TPO15托福阅读Passage2 Mass Extinctions 文本+题目原文+答案解析

Mass Extinctions

█Cases in which many species become extinct within a geologically short interval of time are called mass extinctions. █There was one such event at the end of the Cretaceous period (around 70 million years ago). █There was another, even larger, mass extinction at the end of the Permian period (around 250 million years ago). █The Permian event has attracted much less attention than other mass extinctions because mostly unfamiliar species perished at that time.

The fossil record shows at least five mass extinctions in which many families of marine organisms died out. The rates of extinction happening today are as great as the rates during these mass extinctions. Many scientists have therefore concluded that a sixth great mass extinction is currently in progress.

What could cause such high rates of extinction? There are several hypotheses, including warming or cooling of Earth, changes in seasonal fluctuations or ocean currents, and changing positions of the continents. Biological hypotheses include ecological changes brought about by the evolution of cooperation between insects and flowering plants or of bottom-feeding predators in the oceans. Some of the proposed mechanisms required a very brief period during which all extinctions suddenly took place; other mechanisms would be more likely to have taken place more gradually, over an extended period, or at different times on different continents. Some hypotheses fail to account for simultaneous extinctions on land and in the seas. Each mass extinction may have had a different cause. Evidence points to hunting by humans and habitat destruction as the likely causes for the current mass extinction.

American paleontologists David Raup and John Sepkoski, who have studied extinction rates in a number of fossil groups, suggest that episodes of increased extinction have recurred periodically, approximately every 26 million years since the mid-Cretaceous period. The late Cretaceous extinction of the dinosaurs and am monoids was just one of the more drastic in a whole series of such recurrent extinction episodes. The possibility that mass extinctions may recur periodically has given rise to such hypotheses as that of a companion star with a long-period orbit deflecting other bodies from their normal orbits, making some of them fall to Earth as meteors and causing widespread devastation upon impact.

Of the various hypotheses attempting to account for the late Cretaceous extinctions, the one that has attracted the most attention in recent years is the asteroid-impact hypothesis first suggested by Luis and Walter Alvarez. According to this hypothesis, Earth collided with an asteroid with an estimated diameter of 10 kilometers, or with several asteroids, the combined mass of which was comparable. The force of collision spewed large amounts of debris into the atmosphere, darkening the skies for several years before the finer particles settled. The reduced level of photosynthesis led to a massive decline in plant life of all kinds, and this caused massive starvation first of herbivores and subsequently of carnivores. The mass extinction would have occurred very suddenly under this hypothesis.

One interesting test of the Alvarez hypothesis is based on the presence of the rare-earth element iridium (Ir). Earth' s crust contains very little of this element, but most asteroids contain a lot more. Debris thrown into the atmosphere by an asteroid collision would presumably contain large amounts of iridium, and atmospheric currents would carry this material all over the globe. A search of sedimentary deposits that span the boundary between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods shows that there is a dramatic increase in the abundance of iridium briefly and precisely at this boundary. This iridium anomaly offers strong support for the Alvarez hypothesis even though no asteroid itself has ever been recovered.

An asteroid of this size would be expected to leave an immense crater, even if the asteroid itself was disintegrated by the impact. The intense heat of the impact would produce heat-shocked quartz in many types of rock. Also, large blocks thrown aside by the impact would form secondary craters surrounding the main crater. To date, several such secondary craters have been found along Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, and heat-shocked quartz has been found both in Mexico and in Haiti. A location called Chicxulub, along the Yucatan coast, has been suggested as the primary impact site.

TPO15托福阅读Passage2 Mass Extinctions 题目

Question 1 of 14:  Paragraph 1 supports which of the following statements about mass extinctions?

A. They take place over a period of 70 million years.

B. They began during the Cretaceous period.

C. They eliminate many animal species that exist at the time they occur.

D. They occur every 250 million years.

Question 2 of 14:  According to paragraph 2, scientists base their belief that a mass extinction is going on at present on which of the following?

A. The speed with which mass extinctions are happening today is similar to the speed of past extinctions.

B. The number of species that have died out since the last extinction event is extremely large.

C. Mass extinctions occur with regularity and it is time for another one.

D. Fossil records of many marine species have disappeared.

Question 3 of 14: The word "extended" in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. specific

B. unlimited

C. reasonable

D. long

Question 4 of 14: According to paragraph 3, each of the following has been proposed as a possible cause of mass extinctions EXCEPT

A. habitat destruction

B. continental movement

C. fierce interspecies competition

D. changes in Earth's temperature

Question 5 of 14: Paragraph 3 supports which of the following ideas about mass extinctions?

A. Scientists know the exact causes of most mass extinctions.

B. Mass extinctions are unlikely to happen again in the future.

C. Insects, flowering plants, and bottom-feeding predators in the oceans tend to be the first organisms to disappear during episodes of mass extinctions.

D. Some mass extinctions occurred on land and in the seas at the same time.

Question 6 of 14: Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the  highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

A. Based on their studies of extinction rates of numerous fossil groups, paleontologists David Raup and John Sepkoski have determined that mass extinctions occur about every 26 million years.

B. David Raup and John Sepkoski studied extinction rates of numerous fossil groups and suggest that mass extinctions during the Cretaceous period continued for 26 million years.

C. Studies that paleontologists David Raup and John Sepkoski conducted of various fossil groups have revealed that extinction rates have increased over the past 26 million years.

D. The studies conducted by paleontologists David Raup and John Sepkoski of the fossil remains of species suggest that the extinction rate of species started to increase by the middle of the Cretaceous period.

Question 7 of 14: According to paragraph 4, what aspect of extinction episodes does the companion-star hypothesis supposedly clarify?

A. Their location

B. Their frequency

C. Their duration

D. Their severity

Question 8 of 14: The phrase "account for"  in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. describe

B. challenge

C. explain

D. test

Question 9 of 14: According to paragraph 6, what made iridium a useful test of the Alvarez hypothesis?

A. Its occurrence in a few locations on Earth against several locations on other planets

B. Its occurrence in limited quantities on Earth against its abundance in asteroids

C. Its ability to remain solid at extremely high temperatures

D. Its ease of detection even in very small amounts

Question 10 of 14: In stating that no asteroid itself has ever been recovered the author emphasizes which of the following?

A. The importance of the indirect evidence for a large asteroid

B. The fact that no evidence supports the asteroid  impact hypothesis

C. The reason many researchers reject the Alvarez hypothesis

D. The responsibility of scientists for not making the effort to discover the asteroid itself

Question 11 of 14:  The word "intense"  in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. sudden

B. unusual

C. immediate

D. extreme

Question 12 of 14: What is the purpose of paragraph 7 in the passage?

A. It proposes a decisive new test of the Alvarez hypothesis.

B. It presents additional supporting evidence for the Alvarez hypothesis.

C. It explains why evidence relating to the Alvarez hypothesis is hard to find.

D. It shows how recent evidence has raised doubts about the Alvarez hypothesis

Question 13 of 14: Look at the four squares [█] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?

In general, it is believed that these two extinctions resulted from drastic environmental changes that followed meteorite impacts or massive volcanic eruptions.

A. Cases in which many species become extinct within a geologically short interval of time are called mass extinctions. 

B. There was one such event at the end of the Cretaceous period (around 70 million years ago). 

C. There was another, even larger, mass extinction at the end of the Permian period (around 250 million years ago). 

D. The Permian event has attracted much less attention than other mass extinctions because mostly unfamiliar species perished at that time.

Question 14 of 14: Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

There have been many attempts to explain the causes of mass extinctions.

Answer Choices

A. Asteroid impacts, evolutionary developments, and changes in Earth' s climate and in the positions of the continents have all been proposed as possible causes of mass extinctions.

B. Researchers have observed 26-million-year cycles in extinction rates of a number of fossil groups that could all be attributed to the same cause.

C. According to the Alvarez hypothesis, much of the iridium originally present on Earth was thrown into the atmosphere as a result of an asteroid impact that also caused a mass extinction.

D. The unusual distribution of iridium on Earth and the presence of craters and heat-shocked quartz are central to the theory that an asteroid impact caused the late Cretaceous event.

E. The collision between Earth and a large asteroid resulted in massive damage and generated enough heat to cause irreversible changes in Earth' s atmosphere.

F. There was a particularly large mass extinction that occurred around 250 million years ago at the end of the Permian period, whose cause could not be determined.

TPO15托福阅读Passage2 Mass Extinctions 真题解析

Question 1 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：以mass extinctions做关键词定位至第一句，提到大量生物在短时间内灭绝的这种现象叫做大灭绝事件，C是原文的同义替换，所以是正确答案。70 million和250 million是两次大灭绝事件发生的时间，不是A说的七千万年一直在发生，也不是D说的每2500万年发生一次；B的began和原文的end是相反的，错误。

Question 2 of 14

正确答案：A

解析：定位到第二段的最后两句：如今物种灭绝的比率和之前五次大规模物种灭绝时期一样高。因此许多科学家推断，目前正处于第六次大规模物种灭绝状态。选A。

Question 3 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：extend“延伸，延长”，extended“长期的”，所以long是正确答案。原句说其他机制可能会渐渐发生，在一个什么样的时期内，既然是渐渐发生，当然需要比较长的时间，所以答案是D。虽然长但不是无限，所以unlimited错误；specific“特定”时间和reasonable“合理”时间原文都没提到。

Question 4 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：EXCEPT题，本段第一句就问了原因第二句就开始回答，所以这道题正选比较好。第二句的warming or cooling对应D答案，正确，不选；changing positions of the continents对应B答案，正确，不选；最后一句的habitat destruction对应A答案，正确，不选；只有C没有对应，所以C错误，可选。

Question 5 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：提问全段的，最好用排除法。A的exact causes做关键词定位至第三段前两句，原文提到有很多假设，所以没有准确原因，A错误；B的future原文没提到，所以错误；C的一大堆生物做关键词定位至第三句，但原文没提它们是最先遭殃的一群生物，C错误；D的land and seas做关键词定位至倒数第三句，simultaneously就是at the same time，正确。

Question 6 of 14

正确答案：A

解析：原文主干部分讲的是：这两个人认为物种大规模灭绝是呈周期出现的，补充信息有：（1）这两个人曾经从大量化石群中研究物种灭绝的比率；（2）从白垩纪中期后差不多每2600万年出现一次大规划物种灭绝。A与原文信息能完全对应上。B错在认为物种灭绝持续了2600万年；C 错在原文没有出现“物种灭绝速度增长”的信息；同理，D也错在increase这个信息在原文没有体现。

Question 7 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：以companion star hypothesis做关键词定位至第四段最后一句，提到mass extinction的反复发生支持了companion star hypothesis，这个hypothesis说轨道变形导致一些星体偏离正常轨道，成为陨星掉入地球，原句说屡次发生，所以能够解释extinction的频率，答案是B。

Question 8 of 14

正确答案：C

解析：account for“负责，解释”，所以正确答案是explain。原句意思是：在所有试图解释晚白垩纪生物大灭绝事件的假说当中，陨星撞击说是最吸引人的

Question 9 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：以人名做关键词定位至第一句，但第一句没说为什么铱测试对验证A的假说很有用，往下看，说地球上几乎没有铱元素，但其他小行星铱含量要多很多，同义改写，答案是B。也就是说如果地球上发现大量铱元素，就说明遭受过其它小行星撞击。

Question 10 of 14

正确答案：A

解析：修辞目的题，原句提到：虽然没有发现具体的小行星遗迹，但是（小行星带来的）铱元素异常多，支持了“小行星撞击说”。说明铱元素是小行星存在的一个间接证据。B说没有证据支持这一假说，错误，与原文相反；C和D原文都没提到，不选；正确答案是A。

Question 11 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：intense“极度的，剧烈的”，对应D选项。原句意思是：撞击所释放的极度高温使得许多种岩石产生热冲击石英。

Question 12 of 14

正确答案：B

解析：段落提到：如果小行星撞击地球，肯定会留下大坑，极度高温又会生成石英，另外撞击也会将大石块抛出去形成次级陨石坑。后面又举出具体例证纷纷印证了前面的说法。说明整个段落为“小行星撞击说”提供了额外的证据，选B。

Question 13 of 14

正确答案：D

解析：插入句中提到these two extinctions，说明前面提到过两次物种灭绝，因此只能放在D处。

Question 14 of 14

正确答案： ABD

解析：A选项对应第三段内容和第五段第一句：第三段提到了warming or cooling of Earth；changing positions of the continents；ecological changes brought about by the evolution of cooperation，第五段第一句提到了asteroid-impact hypothesis。选项B对应第四段最后一句，科学家发现这种呈周期出现（每两千六百万年一次）的物种大灭绝引发了一种假设：一颗具有长周期轨道的伴星体使其他天体从正常轨道偏离，导致其中一些天体变成流星掉落到地球，撞击时造成大范围破坏。B选项中的the same cause指的就是这一假设，属于重点信息。D选项对应第六段、第七段内容：第六段提到地球上铱含量异常，第七段提到了小行星撞击地球形成的坑、高温生成的石英。

    C选项错在the iridium originally present on Earth，原文讲的是小行星上携带的铱元素印证了小行星撞击说，而地球上是几乎不存在铱元素的，所以也不存在小行星撞击地球而将地球中的铱元素释放到空气中的情况。E错在原文没有提到高温对地球的大气产生了不可反转的影响。F选项是第一段中的一个细节，不选。

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