Nanotechnology: Its Development And Uses Reading Answers

Nanotechnology: Its Development And Uses Reading answers practice test is provided with answers and explanations. This passage comprises of 13 questions divided into three question types.

Table of contents:

• Solution for Nanotechnology: Its Development And Uses
• Nanotechnology: Its Development And Uses IELTS Reading Practice Test
• Passage
• Questions
• Answers with Explanations

Solution for Nanotechnology: Its Development And Uses

Nanotechnology: Its Development And Uses Reading answers are listed in the table below. Verify your answers against our answer table, then correct any inaccuracies.

Answer Table

1. D	5. B	9. A	13. Cell membranes
2. A	6. C	10.C
3. C	7. A	11. Turning point
4. E	8. B	12. Universal acceptance

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Nanotechnology: Its Development And Uses IELTS Reading answers are given here, which will help you to challenge your reading skills. Its not necessary to read the entire passage, instead skim and scan the passages and the lines, find the keywords from the questions in order to find the answers before time. This trick will leave you extra time to proofread your answers at the end of the IELTS Reading Test. 

Passage

We’ve provided the reading passage of Nanotechnology: Its Development And Uses. Read the passage and carefully complete the questions. Check the answers with our Nanotechnology: Its Development And Uses reading answers with locations            

                           Nanotechnology: its development and uses

A.  Nanotechnology has been hailed by many as being a twentieth-century miracle of science. Essentially, nanotechnology, a term derived from Greek, translating literally as 'dwarf technology' is, as the origin of its name suggests, engineering at the atomic level. Scientists work with particles of substances known as 'nanoparticles' which may measure no more than 1 nanometre or a billionth of a metre. That's around 40,000 times smaller than the width of the average human hair. Whilst some of these substances derived from carbon compounds are manufactured, others, such as metals, are naturally-occurring or arise as a by-product of another process e.g. volcanic ash or smoke from wood burning. What makes these substances of such scientific interest is that their minute size facilitates medical and technological processes that would otherwise be impossible.

B.  It may be something of a revelation for many of us to learn that nanotechnology - or its concept - is far from cutting-edge science. In fact, nanotechnology as an idea was first referred to in an influential lecture by American physicist, Richard Feynman, as far back as 1959. During the lecture, entitled 'There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom', Feynman outlined the basic concept of nanotechnology. Individual atoms and molecules, he claimed, could in the future be created by a physical process. Such a process, he envisaged, would involve the building of a set of precise tools to build and operate another proportionally smaller set. The building of increasingly minute tools at the microscopic level would in turn produce ultra-microscopic materials, later to become known as 'nanoparticles'.

C.  Strangely, what should have sparked a scientific revolution was then virtually forgotten about for the next 15 years. In 1974, a Japanese scientist, Norio Taniguchi, of the Tokyo University of Science reintroduced Feynman's theory and put a new name to an old concept, referring to the science as 'nanotechnology'. However, it wasn't until nearly a decade later, in the 1980s, that the way was paved for nanotechnology to leave the realm of theoretical science and become reality. Two major scientific developments within a relatively short period were to enable practical application of nanotechnology. The invention of the Scanning Tunnelling Microscope (STM), combined with the discovery of nano-sized particles termed 'fullerenes', were to prove a turning point in nanotechnology.

D.  Fullerenes are derived from carbon molecules and, in common with other nanoparticles, possess chemical and physical properties that are of huge scientific interest. The potential value of fullerenes for medical science was first raised in 2003 and in 2005 when the scientific magazine 'Chemistry and Biology' ran an article describing the use of fullerenes as light-activated antimicrobial agents. Since then, fullerenes have been used for several biomedical applications ranging from X-ray imaging to treating cancer by targeting cancer cells. In addition, these nanoparticles have been used in the manufacture of commercial products, from sunscreen to cosmetics and some food products. Furthermore, nanoparticles of metals, like gold and silver, have been used in environmental clean-ups of oil slicks and other forms of pollution. The remarkable properties of nanoparticles are down to two main factors: their greater surface-to-weight ratio, compared to larger particles which promotes the attachment of substances to their surface, and their minute size which allows them to penetrate cell membranes. These properties are of great benefit, for example in medicine, as drugs to fight cancer or AIDS can be attached to nanoparticles to reach their target cell in the human body.
E.  However, despite the amazing properties attributed to nanoparticles such as fullerenes, nanotechnology has yet to win wider universal acceptance in scientific circles. For the very properties that make nanoparticles so valuable to technology and medical science are also the ones that make them potentially so toxic. Such properties are potentially lethal if toxic substances attach themselves to the same nanoparticles, thereby delivering a fatal toxin through the cell membranes into the cells themselves. The toxic effect of these compounds is further increased, since their size permits them to enter the bloodstream and hence the body's major organs. Furthermore, the nanoparticles in themselves are essentially a foreign element being introduced to the body. Unlike foreign elements, such as bacteria, the body has no natural immune system to deaI with these ultramicroscopic particles. Scientists have yet to convince the nanotechnology sceptics that the potential side effects of nanoparticles are more than compensated for by the advantages that they confer. It may be, however, that opposition to this technology is no more than a general distrust of scientific innovation. In fact, Urban Wiesing from the University of Tubingen has been quoted as saying 'Many of the risks associated with nanotechnology have at least been encountered in part in other technologies as well.' He also believes that regulations can be put in place to minimise such risks. This is a view echoed by the Fed eral Environment Agency that proposes that such risks are vastly outweighed by the potential benefits of nanotechnology, in particular for the environment.

Questions

Questions 1-5
The text has five paragraphs, A-E.Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-E, next to questions 1-5.

1. Promising beginnings
2. Definition of a revolutionary technology
3. Repackaging an old idea
4. Dubious attributes
5. The foundation of a new technology

Questions 6-10  
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.Write your answers in boxes 6-10 on your
answer sheet.

6. Nanotechnology

A. has limited value.
B. is not related to science.
C. incites controversy.
D. poses insurmountable safety issues.

7. In the beginning, nanotechnology was

A. overlooked as a science.
B. considered to be irrelevant.
C. highly unpopular.
D. regarded as being revolutionary.

8. Nanoparticles are a product of

A. manufacturing processes alone.
B. natural and manufactured processes.
C. purely biological processes.
D. environmental factors alone.

9. Nanotechnology remained a purely theoretical science until

A. other technologies caught up with it.
B. scientists were better able to understand its practical applications.
C. Taniguchi convinced other scientists of its practical value.
D. a scientist invented a new technology.

10. Safety concerns about nanotechnology are

A. completely unfounded.
B. exaggerated by its detractors.
C. real but manageable.
D. misunderstood.

Questions 11-13

Complete the sentences.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

A major 11.______  in the field of nanotechnology came with the discovery of fullerenes and the invention of the Scanning Tunnelling Microscope. 
Amongst scientists, nanotechnology has not met with 12. ______ . 
The ability of nanoparticles to penetrate 13. ______ is somewhat of a mixed blessing,

Answers for Nanotechnology: Its Development And Uses With Explanations

Nanotechnology: Its Development And Uses Reading answers with explanations is given below. Refer to the following answers with an explanation in order to correct your errors.

(Note: The text in italics mentions the location and referring lines written in the reading passage.)

1. Answer: D

Explanation: In the 5th to 9th lines of paragraph D, “Since then, fullerenes have been used for several biomedical applications ranging from X-ray imaging to treating cancer by targeting cancer cells. In addition, these nanoparticles have been used in the manufacture of commercial products, from sunscreen to cosmetics and some food products. Furthermore, nanoparticles of metals, like gold and silver, have been used in environmental clean-ups of oil slicks and other forms of pollution”.

2. Answer: A

Explanation: In the first three lines of paragraph A, “Nanotechnology has been hailed by many as being a twentieth-century miracle of science. Essentially, nanotechnology, a term derived from Greek, translating literally as 'dwarf technology' is, as the origin of its name suggests, engineering at the atomic level”.

3. Answer: C

Explanation: In the 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines of paragraph C, “In 1974, a Japanese scientist, Norio Taniguchi, of the Tokyo University of Science reintroduced Feynman's theory and put a new name to an old concept, referring to the science as nanotechnology”.

4. Answer: E

Explanation: In the 3rd and 4th lines of paragraph E, “ For the very properties that make nanoparticles so valuable to technology and medical science are also the ones that make them potentially so toxic”.

5. Answer: B

Explanation: In the 2nd to 7th lines of paragraph B, “In fact, nanotechnology as an idea was first referred to in an influential lecture by American physicist, Richard Feynman, as far back as 1959. During the lecture, entitled 'There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom', Feynman outlined the basic concept of nanotechnology. Individual atoms and molecules, he claimed, could in the future be created by a physical process. Such a process, he envisaged, would involve the building of a set of precise tools to build and operate another proportionally smaller set”.

6. Answer: C

Explanation: In the 11th to 14th lines of paragraph E, “Scientists have yet to convince the nanotechnology sceptics that the potential side effects of nanoparticles are more than compensated for by the advantages that they confer. It may be, however, that opposition to this technology is no more than a general distrust of scientific innovation. In fact, Urban Wiesing from the University of Tubingen has been quoted as saying 'Many of the risks associated with nanotechnology have at least been encountered in part in other technologies as well.' He also believes that regulations can be put in place to minimise such risks. This is a view echoed by the Fed eral Environment Agency that proposes that such risks are vastly outweighed by the potential benefits of nanotechnology, in particular for the environment”.

7. Answer: A

Explanation: In the first two lines of paragraph C, “Strangely, what should have sparked a scientific revolution was then virtually forgotten about for the next 15 years”.

8. Answer: B

Explanation: In the 6th, 7th and 8th lines of paragraph C, “Whilst some of these substances derived from carbon compounds are manufactured, others, such as metals, are naturally-occurring or arise as a by-product of another process e.g. volcanic ash or smoke from wood burning”.

 9. Answer: A

Explanation: In the 4th to 7th lines of paragraph C, “However, it wasn't until nearly a decade later, in the 1980s, that the way was paved for nanotechnology to leave the realm of theoretical science and become reality. Two major scientific developments within a relatively short period were to enable practical application of nanotechnology”.

10. Answer: - C

Explanation: In the last few lines of paragraph E, “In fact, Urban Wiesing from the University of Tubingen has been quoted as saying 'Many of the risks associated with nanotechnology have at least been encountered in part in other technologies as well.' He also believes that regulations can be put in place to minimise such risks. This is a view echoed by the Fed eral Environment Agency that proposes that such risks are vastly outweighed by the potential benefits of nanotechnology, in particular for the environment”.

11. Answer: Turning point

Explanation: In the last line of paragraph C, “fullerenes', were to prove a turning point in nanotechnology”.

12. Answer: Universal acceptance 

Explanation: In the second line of paragraph E, “nanotechnology has yet to win wider universal acceptance in scientific circles”.

13. Answer: Cell membrane

Explanation: In the last third line of paragraph D, “penetrate cell membranes”.

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