Reading With Understanding The following selection is a pass…

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Questions

Reаding With Understаnding The fоllоwing selectiоn is а passage from a reading comprehension test. Use what you have learned to read with understanding and then answer the questions. Most people consider bacteria dangerous. After all, these microorganisms cause a host of serious human diseases, including tuberculosis, typhoid fever, pneumonia, and food poisoning. In fact, however, only a small percentage of bacteria cause diseases, while many bacteria are actually beneficial to humans. For example, doctors use bacteria to produce vaccines and other medicines. Bacteria are also critical to many industrial processes, from fermenting wine to recycling wastes, and scientists use bacteria to study many of the biological processes common to all living things. With such a wide variety of economic and scientific applications, it is no surprise that several laboratories around the United States grow and sell bacteria as a crop. These laboratories use specialized farming techniques to produce one of the nation’s most valuable biological commodities. Like plants, bacteria have specific growth requirements. In particular, they need a place to grow and they need a supply of nutrients. Bacteria may be cultivated in containers ranging from small test tubes to giant steel tanks. The organisms are placed in a container along with a nutritionally balanced liquid or jelly, called a culture medium, which provides vitamins, minerals, and fluids to the growing bacteria. The growth container and culture medium must be kept at a constant temperature that is appropriate for the type of bacteria being cultivated. Most bacteria used in medicine and industry grow best between 20° and 45°C. In a closed container, bacteria exhibit a definite growth pattern. The figure shows a typical bacterial growth curve. All bacteria follow this pattern, a fact that is very important to anyone who wants to cultivate them in large numbers. When bacteria are first placed in a growth container, they must adapt to their new environment, and growth is slow while they are making this adjustment. This period is called the “start phase” of the bacterial growth cycle. At the end of this phase, as the bacteria become accustomed to their new living conditions, they begin to grow and reproduce rapidly. During the second phase, called the “log phase,” a population explosion occurs. In a large tank, millions of new bacteria may be produced every hour during this phase. Eventually, however, the bacterial population reaches the maximum size possible, given the limitations of the growth container. At this point, the bacteria enter the “stationary growth phase,” during which they continue to reproduce, but at a slower rate. After a time, the bacteria use up their supply of nutrients and their wastes accumulate in the growth container. The final period in the growth cycle, called the “death phase,” occurs when the bacteria begin to die faster than they reproduce. People who grow bacteria for science and industry take advantage of this unique growth cycle. Bacteria are harvested during the “stationary growth phase,” yielding a good crop of usable organisms. By carefully monitoring the growth pattern, bacteria farmers can also decide when to add more nutrients to the culture medium or to transfer the bacteria to new growth containers. In this way, they can prevent large losses during the “death phase.” By applying knowledge of the growth requirements and patterns of bacteria, these modern-day agriculturalists are able to help everyone derive the maximum benefit from these versatile organisms. —THEA Practice Test, Pearson Education, Inc., Copyright © 2010 2. The writer’s main purpose in this selection is to: A. explain how bacteria are cultivated. B. identify harmful and beneficial forms of bacteria. C. compare methods of growing bacteria. D. demonstrate the beneficial uses of bacteria.

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