THE REAL WORLD

When you hear the word “bacteria,” what do you think of? Many people think of diseases and sickness, but there are also some good ways to use bacteria.

The beautiful paintings in Santos Juanes Church in Valencia, Italy, are old—over 300 years old—and some of the paintings are damaged. For example, some parts of the paintings have turned white, while other parts have glue on them.

To clean the paintings, restorers used a special bacterium. This bacterium “eats” the damaged parts without hurting the paintings. After 90 minutes, the special bacterium dries, and the paintings are cleaned. Biologist Pilar Bosch Roig said, “It's quick . . . and it’s cheaper than traditional ways”.

Read the article. Circle T for True or F for False.

1. The paintings in Santos Juanes Church are over 900 years old. T     F

2. There was glue on some parts of the paintings. T     F

3. A “restores” helps to fix something that is damaged. T     F

4. Using bacterium is cheaper than older ways of cleaning paintings. T    F