Communication Skill Test

In each of the following sentences a part of the sentence or the whole sentence is bold. Beneath each sentence, four different ways of phrasing the underlined part are bold. Choose the best alternative from among the four.

According to scientists at the University of California, the pattern of changes that have occurred in human DNA over the millennia indicate the possibility that everyone alive today might be descended from a single female ancestor

who lived in Africa sometime between 140,000 and 280,000 years ago.

• indicate that everyone alive today might possibly be a descendant of a single female ancestor who had

• may indicate that everyone alive today has descended from a single female ancestor who had

• indicates that everyone alive today may be a descendant of a single female ancestor who

• indicates that everyone alive today might be a descendant from a single female ancestor who

In each of the following sentences a part of the sentence or the whole sentence is underlined. Beneath each sentence, four different ways of phrasing the underlined part are indicated. Choose the best alternative from among the four.

Lacking Information about energy use, people tend to overestimate the amount of energy used by equipment, such as lights, that are visible and must be turned on and off and underestimate that used by unobtrusive equipment, such as water heaters.

• equipment, such as lights, that are visible and must be turned on and off and underestimate it when

• equipment, such as lights, that is visible and must be turned on and off and underestimate it when

• visible equipment, such as lights, that must be turned on and off and underestimate that

• visible equipment, such as lights, that must be turned on and off and underestimate it when

Select most suitable synonym

nascent

• conventional

• progressive

• incipient

• radical

Select the option that is most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning to the given word . : TANGIBLE (OPPOSITE)

• ethereal

• concrete

• actual

• solid

Pick out the best alternative for the underlined part of the given sentence.

They have not only troubled us with their erratic behavior but also with unnecessary disturbances.

• not only troubled us by

• troubled us not only with

• troubled not only to us with

• not only been troubled us by

Common Content:

Read the passage and answer the question given below

In choosing a method for determining climatic condition that existed in the past, paleo-climatologists invoke four principal criteria. First, the material-rocks, lakes, vegetation, etc on which the method relies must be widespread enough to provide plenty of information, since analysis of material that is rarely encountered will not permit correlation with other regions or with other periods of geological history. Second, in the process of formation, the material must have received an environmental signal .that reflects a change in climate and that can be deciphered by modern physical or chemical means. Third, at least some of the material must have retained the signal unaffected by subsequent changes in the environment. Fourth, it must be possible to determine the time at which the inferred climatic conditions held. This last criterion is more easily met in dating marine sediments, because dating of only a small number of layers in a marine sequence allows the age of other layers to be estimated fairly reliably by extrapolation and interpolation. By contrast, because sedimentation is much less continuous in continental regions, estimating the age of a continental bed from the known ages of beds above and below is more risky.

One very old method used in the investigation of past climatic conditions involves the measurement of water levels in ancient lakes. In temperate regions, there are enough lakes for correlations between them to give us a reliable picture. In arid and semiarid regions, on the other hand, the small number of lakes and the great distances between them reduce the possibilities for correlation. Moreover, since lake levels are controlled by rates of evaporation as well as by precipitation, the interpretation of such levels is ambiguous. For instance, the fact that lake levels in the semiarid southwestern United States appear to have been higher during the last ice age than they are now was at one time attributed to increased precipitation. On the basis of snow-line elevations, however, it has been concluded that the climate then was not necessarily wetter than it is now, but rather that both summers and winters were cooler, resulting in reduced evaporation.

Another problematic method is to reconstruct former climates on the basis of pollen profiles. The type of vegetation in a specific region is determined by identifying and counting the various pollen grains found there.

Although the relationship between vegetation and climate is not as direct as the relationship between climate and lake levels, the method often work well in he temperature zones. In arid and semiarid regions in which is not much vegetation however, small changes m one or a few plant types, can change the picture dramatically, making accurate correlations between neighboring areas difficult to obtain.

Q26.

Which of the following statements best describes the organization of the passage as a whole?

• The author describes a method for determining past climatic conditions and then offers specific examples of situations in which it has been used.

• The author discusses the method of dating marine and continental sequences and then explains how dating is more difficult with lake levels than with pollen profiles.

• The author describes the common requirements of methods for determining past climatic conditions and then discusses examples of such methods.

• The methods for determining past climatic conditions and then describes two of the earliest known methods.

Common Content:

Read the passage and answer the question given below

In choosing a method for determining climatic condition that existed in the past, paleo-climatologists invoke four principal criteria. First, the material-rocks, lakes, vegetation, etc on which the method relies must be widespread enough to provide plenty of information, since analysis of material that is rarely encountered will not permit correlation with other regions or with other periods of geological history. Second, in the process of formation, the material must have received an environmental signal .that reflects a change in climate and that can be deciphered by modern physical or chemical means. Third, at least some of the material must have retained the signal unaffected by subsequent changes in the environment. Fourth, it must be possible to determine the time at which the inferred climatic conditions held. This last criterion is more easily met in dating marine sediments, because dating of only a small number of layers in a marine sequence allows the age of other layers to be estimated fairly reliably by extrapolation and interpolation. By contrast, because sedimentation is much less continuous in continental regions, estimating the age of a continental bed from the known ages of beds above and below is more risky.

One very old method used in the investigation of past climatic conditions involves the measurement of water levels in ancient lakes. In temperate regions, there are enough lakes for correlations between them to give us a reliable picture. In arid and semiarid regions, on the other hand, the small number of lakes and the great distances between them reduce the possibilities for correlation. Moreover, since lake levels are controlled by rates of evaporation as well as by precipitation, the interpretation of such levels is ambiguous. For instance, the fact that lake levels in the semiarid southwestern United States appear to have been higher during the last ice age than they are now was at one time attributed to increased precipitation. On the basis of snow-line elevations, however, it has been concluded that the climate then was not necessarily wetter than it is now, but rather that both summers and winters were cooler, resulting in reduced evaporation.

Another problematic method is to reconstruct former climates on the basis of pollen profiles. The type of vegetation in a specific region is determined by identifying and counting the various pollen grains found there.

Although the relationship between vegetation and climate is not as direct as the relationship between climate and lake levels, the method often work well in he temperature zones. In arid and semiarid regions in which is not much vegetation however, small changes m one or a few plant types, can change the picture dramatically, making accurate correlations between neighboring areas difficult to obtain.

It can be inferred from the passage that an environmental signal found in geological material would not be useful to paieo-climatoiogists if it

• Reflected a change in climate rather than a long-term climatic condition.

• Was incorporated into a material as the material was forming

• Also reflected subsequent environmental changes.

• Was contained in a continental rather than a marine sequence

Common Content:

Read the passage and answer the question given below

In choosing a method for determining climatic condition that existed in the past, paleo-climatologists invoke four principal criteria. First, the material-rocks, lakes, vegetation, etc on which the method relies must be widespread enough to provide plenty of information, since analysis of material that is rarely encountered will not permit correlation with other regions or with other periods of geological history. Second, in the process of formation, the material must have received an environmental signal .that reflects a change in climate and that can be deciphered by modern physical or chemical means. Third, at least some of the material must have retained the signal unaffected by subsequent changes in the environment. Fourth, it must be possible to determine the time at which the inferred climatic conditions held. This last criterion is more easily met in dating marine sediments, because dating of only a small number of layers in a marine sequence allows the age of other layers to be estimated fairly reliably by extrapolation and interpolation. By contrast, because sedimentation is much less continuous in continental regions, estimating the age of a continental bed from the known ages of beds above and below is more risky.

One very old method used in the investigation of past climatic conditions involves the measurement of water levels in ancient lakes. In temperate regions, there are enough lakes for correlations between them to give us a reliable picture. In arid and semiarid regions, on the other hand, the small number of lakes and the great distances between them reduce the possibilities for correlation. Moreover, since lake levels are controlled by rates of evaporation as well as by precipitation, the interpretation of such levels is ambiguous. For instance, the fact that lake levels in the semiarid southwestern United States appear to have been higher during the last ice age than they are now was at one time attributed to increased precipitation. On the basis of snow-line elevations, however, it has been concluded that the climate then was not necessarily wetter than it is now, but rather that both summers and winters were cooler, resulting in reduced evaporation.

Another problematic method is to reconstruct former climates on the basis of pollen profiles. The type of vegetation in a specific region is determined by identifying and counting the various pollen grains found there.

Although the relationship between vegetation and climate is not as direct as the relationship between climate and lake levels, the method often work well in he temperature zones. In arid and semiarid regions in which is not much vegetation however, small changes m one or a few plant types, can change the picture dramatically, making accurate correlations between neighboring areas difficult to obtain.

It can be inferred from the passage that paleo-climatologists have concluded which of the following on the basis of their study of snow-line elevations in the southwestern United States?

• There is usually more precipitation during an ice age because of increased amounts of evaporation.

• Lake levels in the semiarid southwestern United States were lower during the last ice age than they are today.

• During the last ice age, cooler weather led to lower lake levels than paleo-climatologists had previously assumed.

• The high lake levels during the last ice age may have been a result of less evaporation rather than more precipitation.

Common Content:

Read the passage and answer the question given below

In choosing a method for determining climatic condition that existed in the past, paleo-climatologists invoke four principal criteria. First, the material-rocks, lakes, vegetation, etc on which the method relies must be widespread enough to provide plenty of information, since analysis of material that is rarely encountered will not permit correlation with other regions or with other periods of geological history. Second, in the process of formation, the material must have received an environmental signal .that reflects a change in climate and that can be deciphered by modern physical or chemical means. Third, at least some of the material must have retained the signal unaffected by subsequent changes in the environment. Fourth, it must be possible to determine the time at which the inferred climatic conditions held. This last criterion is more easily met in dating marine sediments, because dating of only a small number of layers in a marine sequence allows the age of other layers to be estimated fairly reliably by extrapolation and interpolation. By contrast, because sedimentation is much less continuous in continental regions, estimating the age of a continental bed from the known ages of beds above and below is more risky.

One very old method used in the investigation of past climatic conditions involves the measurement of water levels in ancient lakes. In temperate regions, there are enough lakes for correlations between them to give us a reliable picture. In arid and semiarid regions, on the other hand, the small number of lakes and the great distances between them reduce the possibilities for correlation. Moreover, since lake levels are controlled by rates of evaporation as well as by precipitation, the interpretation of such levels is ambiguous. For instance, the fact that lake levels in the semiarid southwestern United States appear to have been higher during the last ice age than they are now was at one time attributed to increased precipitation. On the basis of snow-line elevations, however, it has been concluded that the climate then was not necessarily wetter than it is now, but rather that both summers and winters were cooler, resulting in reduced evaporation.

Another problematic method is to reconstruct former climates on the basis of pollen profiles. The type of vegetation in a specific region is determined by identifying and counting the various pollen grains found there.

Although the relationship between vegetation and climate is not as direct as the relationship between climate and lake levels, the method often work well in he temperature zones. In arid and semiarid regions in which is not much vegetation however, small changes m one or a few plant types, can change the picture dramatically, making accurate correlations between neighboring areas difficult to obtain.

Which of the following statements about the difference between marine and continental sedimentation is supported by information in the passage?

• Data provided by dating marine sedimentation is more consistent with researchers’ findings in other disciplines than is data provided by dating continental sedimentation.

• It is easier to estimate the age of a layer in a sequence of continental sedimentation than it is to estimate the age of a layer in a sequence of marine sedimentation.

• Researchers are more often forced to rely on extrapolation when dating a layer of marine sedimentation than when dating a layer of continental sedimentation.

• Marine sedimentation is much more continuous than is continental sedimentation.

Common Content:

Read the passage and answer the question given below

In choosing a method for determining climatic condition that existed in the past, paleo-climatologists invoke four principal criteria. First, the material-rocks, lakes, vegetation, etc on which the method relies must be widespread enough to provide plenty of information, since analysis of material that is rarely encountered will not permit correlation with other regions or with other periods of geological history. Second, in the process of formation, the material must have received an environmental signal .that reflects a change in climate and that can be deciphered by modern physical or chemical means. Third, at least some of the material must have retained the signal unaffected by subsequent changes in the environment. Fourth, it must be possible to determine the time at which the inferred climatic conditions held. This last criterion is more easily met in dating marine sediments, because dating of only a small number of layers in a marine sequence allows the age of other layers to be estimated fairly reliably by extrapolation and interpolation. By contrast, because sedimentation is much less continuous in continental regions, estimating the age of a continental bed from the known ages of beds above and below is more risky.

One very old method used in the investigation of past climatic conditions involves the measurement of water levels in ancient lakes. In temperate regions, there are enough lakes for correlations between them to give us a reliable picture. In arid and semiarid regions, on the other hand, the small number of lakes and the great distances between them reduce the possibilities for correlation. Moreover, since lake levels are controlled by rates of evaporation as well as by precipitation, the interpretation of such levels is ambiguous. For instance, the fact that lake levels in the semiarid southwestern United States appear to have been higher during the last ice age than they are now was at one time attributed to increased precipitation. On the basis of snow-line elevations, however, it has been concluded that the climate then was not necessarily wetter than it is now, but rather that both summers and winters were cooler, resulting in reduced evaporation.

Another problematic method is to reconstruct former climates on the basis of pollen profiles. The type of vegetation in a specific region is determined by identifying and counting the various pollen grains found there.

Although the relationship between vegetation and climate is not as direct as the relationship between climate and lake levels, the method often work well in he temperature zones. In arid and semiarid regions in which is not much vegetation however, small changes m one or a few plant types, can change the picture dramatically, making accurate correlations between neighboring areas difficult to obtain.

According to the passage, the material used to determine past climatic conditions must be widespread for which of the following reasons?

(1) Paleoclimatologists need to make comparisions between periods of geological history.

(2) Paleoclimatologists need to compare materials that have supported a wide variety of vegetation.

(3) Paleoclimatologists need to make comparisons with data collected in other regions.

• 1 only

• 2 and 3 only

• 2 only

• 1 and 3 only