREES / SOIL / BREATHE / ACCORDING / GRASS / QUALITY /
SPANS / BREATHING
II NNTTEERRMMEEDD II AATTEE LLEEVVEELL
TEXT 2
Ethanol may create worse smog than gasoline
Ethanol is (1) ________ as a green fuel at the pump, but it may create worse smog than
gasoline, according to a study by Stanford University professor Mark Jacobson.
Mark Jacobson: It’s been advertised that ethanol is (2) ___________ health and reducing
urban air pollution, and this has simply not been shown or demonstrated.
In the study, Jacobson asked what would happen if all vehicles in the United States were
(3) ____________ to run on a (4) _________ of ethanol, called E85, by the year 2020.
Jacobson found that ethanol increases ground-level ozone, especially in Los Angeles and
the northeastern U.S. On the ground, ozone aggravates people’s (5) ________ and
causes respiratory problems, like asthma.
The model (6) ___________ this ozone will increase pollution-related (7) ___________ by
about 200 per year. That’s 200 more than the 10,000 deaths per year that can be traced to
ozone pollution from gasoline, according to Jacobson.
It’s not a dramatic increase, he said, but it’s significant because it shows there’s not much
difference between gasoline and ethanol.
Mark Jacobson: The issue is… is there something better we can do? And there are things
that are much better, that could also reduce foreign oil and also help farmers solve climate
problems and air pollution problems (8) _________________.
Jacobson recommends moving away from combustion-powered cars and
(9)_____________ battery-electric vehicles that can run on (10) ____________ and solar
energy.
PREDICTS / IMPROVING / TOUTED / DEATHS / BLEND /WIND / LUNGS /
SIMULTANEOUSLY / CONVERTED / TOWARDS
TEXT 3
Harnessing High-Altitude Winds for Energy
(Image Credit: Ben Shepard)
Some scientists believe that all the power we could ever need can be found in the
(1)_____________ flow of wind high above our heads.
Ken says that “High-altitude winds represent the largest, highly-concentrated
(2)____________ energy resource on Earth, and we’re basically doing nothing to try and
(3) ___________ this power.”
Ken Caldeira is a climate scientist from Carnegie Institution at Stanford University in
California. He and other scientists want to try to (4) __________ the energy of high-altitude
winds. He said wind speed and (5) ____________ generally increase with altitude up to
the jet stream. And he told Earth & Sky that the amount of energy in high-altitude winds
could (6) __________ all Earth’s energy needs 100 times over.
He and other scientists imagine a wind energy machine (7) _____________ of a kite. It’d
be anchored to the ground with a cable and use propellers both to generate electricity and
to keep the (8) ____________ lifted in the upper atmosphere. It all sounds futuristic. But
Caldeira said he expects humanity could be producing most of its energy from high-
altitude winds (9) _________ the next few decades.
“I think the only reason we haven’t done it already is due to (10) ___________ of
imagination”, he adds.
Caldeira said more research and funding are needed to get a high-altitude wind machine
(11) _______ the ground and into the sky.
OFF / RENEWABLE / CONTINUOUS / RELIABILITY / WITHIN / EXTRACT /
SUPPLY / LACK / HARNESS / APPARATUS / REMINISCENT
TEXT 4
How do millipedes keep from tripping?
(Narceus americanus; Millipede. Photo © John White)
Can millipedes move their legs individually or is there a specific pattern to the movement?
Millipedes don't seem to control their legs individually. When they walk, their legs
(1)_____________ in groups that form a wave-like pattern.
Millipedes generally have hundreds of pairs of legs, and both legs of a pair move at the
same time. As the last leg pair on the body (2) _________ and swings forward, the leg pair
in front of it swings forward to get out of the way. The timing of this lifting, (3)___________,
and (4) ___________ is what produces the wave-like pattern characteristic of a millipede's
forward (5) ___________.
And there can be multiple (6) _________ in the leg system of a millipede at any one time.
The number and length of these waves depend on the (7) __________ and force needed
by the millipede. Individually, the legs of a millipede are (8) __________ – but the
coordination of all its legs lets a millipede run and (9) ___________ pretty well. Millipedes
have up to 750 legs. But the wave motion also ensures that one leg never (10) ________
another, so a millipede avoids tripping.
SWINGING / BURROW / LIFTS / UNDULATE / FEEBLE / WAVES / CROSSES /
MOTION / STEPPING / SPEED
TEXT 5
More contrails might increase climate warming
The jet contrails you see (1) __________ the sky
are similar in some ways to natural clouds.
But they're made by the (2) ___________ of fossil
fuels in jet engines. And, if it seems you're seeing
more of them, it's not your imagination. Andrew
Carleton researches contrails at Pennsylvania State
University. His research reports increasing numbers of contrails since the mid-1970s, due
in part to changes in Earth's upper (3) ___________, increasing jet traffic and bigger jets.
Studies (4) ___________ that air traffic will continue to increase for at least the next 30 to
50 years. And that, Carleton said, probably means more contrails, with a possible
(5)_________ on Earth's climate.
Andrew Carleton says that “The studies nowadays - not all of them because some of them
(6) ___________ quite strongly – but, there are studies that actually suggest that contrails
have been (7) ____________ global warming and will continue to do so in the future.”
Airlines could cut down on contrails, but Carleton said it's expensive. The biggest thing, he
said, is to (8) ______________ air that's favorable for contrails, and then avoid it: re-route
jets around it or change the altitude of flight(9) __________. Here in the U.S., those
changes aren't on the horizon.
“The airlines have been having such (10) ____________ problems in recent years that
contrail production is not high on their list of priorities right now”, said Carleton.
Financial / Paths / Forecast / Enhancing / Disagree / Effect / Predict /
Atmosphere / Crisscrossing / Combustion
TEXT 6
Stem cells can heal defective cells
Last October, scientists (1) _____________ a surprising discovery
about stem cells.
Stem cells in the bodies of animals and people can turn into almost any other kind of cell.
Researchers already hoped to treat (2) ______________ diseases such as Alzheimer's by
using stem cells to (3) ______________ damaged cells. The new discovery might
(4)_________ yet another way to use stem cells.
Robert Benezra is a researcher at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New
York. He was studying mice that tended to die of a genetic heart (5) __________ as
embryos. They were missing two proteins that are important for developing a healthy
heart. To extend their lives, Benezra injected the mouse embryos with stem cells that had
the (6) _______________ proteins.
Robert Benezra said: “And it was to our surprise and (7) _____________ that when we
injected even just a few embryonic stem cells, the animals not only survived a little bit
longer but they were actually born and running around quite happily.”
The stem cells hadn't simply taken over and replaced the defective mouse heart cells.
(8)___________, the stem cells were actually sending chemical (9) __________ to the
defective cells around them that made the bad cells grow normally.
Benezra now thinks doctors might be able to use the signaling (10) ____________ of stem
cells – rather than stem cells themselves – to treat degenerative diseases.
Signals / Yield / Defect / Chemicals / Announced / Amazement / Instead /
Degenerative / Missing / Replace
TEXT 7
Bringing Sunlight into Buildings Could Reduce CO2
Over 40 percent of the U.S. carbon (1) ___________ comes from residential and
(2)___________ buildings.
That’s according to energy researcher Marilyn Brown of Georgia Institute of Technology in
Atlanta. Brown recently completed an (3) _____________ of the carbon emissions
generated by buildings — from their cooling, heating, lighting, and construction. Working
with scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, she’s helped develop a more efficient
and (4) ____________ way to light a room. It’s called hybrid solar lighting.
Marilyn Brown explains: “So, you have roof-mounted (5) ___________ that concentrate
the sunlight into (6) ____________ fibers. And these fibers carry the sunlight into the
building, into light fixtures. These light fixtures also contain electric lamps. For instance,
they may be (7) ____________ with fluorescent tubes. So that, (8)____________ there is
sunshine or not, the lighting in that room will be very bright and appealing.
Peak time for energy use is usually during the day, so lightening that load will result in less
coal burned in power plants, and less CO2 emission, according to Brown. She said there
are human benefits too.
Marilyn Brown added: “I think this is going to be quite (9) ________________. And there
have been studies that have showed that in addition to being highly efficient, you don’t
have any losses with electricity production. It’s also very (10)________________. People
do like to see sunlight.”
Combined / Assessment / Commercial / Collectors / Appealing / Footprint /
Whether / Transformational / Optical / Innovative
TEXT 8
Tropical forest management – a "two-way street"
Public concern about tropical forest (2) ______________ might have faded in recent years. But the
problem hasn't gone away.
That's according to Darron Collins, who is a tropical forest (3) ___________ at the World Wildlife
Fund. He said that, although various solutions are in place to protect (4)______________
forestland, no single solution can do it all. That's in part because people use the forest to
(5)_________________.
He says that in the lowlands of Peru, it's critical to work with local people, because local people
make a living off the forest. They do it through timber, and they do it for (6) _______________
forest products, for medicinal products. The forest is how people live. Their local economy is all
based on forest (7) _______________.
Collins said there are certain capacities that can be built among indigenous communities, such as
(8) _______________ and managing with satellite technology. But, he said, we can also learn from
these communities – “We have a lot to learn in the conservation community from local indigenous
people about how to (9) ______________ forests, about proper and potential uses of forest
products. We are not saying that we all need to live like indigenous people, because the world is
(10) _____________ changing. It needs to be a two-way street.”
Non-timber / Protected / Mapping / Endangered / Rapidly / Expert / Survive
/ Deforestation / Resources / Manage
Over the past few decades, some of
the ways used to preserve tropical
forests include designating some
areas as (1) ____________ and
implementing what are called debt-for-
nature swaps.
TEXT 9
Earthquakes Linked to Volcanic Activity
Scientists have found good (1) _________ that strong earthquakes can cause a
(2)_________ immediate increase in the activity of volcanoes (3) ___________.
Andrew Harris, at the University of Hawaii, (4) _________ volcanic hot spots around the
globe. With the aid of (5) ___________, he was watching the volcano Merapi as it erupted
on the Indonesian (6) __________ of Java in May, 2006. During that time, a 6.4
(7)___________ earthquake occurred off the coast of Java, and the eruption rate of
Merapi (8) __________. Then, Harris noticed a nearby volcano increasing its activity at the
same rate.
Andrew Harris says, “And the only thing the two volcanoes seemed to have in common
was that they would have both felt that earthquake.”
Scientists have long (9) __________ that earthquakes do cause volcanoes to respond.
Harris’s work provides strong evidence of this link. More evidence came in 2005, when a
magnitude 9.0 earthquake (10) ____________ a deadly tsunami in the Indian Ocean. That
earthquake later was found to have caused a series of (11) __________ earthquakes
underneath a volcano in Alaska. Harris says the question now is why some earthquakes
affect volcanoes, (12) _________ others don’t.
Andrew Harris adds that “If we can understand that, we understand a bit more about how
the volcano erupts, why it erupts, what forces it to change.”
Minor / Suspected / Magnitude / Satellites / Nearby / Evidence / While /
Triggered / Increased / Island / Monitors / Nearly
At 3:00 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time on
May 23, 2006, Flight Engineer Jeff
Williams from the International Space
Station (ISS) Expedition 13 contacted
the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)
to report that the Cleveland Volcano
had produced a plume of ash. Shortly
after the activity began, he took this
photograph.
TEXT 10
Bizarre Death
= A 1994 Urban Legend =
On March 23, 1994, Dr. Don Harper Mills, a medical examiner, viewed the body of Ronald
Opus and (1) __________ that he died from a shotgun wound to the head. Mr. Opus had
jumped from the top of a ten-story building intending to (2) _________ suicide. He left a
note to that effect indicating his despondency. As he fell past the ninth floor, his life was
(3)__________ by a shotgun blast passing through a window which killed him instantly.
(4) __________, a safety net had been installed just below, at the eighth floor level, to
protect some building workers and Ronald Opus would not have been able to complete his
suicide the way he had (5) ________, as he didn’t know about said net.
"Ordinarily," Dr. Mills continued, "a person who sets out to commit suicide and ultimately
succeeds, even (6) ________ the mechanism might not be what he intended, is still
defined as committing suicide."
That Mr. Opus was shot on the way to certain death, but (7) _________ would not have
been successful because of the safety net, caused the medical examiner to feel that he
had a homicide on his hands. The room on the ninth floor, whence the shotgun blast
emanated, was (8) _________ by an (9) ________ man and his wife. They were
arguing
vigorously and he was threatening her with a shotgun. The man was so upset that when
he pulled the trigger he completely missed his wife and the pellets went through the
window, striking Mr. Opus.
When one intends to kill subject ‘A’ but kills subject ‘B’ in the attempt, one is guilty of the
murder of subject ‘B’. When confronted with the murder charge, the old man and his wife
were both adamant. They both said they thought the shotgun was (10) _________. The
old man said it was his long-standing habit to threaten his wife with the unloaded shotgun.
He had no intention to murder her. (11) _________, the killing of Mr. Opus appeared to be
an accident; that is, the gun had been accidentally loaded.
The continuing investigation turned up a witness who saw the old couple's son loading the
shotgun about six weeks prior to the (12) _______ accident. It transpired that the old lady
had cut off her son's financial support and the son, knowing the propensity of his father to
use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the expectation that his father would
shoot his mother. The case now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the
death of Ronald Opus.
Now comes the exquisite twist. Further investigation revealed that the son was, in fact,
Ronald Opus. He had become increasingly despondent over the failure of his attempt to
engineer his mother's murder. This led him to jump off the ten-story building on March
23rd, only to be killed by a shotgun blast passing through the ninth story window. The son
had actually murdered himself; so, the medical examiner closed the case as a suicide
Commit / However / Though / Occupied / Unloaded / Fatal / Therefore /
Elderly / Probably / Planned / Interrupted / Concluded
TEXT 11
C H I LE E CO T OU R I SM
The Atacama Desert used to be one of Chile's best kept secrets. Now, more hotels and
restaurants are falling into (1) ________. Tourism agencies line the streets of its provincial
capital.
Attractions include world-class (2) ___________ museum and a church, hundreds of years
old. The village of San Pedro de Atacama, (3) __________ more than a thousand years
ago, is the (4) __________ point for those who wish to know Chile's northern Andean
Desert. But it is not the only part of the country that is experiencing an ecotourism
(5)_______.
On the other side of the country, in the southern pre-Antarctic region, the same thing is
happening. Puerto Natales is (6) _________ as a gateway city for ecotourists coming to
explore the Chilean Patagonia. During the winter months, the more (7) ____________ can
go skiing or snowboarding at the end of the world.
Just as in the trip to the desert, it takes some doing to get to southern-most Chile. Tourists
take more than a day of flying to get here, and they are looking for something different.
They do not find this close to home. Ecotourism is on the rise throughout Latin America.
Years of (8) ______________ has left many environmental attractions intact. But Chile is
taking the most aggressive approach by promoting its contrasting ecological
(9)__________ that people here used to take for granted.
Founded / Thriving / Offerings / Archeological / Boom / Underdevelopment
Business / Gathering / Venturesome
TEXT 12
THE ELECTRIC CAR
There have been (1) _________ for years
that electric vehicles would one day rule the
road. But is there any realistic prospect of
that happening anytime soon?
(2) _______-choked Southern California is
demanding them. It's a car for people who
never want to go to a gas station again. But the fact is, selling the gas-less machines has
been a hard-sell. "What we are doing is trying to make sure that there's a match between
customer (3) ___________ and what the product really does."
General Motors has (4) ___________ a two-year evaluation program of its new E-V One
electric car. It's a car that can go up to 90 miles on a (5) _________, at speeds of up to 80
miles an hour. Drivers have said to successfully share the road with conventional vehicles,
an E-V infrastructure that provides parity and driving conditions must be established.
One of the problems is the industry has not been able to settle on a (6) ___________
battery, although lead-acid seems to be the cheapest and most common so far. And while
the industry may not be (7) __________ on the best battery system, the one thing they're
all together on is the fact that in order for electric vehicles to gain (8) __________
acceptance, there must be a cheap and easy way, not with octane, but with kilowatts.
Ford has come up with this quick and easy conductive (9) __________ station. Its charger
is the gas-less station of the future. "We have (10) ___________ in seven minutes for
races," Ford says. Now, all the industry has to do is to plug in the public.
Smog / Charge / Widespread / Predictions / Launched / Unanimous /
Refueled / Expectations / Standardized / Charging
TEXT 13
EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS
In Egypt's pyramid-rich (1) __________, there's
a new future on the tourist horizon: a
(2)___________ of giant pyramids at a former
military site that will soon open to visitors for the
first time. We may call it the site of the (3)
_________ pyramids, or the site of forgotten
pharaohs, because people really don't know
about it.
Three thousand tourists visit the Great Pyramids of Giza every day. Archeologists hope to
(4)___________ some of the enthusiasm to the nearby site of Dashur, which has been
closed for decades. The military camp was (5) __________ at the base of the pyramid
during the height of the Middle East tension. Now that the region has become increasingly
stabilized, the camp has been moved further out into the desert. The 343-foot high Red
Tomb is the second largest of Egypt's 97 (6) __________ pyramids, built by the father of
the Pharaoh Cheops, whose pyramid in Giza is the largest and best known in the world.
The Dashur Plateau is a vast (7) ________ of pyramid-building techniques. One lumpy
tower was constructed with mud bricks (8) __________ of stone and, like many things built
on the cheap side, hasn't withstood the test of time. A maze of tombs surround the site,
and archeologists say that while many artifacts have been (9) _________ over the
centuries, there are probably a lot of mummies still hiding beneath the sand.
No one will get tired of pyramids. Pyramids are pyramids. Pyramids are magic and
mystery. So Egypt, always looking for ways to draw in tourists, is once again relying on
pyramid power.
Looted / Known / Forgotten / Instead / Established / Plateau / Manual
Deflect / Landscape
TEXT 14
HEAVENLY SHOW
Like a diamond bracelet draped (1) _______ the night sky, the planets
(#2_____________) the solar system are lined up (3) _______ what is being called "naked
eye astronomy at its best."
"We are going to be seeing the most extraordinary gathering of all the planets (4) _______
the same time (5) _______ the same part (6) _______ the heavens, just (7) _______
sunset all week long." Anywhere (8) _______ the world, (9) _______ the aid of a telescope
you can see, marching (10) _______ west to east, Mercury, Mars, Venus (the brightest of
the cluster), Jupiter, and Saturn.
"(11) _______ a pair (12) _______ good binoculars, you can even pick out Uranus and
Neptune. Distant Pluto is also lined up out there...way out there. But it's only visible
(13)_______ the most powerful (14) _______ telescopes."
Amateur astronomers, star gazers, and the just plain curious, who want that "close-up gee
whiz look" are flocking (15) _______ observatories.
"To see something like this is a very rare opportunity. I've been studying all nine planets.
I saw Jupiter, the black lines, and the four moons." If you haven't taken the time yet to
simply look up, you've got (16) _______ December 8th. After that the strand of diamonds
will be gone (17) _______ a long, long
time.
"When we first started doing the research (18) _______ this, we didn't think this was
unusual. We thought it happened maybe every five, ten, fifteen years." But what
astronomers discovered was that none (19) _______ them would likely be around the next
time the planets go on parade... about 100 years (20) _______ now.
Across / At / After / For / From (2x) / In (3x) / On / Of (5x) / Through / To
Until / With / Without
TEXT 15
Monster iceberg breaks off Antarctic ice shelf
Satellite images from the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have detected
another in an (1) _________ series of massive
icebergs which has broken off the frozen continent
of Antarctica.
The new iceberg measures (2) ________ 76km by
7km, or almost ten times the area of Manhattan.
In recent years, the (3) ________ number of
massive icebergs breaking free from the continent has raised concerns that (4) _________
are steadily warming in the Antarctic region.
Such a trend, which many scientists suspect is an early sign of global warming, could have
implications for climate changes over much of the planet's (5) ________. Also, many in the
shipping industry consider the development a navigation hazard as icebergs (6)______
northward and break up.
NOAA monitoring of satellite images from the U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite
Program detected the new berg this week on the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, an expansive
ice area (7) _________ out from the continent in the portion of Antarctica closest to New
Zealand.
The National Ice Center, a Navy, NOAA and Coast Guard inter-agency, (8) ________ the
locations of the icebergs, and in recent years has spotted some within 1,000 miles of
Capetown, South Africa and Christchurch, New Zealand.
Icebergs can take years or longer to drift into open water, a National Ice Center
spokesman said. Some bergs remain grounded near the Antarctic coast for decades.
Right now C-18 remains close to the shelf and does not (9) _________ a risk to
navigation.
Pose / Tracks / Extending / Drift / Surface / Temperatures / Escalating
Roughly / Increasing
TEXT 15
Monster iceberg breaks off Antarctic ice shelf
Satellite images from the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have detected
another in an (1) _________ series of massive
icebergs which has broken off the frozen continent
of Antarctica.
The new iceberg measures (2) ________ 76km by
7km, or almost ten times the area of Manhattan.
In recent years, the (3) ________ number of
massive icebergs breaking free from the continent has raised concerns that (4) _________
are steadily warming in the Antarctic region.
Such a trend, which many scientists suspect is an early sign of global warming, could have
implications for climate changes over much of the planet's (5) ________. Also, many in the
shipping industry consider the development a navigation hazard as icebergs (6)______
northward and break up.
NOAA monitoring of satellite images from the U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite
Program detected the new berg this week on the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, an expansive
ice area (7) _________ out from the continent in the portion of Antarctica closest to New
Zealand.
The National Ice Center, a Navy, NOAA and Coast Guard inter-agency, (8) ________ the
locations of the icebergs, and in recent years has spotted some within 1,000 miles of
Capetown, South Africa and Christchurch, New Zealand.
Icebergs can take years or longer to drift into open water, a National Ice Center
spokesman said. Some bergs remain grounded near the Antarctic coast for decades.
Right now C-18 remains close to the shelf and does not (9) _________ a risk to
navigation.
Pose / Tracks / Extending / Drift / Surface / Temperatures / Escalating
Roughly / Increasing
TEXT 15
Monster iceberg breaks off Antarctic ice shelf
Satellite images from the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have detected
another in an (1) _________ series of massive
icebergs which has broken off the frozen continent
of Antarctica.
The new iceberg measures (2) ________ 76km by
7km, or almost ten times the area of Manhattan.
In recent years, the (3) ________ number of
massive icebergs breaking free from the continent has raised concerns that (4) _________
are steadily warming in the Antarctic region.
Such a trend, which many scientists suspect is an early sign of global warming, could have
implications for climate changes over much of the planet's (5) ________. Also, many in the
shipping industry consider the development a navigation hazard as icebergs (6)______
northward and break up.
NOAA monitoring of satellite images from the U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite
Program detected the new berg this week on the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, an expansive
ice area (7) _________ out from the continent in the portion of Antarctica closest to New
Zealand.
The National Ice Center, a Navy, NOAA and Coast Guard inter-agency, (8) ________ the
locations of the icebergs, and in recent years has spotted some within 1,000 miles of
Capetown, South Africa and Christchurch, New Zealand.
Icebergs can take years or longer to drift into open water, a National Ice Center
spokesman said. Some bergs remain grounded near the Antarctic coast for decades.
Right now C-18 remains close to the shelf and does not (9) _________ a risk to
navigation.
Pose / Tracks / Extending / Drift / Surface / Temperatures / Escalating
Roughly / Increasing
TEXT 16
Newly Identified Solar System
Astronomers announced on Wednesday the (1)
______ of the first solar system other than our own
where multiple planets (2) ________ around a star
in (3)________ orbits.
Of the roughly 70 planets found so far outside our
solar system, most travel in tight, (4)______ orbits
(5) _______ their stars.
However, the two planets around the star 47 Ursae Majoris (6) __________ travel in
nearly circular orbits at a distance that, in our solar system, would place them
(7)__________ Mars but within the orbit of Jupiter.
Astronomers at the University of California announced the discovery of the second star on
Wednesday. The (8) _________ was detected in 1996.
“With 47 Usae Majoris, it’s (9) ___________ to find a planetary system that finally reminds
us of our solar system,” said team member Geoffrey Marcy, a Berkeley professor of
astronomy.
The two planets – one 21 ½ times the (10) __________ of Jupiter, the other ¾ as large –
(11) __________ a star in the Big Dipper, or Ursa Major, constellation. The star is about
51 light-years from Earth.
Beyond / Orbit / Around / Heartwarming / Travel / Both / Circular / First
Discovery / Erratic / Size
TEXT 17
Robot walks, balances like a human
A team of French scientists working with collaborators at the University of Michigan (U-M)
and Ohio State University have created a robot that walks and balances just as a human
does.
They say it is the first of its (1) _________, and can catch its balance without having to rely
on big, clunky (2) ________ to do so.
Honda has been developing its (3) __________ robot Asimo, which stands for Advanced
Step in Innovative Mobility, over the past five years. The Japanese company
(4)__________ its robot is also the only one of its kind able to (5) _______ stairs, as well
as to walk an incline and decline of up to 30 degrees.
But the U-M, Ohio State and French scientists say their robot, called "Rabbit," is the first
robot that can walk and balance like a human. Rabbit is based in Grenoble, France.
The U-M and Ohio State researchers have worked for more than five years with their
French colleagues to come up with a way to dynamically balance the machine
(6)__________ walking. At the end of last year they got it to run six steps.
U-M professor of electrical engineering and computer science Jessy Grizzle, one of the
scientists behind Rabbit, said the robot did not have any feet.
Instead, its legs end like
stilts, so that it pivots on a point when it moves (7) _________, meaning that if you
(8)________ the Rabbit, it steps forward and catches its balance, much like a human
would.
It could prove useful in designing cost-effective human prosthetics and rehabilitative
walking aids for spinal injury (9) _________, Grizzle said.
The theory behind the Rabbit could also be used in machines in homes that can climb
stairs, or for designing robots that work in (10) _________ terrain in exploratory missions.
Rough / Forward / Claims / Kind / Nudge / Climb / Feet / Patients / While /
Humanoid
The "Rabbit" robot does not have any
feet, but can still balance and walk
like a human.
TEXT 18
'Flying taxi' of the future revealed
Jetpods would be able to take off and land in just 125 meters.
A (1) _________ of the future in which we (2) _________
the congested city streets and take to the skies in (3)
__________ aircraft might seem like a science fiction
fantasy, but the people behind a new invention believe it
could be closer than we think.
The "Jetpod" is an air-borne taxi that is quiet and (4)
__________ friendly. London-based Designers Avcen
believe it could be a commonplace sight over our cities within five or six years.
"The aircraft had to be able to (5) ________ and take off in 125 meters; it also had to have
a very low noise (6) _________ and the aircraft needed to be able to accelerate rapidly up
to 350 mph in order to get point to point at low level very quickly," said Avcen’s managing
director, Mike Dacre.
"This aircraft can take off within 125 meters because a portion of the engine thrust is
(7)__________ downwards," said Dr. Iannelli. "This creates an additional force pointing
up, so that the total upward force (8) __________ the weight of the aircraft and the aircraft
can take off."
The plane is expected to carry up to 7 passengers and Dacre says the pod could be
(9)____________ charging just $18 per passenger and reduce carbon emissions by taking
cars off the road.
"We would be looking at about, say fifty aircraft to service a city the size of London at fifty
sectors per day," he said. "That would take about 37,000 cars off the road."
With its ability to take off and land from a short runway, the jetpod's inventors believe the
options to build a supporting (10) ____________ in the city center are endless.
(11)___________ could be built on elevated platforms over rivers, railway stations or
roads.
And for stressed-out commuters, a quiet daily (12) __________ with a spectacular aerial
view of the landmarks could be only five years away.
Miniature / Output / Profitable / Commute / Abandon / Land / Exceeds
Runways / Vision / Environmentally / Deflected / Infrastructure
TEXT 19
Over-60 pilots retain their skills
A study suggesting that (1) _________ hardly hurts pilots’ skills will stoke the debate as
the Federal Aviation Administration reconsiders a mandatory (2) ____________ rule for
airline pilots at 60.
The same study also confirms that a “hangover (3) ___________” from drinking alcohol
(4)__________ pilots even after waiting the FAA-required eight hours before
(5)__________.
“Alcohol, but not age, impairs pilots’ ability,” researchers at the Veterans Administration
Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., and Stanford University said in a statement.
The study will shore up arguments by critics who say the age-60 retirement decree forces
out good airline pilots.
Researchers pitted 14 “younger” pilots up to age 34, and 13 “older” pilots from 35 up to
age 69, against a computerized flight simulator. Then, while some drank a placebo, others
imbibed enough alcohol to reach a 0.10 blood-alcohol content before they all were tested
once more, then again eight hours later.
After the (6) ________________ was repeated 10 months later, researchers concluded
alcohol (7) ______________ all the pilots’ (8) _______________ at about the same rate,
regardless of age. Further, the older pilots didn’t significantly forget any more about their
(9) __________ than their younger peers.
Researchers say they hope to see “regulatory agencies consider (10) ______________
the implication of these studies and appropriately (11) ______________ the relevant
regulations.”
Jones says the FAA eight-hour rule is just a (12) _____________ and some airlines are
already requiring their pilots to (13) ____________ flying 12 hours or more after
(14)______________.
Drinking / Delay / Seriously / Modify / Minimum / Tasks / Performances
Disrupted / Impairs / Flying / Procedure / Effect / Retirement / Age
TEXT 20
Road to Hell is under construction
HELL, Mich. - This summer, repair crews will (1) __________ a 62-year-old bridge that
(2)_________ the main road through town. The work will (3) _______ traffic for three
months. ''It'll close the whole town,'' said Hell Chamber of Commerce President Jim Levy.
''That's where our money comes from. It'll kill us.'' Tourists (4) _______ to the rural village,
about 55 miles west of Detroit, for its underworldly (5) __________. Many leave with
(6)___________ items that say ''I've been to Hell and back.''
Taken for a ride
ATLANTA - Jonathan Thompson, Dion Hughes and Darthy Brown have spent about 14
hours a day (7) _________ a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia in hopes of
(8)_________ a new Jeep. The contest started March 13 with 24 riders. Second and third
place prizes are season passes to Six Flags. The trio has already (9) _________ the U.S.
record of 11 days and the world record of 23 (10) ____________ days of coaster riding.
And they've turned down a sponsoring radio station's offer of $1,000 each to stop. They
ride from 8 a.m. until 1 a.m., with breaks for lunch, dinner and a five-minute break each
hour. They must sleep on sleeping bags on the platform next to the coaster. They can't
carry books or radios and they're not allowed to take aspirin.
Souvenir / Allure / Flock / Block / Serves / Reconstruct
Broken / Winning / Riding / Consecutive
TEXT 21
Brazil jogger decapitated by aircraft
The pilot of a (1) ________ plane decapitated a woman jogger in northern Brazil on Friday
when he landed on a (2) _________ used by local residents as a sports field, police said.
They said the pilot, Wilson Alessandro, (3) ____________ fled in his Cessna but was
(4)_________ when he landed again 75 miles (120 km) away in Belém, capital of the state
of Pará, and would be (5) ________ with involuntary homicide.
Police said the victim, Maria dos Santos Rodrigues, 42, was jogging on the runway in the
town of Cametá. "She was moving along the runway, she tried to (6) _________ when she
saw the plane land, but it caught her," spokeswoman France Davis Fernandes Costa said.
Police said they would (7) _________ why Alessandro tried to land on the Cametá runway,
which was closed to aircraft and was popular with joggers and (8) _________ walkers.
Investigate / Arrested / Light / Fitness / Charged / Runway / Duck
Immediately
TEXT 22
'Very Light Jets' Are About to Shake Up Air Travel
Make room for some new (1) ___________ in the market for
small aircraft. The new airplanes are called very light jets.
They are also known by other names including mini jets,
microjets and air taxis. The Federal Aviation Administration in
the United States expects nearly 5,000 to be in service by
2017.
The new planes will cost up to 50% less than business jets
now (2) ___________ the market.
Eclipse Aviation of Albuquerque, New Mexico, proudly calls itself the (3) ____________ of
the world’s first very light jet. The plane is called the Eclipse 500. It can carry as many as
six people. The cost? Just over US$ 1.5 million dollars.
Eclipse has just (4) _____________ the first plane for the first buyer, businessman David
Crowe. And the company says it (5) ____________ has more than 2,500 orders to meet
over the next few years.
The Eclipse 500
can fly at a top speed of 680 kilometers an hour. And it can travel 1,600
kilometers without the need for more fuel. The company says a top flight level of almost
12,500 meters will avoid most severe (6) ____________.
Another very light jet, the A-700 AdamJet, is (7) ___________ under flight testing by Adam
Aircraft of Englewood, Colorado. The AdamJet is twelve meters long and can carry up to
eight people.
With bigger planes, (8) ____________ often have to fly into big cities, then get a car and
drive to smaller towns. The mini jets will be able to use smaller airports. In many cases,
the new aircraft are (9) _____________ to be used as air taxis for short flights.
Very light jets are designed to be easier to fly than other jet planes. And some versions
even include a (10) ____________ for long flights.
Expected / Weather / Manufacturer / Bathroom / Arrivals / Produced
Currently / On / Already / Travelers
Eclipse 500 at the EAA AirVenture
Convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in July.
ANSWER KEY
TEXT 1
(1) According (2) Breathing (3) Gas
(4) Trees (5) Soil (6) Insects
(7) Breathe (8) Span (9) Grass
(10) Quality
TEXT 2
(1) Touted (2) Improving (3) Converted
(4) Blend (5) Lungs (6) Predicts
(7) Deaths (8) Simultaneously (9) Towards
(10) Wind
TEXT 3
(1) Continuous (2) Renewable (3) Extract
(4) Harness (5) Reliability (6) Supply
(7) Reminiscent (8) Apparatus (9) Within
(10) Lack (11) Off
TEXT 4
(1) Undulate (2) Lifts (3) Swinging
(4) Stepping (5) Motion (6) Waves
(7) Speed (8) Feeble (9) Burrow
(10) Crosses
TEXT 5
(1) Crisscrossing (2) Combustion (3) Atmosphere
(4) Predict (5) Effect (6) Disagree
(7) Enhancing (8) Forecast (9) Paths
(10) Financial
TEXT 6
(1) Announced (2) Degenerative (3) Replace
(4) Yield (5) Defect (6) Missing
(7) Amazement (8) Instead (9) Signals
(10) Chemicals
TEXT 7
(1) Footprint (2) Commercial (3) Assessment
(4) Innovative (5) Collectors (6) Optical
(7) Combined (8) Whether (9) Transformational
(10) Appealing
TEXT 8
(1) Protected (2) Deforestation (3) Expert
(4) Endangered (5) Survive (6) Non-timber
(7) Resources (8) Mapping (9) Manage
(10) Rapidly
TEXT 9
(1) Evidence (2) Nearly (3) Nearby
(4) Monitors (5) Satellites (6) Island
(7) Magnitude (8) Increased (9) Suspected
(10) Triggered (11) Minor (12) While
TEXT 10
(1) Concluded (2) Commit (3) Interrupted
(4) However (5) Planned (6) Though
(7) Probably (8) Occupied (9) Elderly
(10) Unloaded (11) Therefore (12) Fatal
TEXT 11
(1) Business (2) Archeological (3) Founded
(4) Gathering (5) Boom (6) Thriving
(7) Venturesome (8) Underdevelopment (9) Offerings
TEXT 12
(1) Predictions (2) Smog (3) Expectations
(4) Launched (5) Charge (6) Standardized
(7) Unanimous (8) Widespread (9) Charging
(10) Refueled
TEXT 13
(1) Landscape (2) Plateau (3) Forgotten
(4) Deflect (5) Established (6) Known
(7) Manual (8) Instead (9) Looted
TEXT 14
(1) Across (2) of (3) in (4) at (5) in
(6) of (7) after (8) in (9) without (10) from
(11) with (12) of (13) through (14) of (15) to
(16) until (17) for (18) on (19) of (20) from
TEXT 15
(1) Increasing (2) Roughly (3) Escalating
(4) Temperatures (5) Surface (6) Drift
(7) Extending (8) Tracks (9) Pose
TEXT 16
(1) Discovery (2) Travel (3) Circular
(4) Erratic (5) Around (6) Both
(7) Beyond (8) First (9) Heartwarming
(10) Size (11) Orbit
TEXT 17
(1) Kind (2) Feet (3) Humanoid
(4) Claims (5) Climb (6) While
(7) Forward (8) Nudge (9) Patients
(10) Rough
TEXT 18
(1) Vision (2) Abandon (3) Miniature
(4) Environmentally (5) Land (6) Output
(7) Deflected (8) Exceeds (9) Profitable
(10) Infrastructure (11) Runways (12) Commute
TEXT 19
(1) Age (2) Retirement (3) Effect
(4) Impairs (5) Flying (6) Procedure
(7) Disrupted (8) Performances (9) Tasks
(10) Seriously (11) Modify (12) Minimum
(13) Delay (14) Drinking
TEXT 20
(1) Reconstruct (2) Serves (3) Block
(4) Flock (5) Allure (6) Souvenir
(7) Riding (8) Winning (9) Broken
(10) Consecutive
TEXT 21
(1) Light (2) Runway (3) Immediately
(4) Arrested (5) Charged (6) Duck
(7) Investigate (8) Fitness
TEXT 22
(1) Arrivals (2) On (3) manufacturer
(4) Produced (5) Already (6) Weather
(7) Currently (8) Travelers (9) Expected
(10) Bathroom