Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.

      

Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.

Modern science: A double-edged sword?
The human genome map is complete. This was the startling and fascinating news with which international scientists greeted the 21st Century. It meant that they had discovered and recorded every detail about the patterns of genes in our DNA. DNA is the substance of life in the cells of our bodies, and genes are the patterns in which this substance is
arranged. These patterns determine everything about our existence, from what we look like to how long we will live. Thus a full understanding of how these genetic patterns work was a very important scientific discovery for humankind.
Genetic mapping, however, was only one in a long series of scientific discoveries which have drastically changed our world and our lives over the past one hundred-odd years. These discoveries include internal combustion, aerodynamics, wireless communication and nuclear fission. Internal combustion means the production of heat energy by burning fuel
inside a closed chamber. Its discovery led to the manufacture of engines which move most vehicles today. It is easy to see that modern transport would be unimaginable without such machines. Still thinking of transport, the fastest and most efficient form of long-distance travel today is air travel. People had always dreamt of being able to fly but only a proper mastery of the
principles of aerodynamics – how objects stand and move within the atmosphere – made it possible to make flying machines. Today, aeroplanes fly to and from every corner of the world. The speeds at which aircraft move is also a wonder. When the supersonic concorde jet was used for air travel, one could have had breakfast in Nairobi, lunch in London and dinner in New York, across three continents, all on the same day. This is the power of modern science. Being able to send messages through space around the globe is another wonder of modern science. It was only in stories of fantasy that people could see and hear things many miles away. Today, this is reality, thanks to our scientific understanding of the behaviour of sound and vision waves. This understanding has lead to the invention of instruments such as the radio, television, computer and mobile phone. Today, one can watch events on a television set as they happen in any continent or even in space. Science seems to have overtaken magic.
A scientific development which is as frightening as it is fascinating is nuclear fission. Somewhere during the 1930s’ scientist found out that they could produce a tremendous amount of heat energy by splitting the cores of atoms, some of the smallest units of which matter is made. The heat produced by splitting these atoms was so great that it could burn
a whole city to ashes in a matter of minutes. Indeed, this is what sadly happened in Japan in 1945 during the Second World War. In order to win the war quickly, the Americans dropped two atomic bombs, made by nuclear fission, on two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two cities were destroyed instantly and thousands of people were killed. The Japanese were so shocked that they surrendered immediately. Science had helped the Americans to win the war, but at what cost!
This brings us to a very important point about science. It has both benefits and dangers.
Our understanding, control and use of nature, which is what science is, can be used for good or for evil, Mastery of human genome, for example, can help in the control of
hereditary diseases. A clever rearrangement of a person’s genes may prevent them from inheriting breathing problems characteristic of asthma or uncontrollable bleeding caused by haemophilia. This would be science in the service of humankind. On the other hand, an evil scientist may manipulate human genes to create monsters. Scientist have managed to clone animals such as cattle, sheep and rabbits. A clone is an animal that is an exact genetic copy of another animal. Some scientists have even contemplated producing cloned human beings! What kind of human beings these will turn out to be; only time will tell.

Questions:

1. How did scientists greet the 21st century?
(2mks)
2. Name four scientific discoveries that have been made in the last one hundred years?

3. What according to the passage demonstrates the advantages of aerodynamics?

4. Mention one scientific discovery which is said to have overtaken magic.

5. Explain how an atomic bomb is made.

6. Why did the Americans drop atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

7. How can scientific discoveries in the area of genetics benefit humankind?

8. What is the possible danger of the discoveries in genetic research?

9. Comment on the relevance of the title of the passage.

10. Explain the meaning of the following phrases as used in the passage

i) Is as frightening as it is fascinating.

ii) A clever rearrangement.

  

Answers


Martin
1. By announcing that the human genome map is complete.

2. Internal combustion, aerodynamics, wireless communication and nuclear fission.

3. People can travel across three continents on the same day.

4. Wireless communication.

5. By nuclear fission/splitting the core of atoms to produce heat.

6. The wanted to win the war quickly.

7. It can help control genetically transmitted diseases such as asthma and haemophilia.

8. Evil scientists can manipulate human genes to produce monsters.

9. It means that modern science has two sides; advantages and disadvantages. Modern science can be used to benefit or to destroy humankind.

10.
(i) it elicits fear and admiration in equal measure.
(ii) scientifically designed/scientific placement
marto answered the question on October 15, 2019 at 05:18


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