If food is allowed to stand for some time, it putrefies .When the putrefied material
9 Y ^# Z2 C3 s4 l2 _6 N5 ]; V( kis examined microscopically ,it is found to be teeming with bacteria. Where do these 8 R/ P+ _5 P7 V+ S$ W- ~
bacteria come from , since they are not seen in fresh food? Even until the mid-nineteenth
! q7 U1 }3 i3 h" c9 [/ J7 lcentury, many people believed that such microorganisms originated by spontaneous
8 n4 t/ S' m2 h/ X(5 ) generation ,a hypothetical process by which living organisms develop from nonliving
/ G8 s& ~8 {, M. @matter.
7 l. g2 B" `# {2 c0 @The most powerful opponent of the theory of spontaneous generation was the French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur(1822-1895).Pasteur showed that structures 7 \. ~! ?& V0 h P% y4 @
present in air closely resemble the microorganisms seen in putrefying materials .He did : T. J4 }! j' ^0 s! q7 W& M
(10) this by passing air through guncotton filters, the fibers of which stop solid particles. After5 H( k1 I8 g7 }0 P+ _
the guncotton was dissolved in a mixture of alcohol and ether, the particles that it had 5 T, {; Y- r; y2 r, T# g* s2 W
trapped fell to the bottom of the liquid and were examined on a microscope slide .Pasteur
0 }' d. q0 U. N) Z/ ~, ofound that in ordinary air these exists a variety of solid structures ranging in size from
8 ~( @( U- t" I# {" t2 S8 m G0.01 mm to more than 1.0 mm .Many of these bodies resembled the reproductive 7 W# m _ m* L7 S5 g
(15)structures of common molds, single-celled animals, and various other microbial cells .* w$ {2 N7 z8 }1 u* X
As many as 20 to 30 of them were found in fifteen liters of ordinary air ,and they could
: i& c7 r. X' G& o0 D/ Fnot be distinguished from the organisms found in much larger numbers in putrefying materials .Pasteur concluded that the organisms found in putrefying materials originated
; b, m' a6 h& ` from the organized bodies present in the air .He postulated that these bodies are constantly
4 i! a7 r7 \; }5 N/ \(20)being deposited on all objects.
% S. D9 a( M# W k- a, |2 T1 XPasteur showed that if a nutrient solution was sealed in a glass flask and heated to 7 D' e- P3 K5 }6 u
boiling to destroy all the living organisms contaminating it, it never putrefied .The proponents of spontaneous generation declared that fresh air was necessary for
; e; p7 C' X5 yspontaneous generation and that the air inside the sealed flask was affected in some way
" k- U p! L/ ?# E0 U; E y( v7 `) P(25)by heating so that it would no longer support spontaneous generation. Pasteur constructed a swan-necked flask in which putrefying materials could he heated to boiling, but air7 |, r8 h& v$ S! B# b9 x
could reenter. The bends in the neck prevented microorganisms from getting in the flask.. Material sterilized in such a flask did not putrefy.
" g+ N! Q; b2 V( Q' U
6 F3 s3 h* f! Y3 }- ~% `* j9 s/ v1,What does the passage mainly discuss?
6 R) c% B( }7 y7 H5 A! O9 M: V, _(a)Pasteur’s influence on the development of the microscope.. E* Y5 D% F: P! T9 i) M% w! M
(b)The origin of the theory of spontaneous generation .
' |7 D; W. E& E(c)The effects of pasteurization on food.
2 z3 K+ K. X# w. o5 }8 K Q(d)Pasteur’s argument against the theory of spontaneous generation .+ m2 C8 c) ?) n+ I2 R1 {' t
2,The phrase “teeming with ”in line 2 is closest in meaning to
: {6 l: E$ g4 V# q* N: b(a)full of
# G( w( q% Q# Q! J$ w) G(b)developing into3 v2 j; W3 P1 q( X" {& ?
(c)resistant to
/ F" E5 ]. u( y6 A4 X( d+ a(d)hurt by |