Question 20-28

Under certain circumstance the human body must cope with gases at greater-than-normal atmospheric¹ pressure.For example,gas pressures increase rapidly during a dive made with scuba² gear because the breathing equipment allows divers³ to stay underwater longer and dive deeper.The pressure exerted on the human body increases by 1atmosphere for every 10meters of depth in seawater,so that at 30meters in seawater a diver is exposed to a pressure of about 4atmospheres.The pressure of the gases being breathed must equal the external pressure applied⁴ to the body;otherwise breathing is very difficult.Therefore all of the gases in the air breathed by a scuba diver at 40meters are present at five times their usual pressure.Nitrogen which composes 80percent of the air we breathe usually causes a balmy feeling of well-being⁵ at this pressure.At a depth of 5atmospheres nitrogen causes symptoms resembling alcohol intoxication⁶ known as nitrogen narcosis.Nitrogen narcosis apparently⁷ results from a direct effect on the brain of the large amounts of nitrogen dissolved in the blood.Deep dives are less dangerous if helium is substituted for nitrogen,because under these pressures helium does not exert a similar narcotic⁸ effect.

As a scuba diver descends,the pressure of nitrogen in the lungs increases.Nitrogen then diffuses¹⁰ from the lungs to the blood and from the blood to body tissues.The reverse occurs when the diver surfaces;the nitrogen pressure in the lungs falls and the nitrogen diffuses from the tissues into the blood and from the blood into the lungs.If the return to the surface is too rapid,nitrogen in the tissues and blood cannot diffuse⁹ out rapidly enough and nitrogen bubbles are formed .They can cause severe pains,particularly around the joints¹¹.

Another complication may result if the breath is held during ascent¹².During ascent from a depth of 10meters,the volume of air in the lungs will double because the air pressure at the surface is only half of what it was at 10meters.This change in volume may cause the lungs to distend¹³ and even rupture¹⁴.This condition is called air embolism.To avoid this event,a diver must ascent slowly,never at a rate exceeding the rise of the exhaled¹⁶ air bubbles,and must exhale¹⁵ during ascent.

20.What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A)The equipment divers use

(B)The effects of pressure on gases in the human body

(C)How to prepare for a deep dive

(D)The symptoms of nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream.

21.The word "exposed to"in line 6are closest in meaning to

(A)leaving behind

(B)prepared for

(C)propelled by

(D)subjected to

22.The word "exert"in line 15is closest in meaning to

(A)cause

(B)permit

(C)need

(D)change

23.The word "diffuses"in line 19is closest in meaning to

(A)yields

(B)starts

(C)surfaces

(D)travels

24.What happens to nitrogen in body tissues if a diver ascends¹⁷ too quickly.

(A)It forms bubbles

(B)It goes directly to the brain

(C)It is reabsorbed by the lungs.

(D)It has a narcotic effect

25.The word "They"in line 21refers to

(A)joints

(B)pains

(C)bubbles

(D)tissues.

26.The word "rupture"in line 26is closest in meaning to

(A)hurt

(B)shrink

(C)burst

(D)stop

27.It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following presents the greatest danger to a diver?

(A)Pressurized helium

(B)Nitrogen diffusion¹⁸

(C)Nitrogen bubbles

(D)An air embolism

28.What should a diver do when ascending¹⁹?

(A)Rise slowly

(B)Breathe faster

(C)Relax completely

(D)Breathe helium.

Question 29-38

Each advance in microscopic²⁰ technique has provided scientists with new perspectives on the function of living organisms and the nature of matter itself.The invention of the visible-light microscope late in the sixteenth century introduced a previously²¹ unknown realm of single-celled plants and animals.In the twentieth century,electron microscopes have provided direct views of viruses and minuscule²² surface structures.Now another type of microscope,one that utilize²³ x-rays rather than light or electrons,offers a different way of examining tiny details,it should extend human perception still farther into the natural world.

The dream of building an x-ray microscope dates to 1895,its development,however,was virtually halted in the 1940's because the development of the electron microscope was progressing rapidly.During the 1940's electron microscopes routinely achieved resolution better than that possible with a visible-light microscope,while the performance of x-ray microscopes resisted improvement.In recent years,however,interest in x-ray microscopes has revived,largely because of advances such as the development of new sources of x-ray illumination.As a result,the brightness available today is millions of times that of x-ray tubes,which,for most of the century,were the only available sources of soft x-rays.

The new x-ray microscopes considerably²⁴ improve on the resolution provided by optical microscopes.They can also be used to map the distribution of certain chemical elements.Some can form pictures in extremely short times,others hold the promise of special capabilities²⁵ such as three dimensional imaging.Unlike conventional electron microscopy,x-ray microscopy enables specimens²⁶ to be kept in air and in water,which means that biological samples can be studied under conditions similar to their natural state.The illumination used,so-called soft x-rays in the wavelength²⁷ range of twenty to forty angstroms (an angstrom is one ten-billionth of a meter),is also sufficiently²⁸ penetrating²⁹ to image intact biological cells in many cases.Because of the wavelength of the x-rays used,soft x-ray microscopes will never match the highest resolution possible with electron microscopes.Rather,their special properties will make possible investigations³⁰ that will complement³¹ those performed with light-and electron-based instruments.

29.What does the passage mainly discuss?

(A)The detail seen through a microscope

(B)Sources of illumination for microscopes

(C)A new kind of microscope

(D)Outdated microscopic technique

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