SCHOOL YEAR: 2018-2019 Reading 1 SUBJECT: Language Arts
TEACHER’S NAME: Vicente Suárez TARGET GROUP: 1st Baccalaureate B
DATE: SCORE: FINAL GRADE:
STUDENTS’ NAME: /20 = /10
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The Dinosaur Saga
Our fascination with dinosaur is brought on not only by their size, as many dinosaurs were immense
compared to anything in the animal kingdom today, but also by the mystery behind some aspects of
their existence and extinction. Controversy lies at the center of both these issues. Regarding the
former, the question is, did dinosaurs and humans coexist? Some evidence has come to light that
may, in time and upon close examination, prove that they actually did, which has long been argued
against by most paleontologists. Evidence has come in the form of an ornate carving of a stegosaurus
found alongside other carvings of familiar-looking animals, such as monkeys, in the magnificent
jungle of temples of Cambodia. The assumption is that the artist must have seen a stegosaurus to
have produced a carving of one. We must keep in mind that these temples were built some time
during the 8th century AD, and that scientists have always assumed that this animal species, had by
then, long ceased to exist.
The question for some , however, is not if they existed then, but if they continue to exist now. Yes, there are those who claim that
these species may not have altogether disappeared! For them, it cannot be said without a shadow of a doubt that they no longer
exist. They base their claims on fascinating reports of various sightings of dinosaurs. Some of these sightings have occurred deep in
the mountainous interior of the mainland of Papua Guinea of what has been identified as a pterosaur or flying serpent, and others in
the unexplored regions of the African swamp and jungle of an animal whose description matches that of a sauropod dinosaur.
Various expeditions have been launched to assess the authenticity of these claims, but evidence is as yet inconclusive. The question
is, will we ever know for sure or are these issues destined to remain in the bone of contention for years?
Read the text and answer the questions 1-5. Choose a, b, c, or d
1. According to the text, we are intrigued by 4. Which dinosaur species are associated with
dinosaurs reported sightings?
a. Because they became extinct a long time ago. a. The stegosaurus and pterosaur.
b. Because we know very few things about them. b. The pterosaur and the sauropod
c. Primarily because of their size. dinosaur.
d. Because, besides being big, there are things c. The pterosaur and the flying serpent.
that we do not know or understand about them. d. The stegosaurus, the pterosaur and the
2. The idea that mankind coexisted with sauropod dinosaur.
dinosaurs is suggested to be 5. What are we told about the evidence in
a. an undisputed fact. favor if the continued existence of
b. Highly unlikely. dinosaurs?
c. Something that may eventually be proven. a. It is adequate.
d. Something that most paleontologists agree on. b. It is conclusive .
3. What do we find about the temples in c. It is descriptive.
Cambodia? d. It is questionable.
a. They are situated in densely populate area.
b. They have carvings of various animals on them.
c. They were built just after din osaurs ceased to
exist.
d. They were dedicated to some magnificent
animals such as the stegosaur us.
Forget global terrorism – for most of the Coastal regions also face the menace of desertification. By
world’s population, ticking some time bombs 2030, over half a billion people li ving around the shores of the
like earthquakes, super volcanoes and Mediterranean will be viewing the encroaching dese rt with
hurricanes pose a far greater thre at. Natural increasing panic. An area bigger that the UK, and home to 16
disaster expert Bill McGuire reveals a few of million people, is threatened – by the end of the century –
the top catastrophes waiting to happen. with transformation from a green and pleasant land to a
baking wilderness of sand and rock.
With NASA’s eminent climate scientist, Jim
Hansen, concerned that collapsing polar ice However, these disasters seem pale in comparison t o the mega
sheets could result i n sea level rising 1-2m this catastrophes waiting to happen like super volcanoes, for
century and several more in the next , prospects instance. Every 50 millennia or so, a colossal volcanic blast
for the Earth’s coastal zones are bleak. A 1m expels sufficient ash and gas to cover a continent and block
rise would threaten one third of the world ’s the Sun’s rays for years on end, heralding a bitter volcanic
agricultural land, while a 4m rise would maroon winter. At Yellowstone in Wyoming , US, two such super -
Miami 60km offshore. Rising sea levels is not eruptions have shattered the crust in the last 2.1 million years
the only threat to coastal regio ns. The Cumbre and the volcano there remains restless. An asteroid attack i s
Vieja volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma another threat which would have devastating consequences. A
is slowly creeping seaward. During a future total of 713 asteroids with diameters of 1km or more, and the
eruption, this gigantic landslide will pl unge into potential to clobber the Earth at some future date, have been
the ocean, pushing up al bulge of water close to identified. A 2km asteroid would load the atmosphere with
a kilometer high, spawning a mega-tsunami dust and trigger a sustained global freeze. Harvests would fail
capable of devastating all the coastal areas and billions would die. Fortunately, such collisions only
surrounding the North Atlantic. happen every couple of m illion years.
Read the text and answer the questions 1-5. Choose a, b, c, or d
1. According to the text, what poses an imminent 4. Both super volcanoes and asteroids attacks
threat to us? a. Result in eruptions.
a. the increase of global terrorism. b. Expel gases into the atmosphere.
b. The rise in the world population. c. Lead to extremely cold weather in a million
c. The consequences of climate change and years.
natural disasters. d. Happen once in a million years.
d. Time bombs waiting to go off. 5. Why is the volcano at Yellowstone in Wyoming
2. Which aspect of Cumbre Vieja eruption will a potential threat?
have the worst effect s? a. It erupted twice in the last 2.1 million
a. The eruption itself. years.
b. The subsequent mega tsunami. b. Its eruption shattered the Earth’s crust.
c. The plunge into the ocean. c. It expelled a large quantity of ash and gas.
d. The resulting landslide. d. It remains restless.
3. The process of desertification threatening th e
shores of the Mediterranean will occur
a. Gradually
b. At the end of this century.
c. To an area not as big as the UK.
d. All of a sudden.
