# How the Petri Dish supports scientific advances - 科目：雅思阅读真题（Part 2） - 考频：中频 - 最近考试：2025.8.9 - 题目数：13 - 来源页：https://www.yaquan.site/paper/7dabbef5-88db-4d5c-bdd2-5e487245e003（在线机考练习与音频请访问该页面） - 数据更新：2026-10-29 ## 题目原文 A simple piece of scientific equipment is helping research in three institutions in Cambridge, UK A Petri dishes, invented by German microbiologist Julius Richard Petri in 1887, rarely receive the appreciation or attention that their more complex lab companions like the microscope enjoy. They are simply, utilitarian little things and it's understandable that some people see them as just shallow dishes with lids. But Petri dishes deserve celebrating; they are still at the forefront of scientific discovery. B The invention of thePetri dish, and the advances it has helped to create,are part of a bigger whole, of course-the development of glass scientific instruments,from microscope lenses to laboratory beakers. In The Glass Bathyscaphe: How Glass Changed the World, Alan Macfarlane argues that without glass, the Renaissance and the scientific revolution would neverhave happened. Around 70 per cent of what we know about the world comes in through our eyes, Macfarlane points out, and glass instruments enabled us to see better.Until about 1400, knowledge was based on what people had been told in the past.'Glass allowed the growth of the experimental method. Don't trust what you are being told: see it for yourself. It was transformational' he says. C At the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, Professor Ludovic Vallier says that his first encounter with a Petri dish was a classic example of understanding the world in this way: students used the dishes to see which bacteria could grow in the presence of antibiotics. ‘It's good to see things grow,he says. It is a fascinating experience. Now, we grow cells in the Petri dish, and we don't use glass anymore, but plastic.' Today,his team focuses on stem cells,which have the capacity to become any cell type in the human body:neurons,skin cells,liver cells, and so on.Vallier and his colleagues study them in order to understand how they do this, and how they can produce more cells. And to study them, they need to grow them.'We put the stem cells on the dish and the we feed them and they grow,'he says.' And then...we divide them and distribute them in new Petri dishes, and we grow them again.We feed them on a liquid medium that is basically food for cells: it tells them to grow and also what to do, as we want to produce new cells.So by feeding them this medium we can allow the cells to become neurons, cardiac cells, liver cells, and so on. We can then model disease in a dish, or produce cells for regenerative medicine applications.'This means that the Petri dish becomes a place where Vallier and his team can study what happens to those cells when disease strikes.‘We work a lot on fatty liver diseases, and in this case the liver cell in the dish becomes full of fat, which we can see... We can't look inside a patient's liver to see what's happening. So we are reproducing those diseases in our dishes.' D 'Disease in a dish' is also the focus of Dr Meritxell Huch's team at the Gurdon Institute.They use between 50 and 150 Petri dishes every day to grow mouse liver and human liver cells, in order to Study how the liver can regenerate itself. Huch's team is examining the molecular mechanisms by which these cells decide to multiply. She says:‘You can divide regeneration into different phases.The cells first have to realize that there is damage and activate the response.Once they activate the response, the cells will proliferate to Compensate for the loss of cells owing to the damage.And once they have proliferated, they then have to become functional cells.' E In the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Dr Madeline Lancaster and her team grow 'mini-brains” in hundreds of Petri dishes. Here, the dish has been specially treated to stop cells sticking to it and to encourage them to float freely. Dr Lancaster explains that they want the cells to develop in three, rather than two, dimensions as that's the way our brains are.‘lf you can grown eurons on a dish in two dimensions,you can see individual neurons and see what they do,but you won't be able to understand the architecture of those cells-their positioning relative to one another.'She says that his new method gives you a structure that looks a lot more like that of an actual developing brain. F The aim of this research is to look at exactly how neurons are made and how that differs in humans compared with other species. One day, says Lancaster, this work could translate into under standing far more about Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's and schizophrenia.So in a world of cutting-edge and highly complex technology, Petri dishes, in their relative simplicity, remain a vital weapon in the fight against the world's most diseases. And they also enable a hands-on approach that she finds satisfying. ‘It's a bit like gardening' she says.‘You're taking care of this thing.You keep an eye on it and you check it everyday. You change the media this day or that day to help it grow better. It's rewarding to see something grow before your eyes.There's something about the interplay between new, next-generation and classic technologies. They give you capabilities that were not possible before.' ## 题目与答案 ### 14. A comparison between the importance of direct observation and historical knowledge. A comparison between the importance of direct observation and historical knowledge. - A - B - C - D - E - F **答案**：B 原文定位：Until about 1400, knowledge was based on what people had been told in the past.'Glass allowed the growth of the experimental method. Don't trust what you are being told: see it for yourself. It was transformational' he says 同义替换：「direct observation」↔「see it for yourself」；「historical knowledge」↔「what people had been told in the past」 ### 15. A reference to the large quantity of equipment used in a specific daily research process. A reference to the large quantity of equipment used in a specific daily research process. - A - B - C - D - E - F **答案**：D 原文定位：They use between 50 and 150 Petri dishes every day to grow mouse liver and human liver cells, in order to study how the liver can regenerate itself 同义替换：「large quantity」↔「50 and 150 Petri dishes」；「research process」↔「grow mouse liver and human liver cells」 ### 16. An account of a scientist's first memorable use of the Petri dish as a student. An account of a scientist's first memorable use of the Petri dish as a student. - A - B - C - D - E - F **答案**：C 原文定位：At the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, Professor Ludovic Vallier says that his first encounter with a Petri dish was a classic example of understanding the world in this way: students used the dishes to see which bacteria could grow in the presence of antibiotics. ‘It's good to see things grow,he says. It is a fascinating experience 同义替换：「a scientist's」↔「Professor Ludovic Vallier」；「first memorable use」↔「fascinating experience」 ### 17. The explanation for why a particular research method produces more realistic results. The explanation for why a particular research method produces more realistic results. - A - B - C - D - E - F **答案**：E 原文定位：Dr Lancaster explains that they want the cells to develop in three, rather than two, dimensions as that's the way our brains are.‘lf you can grown eurons on a dish in two dimensions,you can see individual neurons and see what they do,but you won't be able to understand the architecture of those cells-their positioning relative to one another.'She says that his new method gives you a structure that looks a lot more like that of an actual developing brain 同义替换：「produces more realistic results」↔「looks a lot more like that of an actual developing brain」 ### 18. The assertion that a simple tool is still a critical component of modern science. The assertion that a simple tool is still a critical component of modern science. - A - B - C - D - E - F **答案**：F 原文定位：So in a world of cutting-edge and highly complex technology, Petri dishes, in their relative simplicity, remain a vital weapon in the fight against the world's most diseases 同义替换：「simple tool」↔「in their relative simplicity」；「still a critical component」↔「remain a vital weapon」；「modern science」↔「cutting-edge and highly complex technology」 ### 19. Research in the MRC Lab of Molecular Biology A team led by Dr Madeline Lancaster is using special Petri dishes which prevent brain cells from 19_____ Research in the MRC Lab of Molecular Biology A team led by Dr Madeline Lancaster is using special Petri dishes which prevent brain cells from 19_____ **答案**：sticking 原文定位：Here, the dish has been specially treated to stop cells sticking to it and to encourage them to float freely 同义替换：「prevent」↔「stop」 ### 20. results in a 20_____ to them. results in a 20_____ to them. **答案**：float 原文定位：Here, the dish has been specially treated to stop cells sticking to it and to encourage them to float freely 同义替换：「results in」↔「encourage」 ### 21. The aim is to allow the neurons to grow in three 21_____ . This that resembles a developing brain. The aim is to allow the neurons to grow in three 21_____ . This that resembles a developing brain. **答案**：dimensions 原文定位：Dr Lancaster explains that they want the cells to develop in three, rather than two, dimensions as that's the way our brains are 同义替换：「grow」↔「develop」 ### 22. The technology could help scientists study how neuron production varies in different 22_____ leading to possibilities for increased medical knowledge. The technology could help scientists study how neuron production varies in different 22_____ leading to possibilities for increased medical knowledge. **答案**：species 原文定位：The aim of this research is to look at exactly how neurons are made and how that differs in humans compared with other species 同义替换：「how neuron production varies」↔「how neurons are made and how that differs」 ### 23. Compared their ongoing work to the regular maintenance required in a garden. Compared their ongoing work to the regular maintenance required in a garden. - Alan Macfarlane - Professor Ludovic Vallier - Dr. Meritxell Huch - Dr. Madeline Lancaster **答案**：Dr. Madeline Lancaster 原文定位：It's a bit like gardening' she says.‘You're taking care of this thing.You keep an eye on it and you check it everyday. You change the media this day or that day to help it grow better 同义替换：「Compared their ongoing work to」↔「a bit like」 ### 24. Described a specific sequence that cells follow to repair damaged tissue. Described a specific sequence that cells follow to repair damaged tissue. - Alan Macfarlane - Professor Ludovic Vallier - Dr. Meritxell Huch - Dr. Madeline Lancaster **答案**：Dr. Meritxell Huch 原文定位：You can divide regeneration into different phases.The cells first have to realize that there is damage and activate the response.Once they activate the response, the cells will proliferate to compensate for the loss of cells owing to the damage.And once they have proliferated, they then have to become functional cells 同义替换：「a specific sequence」↔「divide regeneration into different phases」；「cells follow to repair damaged tissue」↔「compensate for the loss of cells owing to the damage」 ### 25. Highlighted a shift from the original material used to make laboratory dishes. Highlighted a shift from the original material used to make laboratory dishes. - Alan Macfarlane - Professor Ludovic Vallier - Dr. Meritxell Huch - Dr. Madeline Lancaster **答案**：Professor Ludovic Vallier 原文定位：Now, we grow cells in the Petri dish, and we don't use glass anymore, but plastic 同义替换：「Highlighted a shift」↔「don't use glass anymore, but plastic」；「original material」↔「glass」；「laboratory dishes」↔「Petri dish」 ### 26. Claimed that a fundamental change in scientific thinking was caused by a specific invention. Claimed that a fundamental change in scientific thinking was caused by a specific invention. - Alan Macfarlane - Professor Ludovic Vallier - Dr. Meritxell Huch - Dr. Madeline Lancaster **答案**：Alan Macfarlane 原文定位：In The Glass Bathyscaphe: How Glass Changed the World, Alan Macfarlane argues that without glass, the Renaissance and the scientific revolution would never have happened;Glass allowed the growth of the experimental method. Don't trust what you are being told: see it for yourself. It was transformational' he says 同义替换：「a fundamental change in scientific thinking」↔「the growth of the experimental method」；「caused by a specific invention」↔「glass」 --- 以上内容由鸭圈雅思真题库（www.yaquan.site）提供，收录近期雅思考试真题回忆，支持在线机考模式免费练习。