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Nesya Nurhalimah - Reading

[1] The document discusses hypotheses for what caused the extinction of dinosaurs. One hypothesis is that climate changes at the end of the Cretaceous period led to their demise as seas retreated from continents, causing temperatures to fluctuate more severely between seasons. However, this does not explain why other cold-blooded animals survived. [2] Another part of the document discusses measuring iridium levels in boundary clay to estimate how long its deposition took, but other evidence suggests it took less than the estimated 1 million years. This requires a special explanation for the high iridium levels.

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212 views4 pages

Nesya Nurhalimah - Reading

[1] The document discusses hypotheses for what caused the extinction of dinosaurs. One hypothesis is that climate changes at the end of the Cretaceous period led to their demise as seas retreated from continents, causing temperatures to fluctuate more severely between seasons. However, this does not explain why other cold-blooded animals survived. [2] Another part of the document discusses measuring iridium levels in boundary clay to estimate how long its deposition took, but other evidence suggests it took less than the estimated 1 million years. This requires a special explanation for the high iridium levels.

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NESYAA
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You are on page 1/ 4

Please read the passages below and answer the questions correctly.

Then, please take a


note the words that you do not familiar with and find their meaning!
[1] Paleontologists have argued for a long time that the demise of the dinosaurs was
caused by climatic alterations associated with slow changes in the positions of continents and
seas resulting from plate tectonics. Off and on throughout the Cretaceous (the last period of
the Mesozoic era, during which dinosaurs flourished), large shallow seas covered extensive
areas of the continents. Data from diverse sources, including geochemical evidence preserved
in seafloor sediments, indicate that the Late Cretaceous climate was milder than today’s. The
days were not too hot, nor the nights too cold. The summers were not too warm, nor the
winters too frigid. The shallow seas on the continents probably buffered the temperature of
the nearby air, keeping it relatively constant.
[2] At the end of the Cretaceous, the geological record shows that these seaways
retreated from the continents back into the major ocean basins. No one knows why. Over a
period of about 100,000 years, while the seas pulled back, climates around the world became
dramatically more extreme: warmer days, cooler nights; hotter summers, colder winters.
Perhaps dinosaurs could not tolerate these extreme temperature changes and became extinct.
1. According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of the Late Cretaceous climate?
A. Summers were very warm and winters were very cold.
B. Shallow seas on the continents caused frequent temperature changes.
C. The climate was very similar to today’s climate.
D. The climate did not change dramatically from season to season.
2. Which of the following reasons is suggested in paragraph 2 for the extinction of the
dinosaurs?
A. Changes in the lengths of the days and nights during the Late Cretaceous period
B. Droughts caused by the movement of seaways back into the ocean
C. The change from mild to severe climates during the Late Cretaceous period
D. An extreme decrease in the average yearly temperature over 10,000 years

[3] If true, though, why did cold-blooded animals such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and
crocodiles survive the freezing winters and torrid summers? These animals are at the mercy
of the climate to maintain a livable body temperature. It’s hard to understand why they would
not be affected, whereas dinosaurs were left too crippled to cope, especially if, as some
scientists believe, dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Critics also point out that the shallow
seaways had retreated from and advanced on the continents numerous times during the
Mesozoic, so why did the dinosaurs survive the climatic changes associated with the earlier
fluctuations but not with this one? Although initially appealing, the hypothesis of a simple
climatic change related to sea levels is insufficient to explain all the data.
3. Why does the author mention the survival of “snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles” in
paragraph 3?

A. To argue that dinosaurs may have become extinct because they were not cold-blooded
animals
B. To question the adequacy of the hypothesis that climatic change related to sea levels
caused the extinction of the dinosaurs
C. To present examples of animals that could maintain a livable body temperature more
easily than dinosaurs
D. To support a hypothesis that these animals were not as sensitive to climate changes in
the Cretaceous period as they are today

4. The word “cope” in the passage is closest in meaning to?

A. adapt
B. move
C. continue
D. compete

5. The word “fluctuations” in the passage is closest in meaning to?

A. extreme
B. retreats
C. periods
D. variations

[4] Ir has not been common at Earth’s surface since the very beginning of the planet’s
history. Because it usually exists in a metallic state, it was preferentially incorporated in
Earth’s core as the planet cooled and consolidated. Ir is found in high concentrations in some
meteorites, in which the solar system’s original chemical composition is preserved. Even
today, microscopic meteorites continually bombard Earth, falling on both land and sea. By
measuring how many of these meteorites fall to Earth over a given period of time, scientists
can estimate how long it might have taken to deposit the observed amount of Ir in the
boundary clay. These calculations suggest that a period of about one million years would
have been required. However, other reliable evidence suggests that the deposition of the
boundary clay could not have taken one million years. So the unusually high concentration of
Ir seems to require a special explanation.
6. Paragraph 4 implies that a special explanation of the Ir in the boundary clay is needed
because
A. the Ir in microscopic meteorites reaching Earth during the Cretaceous period would
have been incorporated into Earth’s core
B. the Ir in the boundary clay was deposited much more than a million years ago
C. the concentration of Ir in the boundary clay is higher than in microscopic meteorites
D. the amount of Ir in the boundary clay is too great to have come from microscopic
meteorites during the time the boundary clay was deposited

[5] Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution is known as one of the most important and
controversial scientific theories ever published. Natural selection contributes to the basis of
Darwin's Theory of Evolution. One of the core tenets of Darwin's theory is that more
offspring are always produced for a species than can possibly survive. Yet, no two offspring
are perfectly alike. As a result, through random mutation and genetic drift, over time
offspring develop new traits and characteristics. Over time beneficial traits and characteristics
that promote survival will be kept in the gene pool while those that harm survival will be
selected against. Therefore, this natural selection ensures that a species gradually improves it
self over an extended duration of time. On the other hand, as a species continues to 'improve'
it self, it branches out to create entirely new species that are no longer capable of reproducing
together.
7. The word 'those' in paragraph 1 refers to:
a. gene pool
b. survival
c. natural selection
d. traits characteristics

Descriptions:

1. Answer in block with yellow color.


2. Incomprehensible words are red
Words that do not understand and their meaning

1. Paleontologists : Palentologi 34. Insufficient : Tidak Memadai


2. Argued : Berdebat 35. Common : Umum
3. Demise : Kematian 36. Metallic : Metalik
4. Alterations : Perubahan 37. Preferentially : Secara Istimewa
5. Associated : Terkait 38. Incorporated : Tergabung
6. Throughout : Selama 39. Consolidated : Konsolidasi
7. Flourished : Berkembang 40. Chemical : Kimia
8. Diverse : Layak 41. Measuring : ukur
9. Sources : Sumber 42. Boundary : Batas
10. Geochemical : Geokimia 43. Clay : Tanah Liat
11. Evidence : Bukti 44. Required : Yang dibutuhkan
12. Preserved : Diawetkan 45. Reliable : Dapat diandalkan
13. Milder : Lebih Ringan 46. Core : Inti
14. Probably : Mungkin 47. Tenets : Prinsip
15. Buffered : Disangga 48. Offspring : Keturunan
16. Frigid : Dingin 49. Produced : Diproduksi
17. Nearby : lokasi Terdekat 50. Possibly : Mungkin
18. Seaways : Jalur Laut 51. Drift : Melayang
19. Retreated : Mundur 52. Develop : Mengembangkan
20. Ocean basins : Dasar Ocean 53. Beneficial : Untung
21. Pulled back : Tarik Kembali 54. Kept : Disimpan
22. Perhaps : Mungkin 55. Gene pool : Kumpulan Gen
23. Such : Seperti 56. Those : Itu
24. Mercy : Belas Kasihan 57. Against : Melawan
25. Maintain : Menjaga 58. Ensures : Memastikan
26. Livable : Hidup 59. Gradually : Perlahan-lahan
27. Crippled : Lumpuh 60. Improve : Memperbaiki
28. Cope : Menghadapi 61. Branches : Ranting
29. Shallow : Dangkal 62. Create : Membuat
30. Numerous : Banyak sekali 63. Entirely : Seluruh
31. Fluctuations : Fluktuasi 64. Capable : Mampu
32. Although : Meskipun
33. Initially : Mulanya

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