Level Test (Reading) – K. T.

I Project Baria
Set F2

T-Rex Hunter

A Jack Horner is an unlikely academic: his dyslexia is so bad that he has trouble reading a book. But
he can read the imprint of life in sandstone or muddy shale across a distance of 100m years, and it is
this gift that has made him curator of palaeontology at Montana State University’s Museum of the
Rockies, the leader of a multi-million dollar scientific project to expose a complete slice of life 68m
years ago, and a consultant to Steven Spielberg and other Hollywood figures.

B His father had a sand and gravel quarry in Montana, and the young Horner was a collector of stones
and bones, complete with notes about when and where he found them. “My father had owned a ranch
when he was younger, in Montana,” he says. “He was enough of a geologist, is a sand and gravel man,
to have a pretty good notion that they were dinosaur bones. So when I was eight years old he took me
back to the area that had been his ranch, to where he had seen these big old bones. I picked up one. I
am pretty sure it was the upper arm bone of a duckbilled dinosaur: it probably wasn’t a maiaosaur but
closely related to that. I catalogued it, and took good care of it, and then later when I was in high
school, excavated my first dinosaur skeleton. It obviously started earlier than eight and I literally have
been driven ever since. I feel like I was born this way.”

C Horner spent seven years at university but never graduated. “I have a learning disability, I would call
it a learning difference – dyslexia, they call it – and I just had a terrible time with English and foreign
languages and things like that. For a degree in geology or biology, they required two years of a foreign
language. There was no way in the world I could do that. In fact, I didn’t really pass English. So I
couldn’t get a degree, I just wasn’t capable of it. But I took all of the courses required and I wrote a
thesis and I did all sorts of things. So I have the education, I just don’t have the piece of paper,” he
says.

D In Montana, in those days, everybody had the right to a college education. His grades at high school
had been terrible, at university, his advisers recognised that he was having a hard time, and went on
helping. The dean who kept readmitting him was to give Horner an honorary doctorate years later. As a
young non-graduate, Horner wrote to every museum in the English-speaking world, asking for a job.
Los Angeles County Museum and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto made offers, but he accepted
a post as a technician at Princeton University because of Princeton, New Jersey.

E “We definitely know we are working on a very broad coastal plain with the streams and rivers
bordered by conifers and hardwood plants, and the areas in between these rivers were probably fern-
covered. There were no grasses at all: just ferns and bushes – an unusual landscape, kind of taking
the south-eastern United States – Georgia, Florida – and mixing it with the moors of England and
flattening it out,” he says. “Triceratops is very common: they are the cows of the Cretaceous, they are
everywhere. Duckbilled dinosaurs are relatively common but not as common as triceratops and T rex,
for a meat-eating dinosaur, is very common. What we would consider the predator-prey ratio seems
really off the scale. What is interesting is the little dromaeosaurs, the ones we know for sure were good
predators, we haven’t found any of them.”

F Which is why he sees T rex, not as the lion of the Cretaceous savannah but its vulture. “Look at the
wildebeest that migrate in the Serengeti of Africa, a million individuals lose about 200,000 individuals in
that annual migration. There is a tremendous carrion base there. And so you have hyenas, you have
tremendous numbers of vultures that are scavenging, you don’t have all that many animals that are
good predators. If T rex was a top predator, especially considering how big it is, you’d expect it to be
extremely rare, much rarer than the little dromaeosaurs, and yet they are everywhere, they are a dime
a dozen,” he says. A 12-tonne T rex is a lot of vultures, but he doesn’t see the monster as clumsy. He
insisted his theory and finding, dedicated to further research upon it, of course, he would like to
reevaluate if there is any case that additional evidence found or explanation raised by others in the
future.

G He examined the leg bones of the T-rex, and compared the length of the thigh bone (upper leg), to
the shin bone (lower leg). He found that the thigh bone was equal in length or slightly longer than the
shin bone, and much thicker and heavier. Which proves that the animal was built to be a slow walker
rather than fast running. On the other hand, the fossils of fast hunting dinosaurs ALWAYS showed that
the shin bone was longer than the thigh bone. This same truth can be observed in many animals of
today which are designed to run fast: The ostrich, cheetah, etc.

H He also studied the fossil teeth of the T-rex, and compared them with the teeth of the Velociraptor,
and put the nail in the coffin of the “hunter T-rex theory”. The Velociraptor’s teeth where like stake
knifes: sharp, razor-edged, and capable of tearing through flesh with ease. The T-Rex’s teeth were
huge, sharp at their tip, but blunt, propelled by enormous jaw muscles, which enabled them to only
crush bones.

I With the evidence presented in his documentary, Horner was able to prove that the idea of the T-rex
as being a hunting and ruthless killing machine is probably just a myth. In light of the scientific clues he
was able to unearth, the T-rex was a slow, sluggish animal which had poor vision, an extraordinary
sense of smell, that often reached its “prey” after the real hunters were done feeding, and sometimes it
had to scare the hunters away from a corpse. In order to do that, the T-rex had to have been ugly,
nasty-looking, and stinky. This is actually true of nearly all scavenger animal. They are usually vile and
nasty looking.

Questions 1-7
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? Write:
TRUE if the statement is true
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage
1 Jack Horner knew exactly the bone belonged to a certain dinosaur when he was in father’s ranch at
the age of 8.
2 Jack Horner achieved a distinctive degree in university when he graduated.
3 Jack Horner is the first man that discovered T-Rex’s bone in the world.
4 Jack Horner believes that the number of prey should be more than that of the predator.
5 T-rex’s number is equivalent to the number of vulture in the Serengeti.
6 The hypothesis that T-rex is top predator conflicts with the fact of the predator-prey ratio which Jack
found.
7 He refused to accept any other viewpoints about T-rex’s category.

Questions 8-13
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage.
Using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.

Jack Horner found that T-rex’s 8…………………….………………. is shorter than the thigh bone, which
demonstrated that it was actually a 9……………………….…………., unlike other swift animals such as
ostrich or 10…………………….………… that was built to 11……….……………….. Another explanation
supports his idea is that T-rex’s teeth were rather 12……………………..…….., which only allowed T-rex
to 13………………………….…………….. hard bones instead of tearing flesh like Velociraptor.
READING PASSAGE 2
Detection of a meteorite Lake

A As the sun rose over picturesque Lake Bosumtwi, a team of Syracuse University researchers
prepared for another day of using state-of-the-art equipment to help bottom. Nestled in the heart of
Ghana, the lake holds an untapped reservoir of information that could help scientists predict future
climate changes by looking at evidence from the past. This information will also improve the scientists’
understanding of the changes that occur in a region struck by a massive meteorite.

B The project, led by earth sciences professor Christopher Scholz of the College of Arts and Sciences
and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), is the first large-scale effort to study Lake
Bosumtwi, which formed 1.1 million years ago when a giant meteor crashed into the Earth’s surface.
The resulting crater is one of the largest and most well-preserved geologically young craters in the
world, says Scholz, who is collaborating on the project with researchers from the University of Arizona,
the University of South Carolina, the University of Rhode Island, and several Ghanaian institutions.
“Our data should provide information about what happens when an impact hits hard, pre-Cambrian,
crystalline rocks that are a billion years old,” he says.

C Equally important is the fact that the lake, which is about 8 kilometers in diameter, has no natural
outlet. The rim of the crater rises about 250 meters above the water’s surface. Streams flow into the
lake, Scholz says, but the water leaves only by evaporation, or by seeping through the lake sediments.
For the past million years, the lake has acted as a tropical rain gauge, filling and drying with changes in
precipitation and the tropical climate. The record of those changes is hidden in the sediment below the
lake bottom. “The lake is one of the best sites in the world for the study of tropical climate changes,”
Scholz says. “The tropics are the heat engine for the Earth’s climate. To understand the global climate,
we need to have records of climate changes from many sites around the world, including the tropics.”

D Before the researchers could explore the lake’s subsurface, they needed a boat with a large, working
deck area that could carry eight tons of scientific equipment. The boat – dubbed R/V Kilindi – was built
in Florida last year. It was constructed in modules that were dismantled, packed inside a shipping
container, and reassembled over a 10-day period in late November and early December 1999 in the
rural village of Abono, Ghana. The research team then spent the next two weeks testing the boat and
equipment before returning to the United States for the holidays.

E In mid-January, five members of the team – Keely Brooks, an earth sciences graduate student; Peter
Cattaneo, a research analyst; and Kiram Lezzar, a postdoctoral scholar, all from SU; James McGill, a
geophysical field engineer; and Nick Peters, a Ph.D. student in geophysics from the University of Miami
– returned to Abono to begin collecting data about the lake’s subsurface using a technique called
seismic reflection profiling. In this process, a high-pressure air gun is used to create small, pneumatic
explosions in the water. The sound energy penetrates about 1,000 to 2,000 meters into the lake’s
subsurface before bouncing back to the surface of the water.

F The reflected sound energy is detected by underwater microphones – called hydrophones –

embedded in a 50-meter-long cable that is towed behind the boat as it crosses the lake in a carefully
designed grid pattern. On-board computers record the signals, and the resulting data are then
processed and analyzed in the laboratory. “The results will give us a good idea of the shape of the
basin, how thick the layers of sediment are, and when and where there were major changes in
sediment accumulation,” Scholz says. “We are now developing a three-dimensional perspective of the
lake’s subsurface and the layers of sediment that have been laid down.”

G Team members spent about four weeks in Ghana collecting the data. They worked seven days a
week, arriving at the lake just after sunrise. On a good day, when everything went as planned, the team
could collect data and be back at the dock by early afternoon. Except for a few relatively minor
adjustments, the equipment and the boat worked well. Problems that arose were primarily non-scientific
– tree stumps, fishing nets, cultural barriers, and occasional misunderstandings with local villagers.

H Lake Bosumtwi, the largest natural freshwater lake in the country, is sacred to the Ashanti people,
who believe their souls come to the lake to bid farewell to their god. The lake is also the primary source
of fish for the 26 surrounding villages. Conventional canoes and boats are forbidden. Fishermen travel
on the lake by floating on traditional planks they propel with small paddles. Before the research project
could begin, Scholz and his Ghanaian counterparts had to secure special permission from tribal chiefs
to put the R/V Kilindi on the lake.

I When the team began gathering data, rumors flew around the lake as to why the researchers were
there. “Some thought we were dredging the lake for gold, others thought we were going to drain the
lake or that we had bought the lake,” Cattaneo says. “But once the local people understood why we
were there, they were very helpful.”

Questions 14-18
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2? Write:
TRUE if the statement is true
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

14 With the investigation of the lake, the scientist may predict the climate changes in the future.
15 The crater resulted from a meteorite impact is the largest and most preserved one in the world.
16 The water stored in lake Bosumtwi was gone only by seeping through the lake sediments.
17 Historical climate changes can be detected by the analysis of the sediment in the lake.
18 The greatest obstacle to the research of scientists had been the interference by the locals due to
their indigenous believes.

Questions 19-22
There are three steps of collecting data from the lake as followings, please fill the blanks in the Flow
Chart below:
Questions 23-27
Complete the following summary of the paragraph of Reading Passage.
Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.

The boat-double R/V Kilindi crossed the lake was dismantled and stored in a 23………….……………….
The technology they used called 24………………………………….…………; They created sound energy
into 1000-2000 metres into the bottom of the lake and used separate equipment to collect the returned
waves. Then the data had been analyzed and processed in the 25……………………….…………………
Scholz also added that they were now building 26…………………..……………. View of the sediment or
sub-image in the bottom of the lake. The whole set of equipment works well yet the ship should avoid
physical barrier including tree stumps or 27………..………………………………. Floating on the surface
of the lake.

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READING PASSAGE 3
Elephant communication

A A postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, O’Connell-Rodwell has come to Namibia’s premiere

wildlife sanctuary to explore the mysterious and complex world of elephant communication. She and
her colleagues are part of a scientific revolution that began nearly two decades ago with the stunning
revelation that elephants communicate over long distances using low-frequency sounds, also called
infrasounds, that are too deep to be heard by most humans.

B As might be expected, the African elephant’s ability to sense seismic sound may begin in the ears.
The hammer bone of the elephant’s inner ear is proportionally very large for a mammal, buy typical for
animals that use vibrational signals. It may, therefore, be a sign that elephants can communicate with
seismic sounds. Also, the elephant and its relative the manatee are unique among mammals in having
reverted to a reptilian-like cochlear structure in the inner ear. The cochlea of reptiles facilitates a keen
sensitivity to vibrations and may do the same in elephants.

C But other aspects of elephant anatomy also support that ability. First, their enormous bodies, which
allow them to generate low-frequency sounds almost as powerful as those of a jet takeoff, provide ideal
frames for receiving ground vibrations and conducting them to the inner ear. Second, the elephant’s toe
bones rest on a fatty pad that might help focus vibrations from the ground into the bone. Finally, the
elephant’s enormous brain lies in the cranial cavity behind the eyes in line with the auditory canal. The
front of the skull is riddled with sinus cavities that may function as resonating chambers for vibrations
from the ground.

D How the elephants sense these vibrations is still unknown, but O’Connell-Rodwell who just earned a
graduate degree in entomology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, suspects the pachyderms are
“listening” with their trunks and feet. The trunk may be the most versatile appendage in nature. Its uses
include drinking, bathing, smelling, feeding and scratching. Both trunk and feet contain two kinds of
pressure-sensitive nerve endings – one that detects infrasonic vibrations and another that responds to
vibrations with slightly higher frequencies. For O’Connell-Rodwell, the future of the research is
boundless and unpredictable: “Our work is really at the interface of geophysics, neurophysiology and
ecology,” she says. “We’re asking questions that no one has really dealt with before.”
E Scientists have long known that seismic communication is common in small animals, including
spiders, scorpions, insects and a number of vertebrate species such as white-lipped frogs, blind mole
rats, kangaroo rats and golden moles. They also have found evidence of seismic sensitivity in elephant
seals – 2-ton marine mammals that are not related to elephants. But O’Connell-Rodwell was the first to
suggest that a large land animal also in sending and receiving seismic messages. O’Connell-Rodwell
noticed something about the freezing behavior of Etosha’s six-ton bulls that reminded her of the tiny
insects back in her lab. “I did my masters thesis on seismic communication in planthoppers,” she says.
“I’d put a male planthopper on a stem and playback a female call, and the male would do the same
thing the elephants were doing: He would freeze, then press down on his legs, go forward a little bit,
then freeze again. It was just so fascinating to me, and it’s what got me to think, maybe there’s
something else going on other than acoustic communication.”

F Scientists have determined that an elephant’s ability to communicate over long distances is essential
for its survival, particularly in a place like Etosha, where more than 2,400 savanna elephants range
over an area larger than New Jersey. The difficulty of finding a mate in this vast wilderness is
compounded by elephant reproductive biology. Females breed only when in estrus – a period of sexual
arousal that occurs every two years and lasts just a few days. “Females in estrus make these very low,
long calls that bulls home in on, because it’s such a rare event,” O’Connell-Rodwell says. These
powerful estrus calls carry more than two miles in the air and maybe accompanied by long-distance
seismic signals, she adds. Breeding herds also use low-frequency vocalizations to warn of predators.
Adult bulls and cows have no enemies, except for humans, but young elephants are susceptible to
attacks by lions and hyenas. When a predator appears, older members of the herd emit intense
warning calls that prompt the rest of the herd to clump together for protection, then flee. In 1994,
O’Connell-Rodwell recorded the dramatic cries of a breeding herd threatened by lions at Mushara. “The
elephants got really scared, and the matriarch made these very powerful warning calls, and then the
herd took off screaming and trumpeting,” she recalls. “Since then, every time we’ve played that
particular call at the water hole, we get the same response – the elephants take off.”

G Reacting to a warning call played in the air is one thing, but could the elephants detect calls
transmitted only through the ground? To find out, the research team in 2002 devised an experiment
using electronic equipment that allowed them to send signals through the ground at Mushara. The
results of our 2002 study showed us that elephants do indeed detect warning calls played through the
ground,” O’Connell-Rodwell observes. “We expected them to clump up into tight groups and leave the
area, and that’s in fact what they did. But since we only played back one type of call, we couldn’t really
say whether they were interpreting it correctly. Maybe they thought it was a vehicle or something
strange instead of a predator warning.”

H An experiment last year was designed to solve that problem by using three different recordings – the
1994 warning call from Mushara, an anti-predator call recorded by scientist Joyce Poole in Kenya and
an artificial warble tone. Although still analyzing data from this experiment, O’Connell-Rodwell is able to
make a few preliminary observations: “The data I’ve seen so far suggest that the elephants were
responding as I had expected. When the ’94 warning call was played back, they tended to clump
together and leave the water hole sooner. But what’s really interesting is that the unfamiliar anti-
predator call from Kenya also caused them to clump up, get nervous and aggressively rumble – but
they didn’t necessarily leave. I didn’t think it was going to be that clear cut.”

Questions 28-31
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage
Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.
Questions 32-38
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage.
Using NO MORE THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER from the Reading Passage for each answer.

How the elephants sense these sound vibrations is still unknown, but O’Connell-Rodwell, a fresh
graduate in entomology at the University of Hawaii, proposes that the elephants are “listening” with
their 32……………………………….., by two kinds of nerve endings – that responds to vibrations with
both 33………………..……….. frequency and slightly higher frequencies. O’Connell-Rodwell work is at
the combination of geophysics, neurophysiology and 34…………………..………….,” and it also was the
first to indicate that a large land animal also is sending and receiving 35………………………………..….,
O’Connell-Rodwell noticed the freezing behavior by putting a male planthopper communicative
approach other than 36………………………………..………….”

Scientists have determined that an elephant’s ability to communicate over long distances is essential,
especially, when elephant herds are finding a 37……………………………………….., or are warning of
predators. Finally, the results of our 2002 study showed us that elephants can detect warning calls
played through the 38…………………………….…………..”

Questions 39-40
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
39 According to the passage, it is determined that an elephant need to communicate over long
distances for its survival
A When a threatening predator appears.
B When young elephants meet humans.
C When older members of the herd want to flee from the group.
D When a male elephant is in estrus.
40 What is the author’s attitude toward the experiment by using three different recordings in the
paragraph:
A the outcome is definitely out of the original expectation
B the data can not be very clearly obtained
C the result can be somewhat undecided or inaccurate
D the result can be unfamiliar to the public