12th Class English Comprehension Question Bank

done MCQs - Unseen Passage - 3 Total Questions - 9

• question_answer1)

  Direction (1 - 9): Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions.

  1. Human beings are in the process of dramatically reshaping the Earth's ecosystems. As far back as the 19th century, some scientists have noted that the current era is defined mainly by the impact of human activity. Now, there is an emerging consensus among Earth scientists that we have indeed entered a new period of geological time, the Anthropocene epoch.

  2. Scientists who study the history of the Earth usually divide the geological time according to major changes to the biology and climate of the Earth. For instance, the ancient Cambrian period, some 500 million years ago, is distinguished by a sudden explosion in the diversity of life, including the emergence of the ancestors of many modem species. More recently, the Pleistocene epoch, which ended about ten thousand years ago, is notable for the glaciers that swept over much of the Earth. The new Anthropocene epoch would be distinguished from all earlier times in Earth's history by the dramatic impacts of human activity on the Earth.

  3. Though Earth scientists debate exactly when the Anthropocene began, there is a clear consensus that human changes to the environment are real and extreme. For one, many life forms have become, and are becoming, extinct as a result of human activity. For this reason, some palaeontologists argue that the human impacts of the Anthropocene began at the end of the last Ice Age, around ten thousand years ago. The fossil record indicates that around that time, many large animals, such as woolly mammoths and giant sloths, went extinct shortly after humans arrived in their ranges.

  4. The pace of human-caused extinctions has only increased in the past several hundred years. The growth and spread of human populations, caused by advances in seafaring technology and agriculture, has led to overexploitation of fragile ecosystems, introduction of invasive species, and pollution, causing many extinctions. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has found that, of species surveyed on its "Red List”, about a fifth of all mammals and reptiles and nearly a third of amphibians are in danger of extinction.

  5. This ongoing rapid loss of species has been described as a mass extinction, as severe as the event that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. To some ecologists, this steep decline in biodiversity suggests that the Anthropocene epoch began in the 17th and 18th centuries, when the rate of extinction shot up dramatically.

  6. Human activity is also altering the climate as a whole. Since the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, humans have significantly altered the atmosphere by mining and burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Some by-products of the use of these fuels, such as carbon dioxide, are greenhouse gases that trap solar energy on Earth. To assess the impact of these greenhouse gases on the Earth, scientists have had to investigate the history of the Earth's climate. Ice cores, samples of ice layers that have trapped atmospheric chemicals over time, have supplied scientists with millennia of year- by-year information about greenhouse gas concentrations and atmospheric temperature.

  7. Evidence from ice cores clearly shows that the Industrial Revolution brought about a sudden jump in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, along with an increase in temperatures. A scientific consensus exists that this ongoing rise in temperatures has resulted in warming of the oceans, rising sea levels, and more frequent extreme weather events. Thus, some climatologists propose that the Anthropocene's onset occurred with the Industrial Revolution and its effects on Earth's atmosphere.

  8. Whenever the Anthropocene is judged to have begun, its impact is undeniable. Human activity has changed the face of the planet; the global ecosystem has been and is being reshaped, the composition of the atmosphere has been altered, and even weather patterns are changing in response to human activity. The consequences of these changes will affect life on Earth for millions of years to come, leaving a mark of human activity that may well outlive humanity itself.

  The main purpose of the passage is to
  A)
  respond to controversial claims made by rival scientists. done clear
  B)
  argue for potential solutions to the problems posed by climate change. done clear
  C)
  describe human impacts on the Earth's environment. done clear
  D)
  account for recent changes in global biodiversity. done clear
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• question_answer2)
  "…there is a clear consensus.” Pick the option in which the meaning of consensus is not the same as it is in the passage.
  A)
  He was the first to break the consensus and criticise the proposal. done clear
  B)
  The question of when the troops should leave would be decided by consensus. done clear
  C)
  Consensus politics places a high value on existing political institutions. done clear
  D)
  Failure to arrive at a consensus over the issue raised the spectre of legal action. done clear
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• question_answer3)

  Based on your understanding of the passage, choose the option that lists the correct sequence of the process that has lead to the present times.

  1. Glaciers swept over the planet

  2. Dramatic impact of human activity

  3. Explosion of diversity of life

  4. Extinction of woolly mammoths

  5. Introduction of invasive species

  A)
  1, 3, 5, 4, 2                   done clear
  B)
  2, 4, 3, 5, 1 done clear
  C)
  3, 1, 4, 2, 5    done clear
  D)
  1, 2, 3, 4, 5 done clear
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• question_answer4)
  The author's tone of writing in this passage is that of
  A)
  an uncertain scientist done clear
  B)
  a concerned observer done clear
  C)
  a jaded sceptic done clear
  D)
  a dejected defeatist done clear
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• question_answer5)
  Which option represents the correct description of the Anthropocene epoch?.
  A)
                 done clear
  B)
  done clear
  C)
                  done clear
  D)
  done clear
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• question_answer6)
  The purpose of the second paragraph is to
  A)
  provide a broad description of the Earth's history. done clear
  B)
  compare the current geological epoch to the Cambrian period. done clear
  C)
  describe the origins of the majority of the Earth's biodiversity. done clear
  D)
  explain how scientists divide geological time. done clear
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• question_answer7)
  Based on the passage, the relationship between carbon dioxide and ice cores is that
  A)
  carbon dioxide is extracted from ice cores to fuel industrial processes. done clear
  B)
  carbon dioxide destroys ice cores, leading to a loss of a source of information. done clear
  C)
  ice cores can be studied to track changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. done clear
  D)
  ice cores remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, reducing its effects on the climate. done clear
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• question_answer8)
  Pick the option showing the CORRECT use of the word 'propose'.
  A)
  The applicants propose a dual test in respect of the powers of compulsory acquisition. done clear
  B)
  He formally proposed to his childhood friend. done clear
  C)
  I tried to propose a truce between my friends but they kept cutting me off while I spoke. done clear
  D)
  Before a Branch can become official, it must propose a constitution, and establish a bank account. done clear
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• question_answer9)
  Pick the option that correctly states what DOES NOT happen as a result of human activity.
  A)
  Emergence of invasive species done clear
  B)
  Creation of the Red List done clear
  C)
  Emergence of the modern species done clear
  D)
  Extreme weather events done clear
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