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Practice Listening: Fill in the Blanks (Type In) ID: #4012 Short Gene
Instructions ›
You will hear a recording. Type the missing words in each blank.
* Fill in the missing words into the blank fields
A  gene  can  be  thought  of  as  coded  data  that  can  be  translated  by  cellular  machinery  to  make  a  functional  protein.  Researchers  have  long  considered  the  possibility  of  coding  text  as  DNA.  So  that  a  string  of  nucleic  acids  might  represent  the  Gettysburg  Address,  or  the    of  secret  agents  around  the  world.  In  theory,  it’s  easy.  Just  assign  groups  of  nucleic  acids  to  represent  individual  letters.  Then    a  strand  of  DNA  that  codes  for  “four  score  and  seven  years  ago.”  But  safeguarding  against  degradation,  and  being  able  to  recover  the  data  remain    issues.  Now,  Japanese  scientists  have  come  up  with  a  technique  that  might  help  solve  those  problems.  They’ll  report  on  it  in  April  in  the  journal  Biotechnology  Progress.  The  basic  idea  is  redundancy.  Synthesize  many  copies  of  the  message,  and    those  all  over  the  genome  of  a  bacterium.  To  recover  the  data,  search  the  genome  for    copies  of  a  string  of  DNA  and  see  what  pops  up.  The  researchers  did  that  with  a    soil  bacterium  and  the  message  E  equals  mc  squared.  The  system  worked  well,  relatively.

Result:

AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct answer: locations

Explanation: Here you hear "the locations of secret agents". You need a word for more than one place, so add s.

Meaning: "locations" means more than one place.

Wrong options:

  • locatoins: Two letters are in the wrong order. Write "locations". Only the exact spelling gets the mark.
  • location: "location" has no "s" at the end. The speaker says "locations", so write the "s".
Correct answer: synthesize / snthesise

Explanation: The speaker says "Then synthesize a strand of DNA". It is an action word, so watch the y and the th together. You can write "synthesize" or "snthesise". Both get the mark.

Meaning: "synthesize" means to make or produce something by combining parts.

Wrong options:

  • sinthesize: It has "i" where the word has "y". Check the letters: "synthesize". A small spelling mistake loses the mark.
  • synthesise: It has "s" where the word has "z". Check the letters: "synthesize". A small spelling mistake loses the mark.
Correct answer: important

Explanation: You hear "remain important issues". The sentence needs a describing word for the issues, so spell it with an a in the middle.

Meaning: "important" means something that matters or is significant.

Wrong options:

  • imortant: It leaves out the "p". Check the letters: "important". A small spelling mistake loses the mark.
  • importent: It has "e" where the word has "a". The right spelling is "important". Every letter must be correct to get the mark.
Correct answer: insert

Explanation: Listen for "and insert those all over". After "and" you need the plain word insert.

Meaning: "insert" means to put something into a place.

Wrong options:

  • inset: It leaves out the "r". The right spelling is "insert". Every letter must be correct to get the mark.
  • inserted: "inserted" has an extra "ed" at the end. The speaker says "insert".
Correct answer: multiple

Explanation: On the recording you hear "for multiple copies of a string". The sentence needs a word that means more than one, so use multiple exactly.

Meaning: "multiple" means more than one or several.

Wrong options:

  • mutiple: It leaves out the "l". Write "multiple". Only the exact spelling gets the mark.
Correct answer: common

Explanation: Listen again to "with a common soil bacterium". After "a" you need a describing word for the bacterium, so spell common with two m's.

Meaning: "common" means usual or found in many places.

Wrong options:

  • comon: It leaves out the "m". Write "common". Only the exact spelling gets the mark.
  • uncommon: This is the opposite word and not what the speaker said.

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