CIDI 119 – Inglés III – May 4th to 8th UACh - Centro de Idiomas Prepared

by Prof. M. Villalón

Reading strategy: inferring word OFFLINE CLASS

How do I do it?
meanings
1. Read the sentence (where the word is) and
identify the type of word it is (noun, verb,
Let’s practice! etc.).
A) Listen and complete the text with the words you hear. 2. Recognize the words around it.
Scientists Create Music to Represent 3. Pay attention to the context of the reading.

Protein Structure of the 4. Use your previous knowledge on the topic.

5. Look for clues in the text.
Coronavirus 6. Write a possible definition/Spanish equivalent.
Read the sentences in which the word is used,
changing the word by your definition/Spanish
equivalent to see if it sounds coherent.

Scientists say they have used artificial intelligence (AI) to create music to represent the protein
structure of the new coronavirus.
Researchers __used___1 machine-learning methods to make the music, which they say may help them better
understand the virus. The research team ____assigned_____2 musical notes to amino acids that make up the
so-called “spiked” protein that infects human cells. Machine learning ____was____3 then used to turn the
protein and structural information into a nearly two-hour piece of classical music.
Markus Buehler of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ____led____4 the research team.
He
recently _______reported_______5 the results in a study appearing in the publication APL Bioengineering.
Buehler _____told______6 the Reuters news agency that turning the protein data into music lets people gain a
better understanding of something they cannot see. “You would need many different images, many different
magnifications to see with your eyes, what your ears can pick up with just a
couple of seconds of music,” he ____said_________7.
Buehler ______added_________8 that although the proteins themselves
“speak a language we don’t understand,” music can be a way to improve that
understanding. “If we are going to be able to solve that language, we could solve
many problems – not only for this disease, but for many other diseases.”
The ______finished________9 selection was uploaded to the music
sharing website SoundCloud for the public to hear. Listeners of the early part of
the piece described it with words such as
“beautiful,” “interesting,” “calm,” and “nature.”
Buehler said this part of the music represents the ease at which the spiked protein enters the human
cell, making the coronavirus highly contagious. He _____noted_________10
that the virus is very good at “tricking the cell to open the doors” to infect The ultrastructural morphology
someone. exhibited by the 2019 Novel
As the virus then reproduces and the spiked protein attaches to more Coronavirus
cells, the music becomes louder, faster and more intense. One SoundCloud user noted that this part
______could_____11 represent one of the first signs of the virus in humans, a high body temperature. Others
______described__________12 the more intense part of the music as “scary” and “sad.”

The researchers say a possible next step could be to use the musical method to design an antibody to
attack the virus.
Buehler said the fast spread of the new coronavirus had made it important to “open our brains to other ways of
processing information.”
He noted that the usual antibody design methods require a large number of proteins and a long testing
process. In the current crisis, “we don’t have the luxury of time,” Buehler said. The study states that musical
representations of proteins could also be used as a tool to help design new protein materials for many uses in
biology, medicine and engineering.

B) Infer the meaning of the bold-underlined words and match them to their definitions below.
1. Luxury – n. something costly that you enjoy but do not need
2.– n. a regular, repeating pattern of sound
3. Antibody – n. a substance produced in the blood to fight disease
4. Magnifications – n. the process of making something look bigger than it is
5. Artificial intelligence – n. the power of a machine to copy intelligent human behavior
6. Calm – adj. relaxed and not worried
7. Classical – adj. representing a high standard or traditional, long-established style
8. Contagious – adj. having a sickness that can be passed on to someone else
C) Scan the text and choose the correct answer.

1. What does the article say the musical notes were assigned to?
a)All the different proteins found in the virus
b)The most active amino acids in the virus
c) Amino acids that make up a spiked protein
d)The structure of all reproducing proteins

2. What did Markus Buehler say the early part of the musical piece represents?
a)When proteins first attach to the coronavirus
b)When the spiked protein enters human cells
c) When the spiked protein reproduces in the body
d)When the human body rejects the spiked protein
+569 78 59 89 93
3. What does the article say the researchers could do next to continue their studies?
a)Use music to study protein structures of other coronaviruses.
b)Create a music piece to predict how quickly viruses will spread.
c) Use notes to represent different human cells the virus enters.
d)Use the musical method to design an antibody to fight the virus.

4. What did Markus Buehler say is one of the main reasons that turning protein data into music can
improve our understanding? a) It provides an effective way to describe the progression of fast-spreading
viruses.
b)It is not technical like other forms of data that can be very hard to understand.
c) It gives people a better understanding of something they cannot see with their eyes.
d)It can explain protein data in more detailed ways than other research methods.

Worksheet prepared by prof. Margarita Villalón. Text, some exercises, and audio file taken from:
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/scientists-create-music-to-represent-protein-structure-of-the-coronavirus/5395644.html