Test 07 on botany and zoology

I. Прочитайте текст и выберите вариант ответа, соответствующий содержанию прочитанных фрагментов (А-D).

A. What is the world's most intelligent animal? Television producer Mike Beynon and his team of animal experts have searched the world for the new TV series Clever Claws, which will be broadcast this autumn. You won't find any performing seals among the contenders, however, because all the animals featured use their brains to solve problems encountered in their natural environments. Mike points out that the brainiest creatures are often those that we think of as pests. 'Rats, foxes and pigeons are pretty intelligent,' he says. 'We only call them pests because they have learnt to exploit us, instead of being frightened.' In the last century, animals have had to cope with enormous changes, from pollution to climate shifts. The clever creatures are those that learn to survive by adapting; those that don't, like the dinosaurs, tend to die out as the world around them changes. '99 per cent of animal behavior is controlled by instinct,' says Mike. 'Give most creatures something new and they don't know what to do — it's only the clever ones which accept the challenge.' And the first program in the series, which you can see next Monday evening, includes a few examples of just that.

B. Can an elephant be as quiet as a mouse? It seems it can! When farmers in Thailand suspected elephants of stealing their banana crops, they hung a bell around each animal's neck so that they'd get warning of an attack. But one elephant has worked out how to stop his bell ringing, so he can get to the bananas undetected. The elephant fills the bell with mud which stops the sound. And it's not only land animals that prove to be quite bright. Octopuses have fantastic eyesight and big brains for their size, so Mike and his team put one in a specially designed tank, designed like a maze with lots of tunnels that led nowhere and choices to make about whether to go left or right at junctions.' The octopus had a good memory and solved our puzzle by trial and error. After two weeks, it could get out of that maze in under a minute,' says Mike.

C. Just like humans, animals use their intelligence to their own advantage. Sometimes they even use man's inventions to get ahead of the competition. Big cats such as cheetahs and leopards have been spotted standing on safari vehicles, all ready and waiting to leap out at their prey. Clever, but worrying, says Mike. 'If a cheetah uses a man-made object to gain an advantage over an antelope in an attack, then that is very dangerous, because it puts nature out of balance.' And hunger is one of the great motivators of intelligence in animals.

D. New Zealand kea parrots are some of the cleverest. On the program we see that parrots can actually be very accomplished locksmiths. In order to get at the tasty snack inside a locked box, one such bird had to undo one lock, pull a pin out of a second and then turned a key ten times to open a third. No problem! After only 45 seconds the kea reached its meal! For a program about brainy animals, apes and monkeys feature surprisingly little in Clever Claws. Mike says that's because it's already well-known that they're intelligent. Orangutans do get a mention, however. We see a mother helping her family cross a river full of crocodiles in Borneo. She's watched humans and so borrows a boat and a paddle so that her little ones can enjoy a safe crossing. Now that's what you call intelligence!

1. Which section mentions a type of animal that is now extinct?

1. Section A

2. Section B

3. Section C

4. Section D

2. Which section mentions an example of intelligence that may not have a positive outcome?

1. Section A

2. Section B

C. Section C

D. Section D

3. Which section mentions an animal that has followed a human example?

1. Section A

2. Section B

C. Section C

D. Section D

4. Which section mentions an animal that was able to remember things?

1. Section A

2. Section B

C. Section C

D. Section D

5. Which section mentions animals overcoming man-made obstacles to get food?

1. Section A

2. Section B

C. Section C

D. Section D

II. Прочитайте текст. Подберите соответствующий заголовок к каждому абзацу (1-4).

(1) Water scarcity is fast becoming one of the major limiting factors in world crop production. In many areas, poor agricultural practices have led to increasing desertification and the loss of formerly arable lands. Consequently, those plant species that are well adapted to survival in dry climates are being looked at for an answer in developing more efficient crops to grow on marginally arable lands.

(2) Plants use several mechanisms to ensure their survival in desert environments. Some involve purely mechanical and physical adaptations, such as the shape of the plant's surface, smaller leaf size, and extensive root systems.

(3) Some of the adaptations are related to chemical mechanisms. Many plants, such as cacti, have internal gums and mucilages which give them water-retaining properties. Another chemical mechanism is that of the epicuticular wax layer. This wax layer acts as an impervious cover to protect the plant. It prevents excessive loss of internal moisture. It also protects the plant from external aggression, which can come from inorganic agents such as gases, or organic agents which include bacteria and plant pests.

(4) Researchers have proposed that synthetic waxes with similar protective abilities could be prepared based on knowledge of desert plants. If successfully developed, such a compound could be used to greatly increase a plant's ability to maintain health in such adverse situations as inadequate water supply, limited fertilizer availability, attack by pests and poor storage after harvesting.

1. Developing Efficient Plants

2. Factors Limiting Crop Production

3. A Wax Shield

4. Plant Enemies and Ways to Fight Them

5. Waning Water Supplies

6. Various Ways to Survive

III. Прочитайте текст и выполните послетекстовые задания.

(1) Imagine sailing back in time 70 million years and plopping down somewhere in the western USA — right in the path of a starving Tyrannosaurus rex. Could you outrun it? If you were lucky enough to bring your bike along, could you out-pedal the dinosaur? An outstanding sprinter can run short distances at about 20 miles per hour. A strong cyclist can ride 40 miles per hour. But how fast could a dinosaur run?

(2) Though no one can actually time a running dinosaur with a stopwatch, scientists still have some idea of how fast it ran. A British scientist named R. McNeill Alexander found that the speed of a running animal has a close correlation with two physical features: its height at its hips and the length of its stride. He developed a mathematical formula to "guess" the speeds of moving animals without actually timing them. As long as he could get the two measurements, he could determine the speed of any animals — even those no longer around.

(3) For dinosaurs, footprints and bones serve as important evidence. From any particular set of tracks, the stride length is simply the distance between the prints of the same foot, while scientists can guess hip height from fossilized skeletons. Based on measurements from track ways in Texas and Australia, Alexander calculated the speed of dinosaurs believed to be either T. rexes or close relatives. Surprisingly, they were plodding along at just 4.5 to 5 miles per hour. Even a child can easily jog faster than that. Of course, these dinosaurs were just walking, and there seem to be no tracks of a running Tyrannosaurus rex. The only records of fast-moving dinosaurs are of much smaller ones.

(4) According to Alexander's formula, they were running at about 25 miles per hour. The fastest land animals aren't huge elephants or tiny mice. Like antelopes and horses, they're somewhere in between. It's easy to see that a mouse's legs and body are just too small to compete with a racing antelope. The elephant, on the other hand, is too big — or more precisely, too heavy. For large animals, weight plays an important part in determining running capability. Large animals have strong bones to support the own bulk. Moreover, to move quickly their bones need to be even stronger. The faster they move, the greater are the forces acting against their bones, causing them to bend or even break. Nature fortifies big animals' bones by making them a particular shape to resist these forces. Paleontologists believe that the big, thick leg bones of Tyrannosaurus rex indicate that it was a very fast runner, capable of moving as fast as 45 miles per hour. But some scientists think this is much too fast for the 13,000-pound animal.

(5) Alexander, using a formula based on the size and shape of T. rex's thighbones and estimated weight, guesses that it was only slightly more athletic than an elephant — in other words, neither a swift nor an active runner. So how fast did Tyrannosaurus rex run? Most scientists hesitate to come up with a specific number, but many agree that the evidence is against the image of a Tyrannosaurus rex outracing cars.

Выберите вариант ответа, соответствующий содержанию прочитанного текста (задания 1-5).

1. According to R. MacNeill Alexander, it is possible to determine the speed of any animal, even that no longer around by

A. studying its skeleton and bone structure

B. two physical features: the height at its hips and the length of its stride

3. the chemical analysis of fossilized skeletons.

2. The reason that the fastest land animals are neither huge nor small, is that

A. weight plays an important part in determining running capability

B. a mouse and an elephant are correspondingly too small and too heavy to compete

C. only animals like antelopes or horses have the necessity to run fast.

3. Large animals must have strong bones

A. to support their own bulk and to move quickly

B. not to have any injuries or fractures while fighting

C. to resist the elements

4. Nature fortifies big animals’ bones by

A. enriching them with enough quantity of calcium

B. by making them flexible in their joints

C. by making them thicker and giving them a particular shape

5. Many scientists agree that Tyrannosaurus rex

A. was a very fast runner indeed

B. could develop the speed of 45 miles per hour

C. would have hardly been able to outrace cars

Определите значение указанного слова в тексте (задания 6 – 8).

6. evidence (5)

A. hint B. proof C. verdict

7. resist (4)

A. reduce B. oppose C. increase

8. capability (4)

A. ability B. proficiency C. competency

Выберите правильный вариант перевода в соответствии с содержанием текста (задания 9-12).

9. Though no one can actually time a running dinosaur with a stop watch, scientists still have some idea … (2)

A. Хотя никто не пытался определить скорость бега динозавра при помощи секундомера, у ученых есть некоторые предположения…

B. Поскольку никто не может в действительности определить скорость бегущего динозавра при помощи секундомера, то у ученых есть идея…

C. Тем не менее, никто, впрочем, не может определить скорость бега динозавра без секундомера, то ученые располагают мыслями…

10. The only records of fast-moving dinosaurs are of much smaller ones (3).

A. Быстро передвигающиеся динозавры — это те, размеры которых значительно меньше, что является единственно достоверным фактом.

B. Единственно зарегистрированные данные о быстро передвигающихся динозаврах, которые были значительно меньших размеров.

C. Единственные динозавры, которые могли передвигаться быстро, были небольших размеров.

11. For large animals, weight plays an important part in determining running capability (4).

A. Для больших животных вес имеет существенное значение в определении их беговых способностей.

B. Что касается больших животных, вес имеет существенное значение в определении их беговых способностей.

C. Из-за больших животных вес имеет существенное значение в определении бегового потенциала.

12. Most scientists hesitate to come up with a specific number… (5)

A. Многие ученые сомневаются по поводу выхода определённых цифр

B. Многие ученые не решаются представить точные цифры

C. Многие ученые сомневаются подходить к точным цифрам.