2021年托福阅读PASSAGE 77
试题及答案
PASSAGE 77
It is estimated that over 99 percent of all species that ever existed have become extinct. What caus extinction? When a species is no longer adapted to a changed environment, it may perish. The exact caus of a species' death vary from situation to situation. Rapid ecological change may render an environment hostile to a species. For example, temperatures may change and a species may not be able to adapt. Food resources may be affected by environmental changes, which will then cau problems for a species requiring the resources. Other species may become better adapted to an environment, resulting in competition and, ultimately, in the death of a species.
The fossil record reveals that extinction has occurred throughout the history of Earth. Recent analys have also revealed that on some occasions many species became extinct
at the same time— a mass extinction. One of the best-known examples of mass extinction occurred 65 million years ago with the demi of dinosaurs and many other forms of life. Perhaps the largest mass extinction was the one that occurred 225 million years ago, when approximately 95 percent of all species died, mass extinctions can be caud by a relatively rapid change in the environment and can be worned by the clo interrelationship of many species. If, for example, something were to happen to destroy much of the plankton in the oceans, then the oxygen content of Earth would drop, affection even organisms not living in the oceans. Such a change would probably lead to a mass extinction.
One interesting, and controversial, finding is that extinctions during the past 250 million years have tended to be more inten every 26 million years. This periodic extinction might be due to interction of the Earth's orbit with a cloud of comets, but this theory is purely speculative. Some rearchers have also speculated that extinction may often be random. That is, certain species may be eliminated and others may survive for no particular reason. A species' survival may have nothing to do with its ability or inability to 香樟树下
adapt. If so, some of evolutionary history may reflect a quence of esntially random events.
1. The word "it" in line 3 refers to
(A) environment
目不暇接的意思(B) species
(C) extinction
(D) 99 percent
2. The word "ultimately" in line 8 is clost in meaning to
(A) exceptionally
(B) dramatically
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复活节的习俗(C) eventually
(D) unfortunately
3. What does the author say in paragraph 1 regarding most species in Earth's history
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(A) They have remained basically unchanged from their original forms.
(B) They have been able to adapt to ecological changes.
(C) They have caud rapid change in the environment.
(D) They are no longer in existence.
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4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 1 as resulting from rapid ecological change?
(A) Temperature changes
(B) Availability of food resources
(C) Introduction of new species
(D) Competition among species绕口令大全爆笑
5. The word "demi" in line 12 is clost in meaning to
(A) change
(B) recovery
(C) help
(D) death
6. Why is "plankton" mentioned in line 17?
(A) To demonstrate the interdependence of different species.
珠海市博物馆(B) To emphasize the importance of food resources in preventing mass extinction.
