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PHYSICAL SCIENCE Many Types of Weather Investigation of the Deep-Ocean Surge Glaciers Climates and Farming in America An Air Pollutant The Planets of Jupiter The Sun The Concept of the Laser The Response of Babies to Human Voice The Vision of Human Newtons laws of motion Crows The Concept of Number and the Counting Process The Earths Crust and the Upper Mantle The Origination of Birds Desert Animals Many Types of Weather Keywords: weather, damage, atmosphere, Nowcasting, tornado Many of the most damaging and life-threatening types of weather-torrential rains, severe thunderstorms, and tornadoes-begin quickly, strike suddenly, and dissipate rapidly, devastating small regions while leaving neighboring areas untouched. One such event, a tornado, struck the northeastern section of Edmonton, Alberta, in July 1987.、 Total damages from the tornado exceeded $250 million, the highest ever for any Canadian storm. Conventional computer models of the atmosphere have limited value in predicting short-lived local storms like the Edmonton tornado, because the available weather data are generally not detailed enough to allow computers to discern the subtle atmospheric changes that precede these storms. In most nations, for example, weather- balloon observations are taken just once every twelve hours at locations typically separated by hundreds of miles. With such limited data, conventional forecasting models do a much better job predicting general weather conditions over large regions than they do forecasting specific local events. Until recently, the observation-intensive approach needed for accurate, very short-range forecasts, or Nowcasts, was not feasible. The cost of equipping and operating many thousands of conventional weather stations was prohibitively high, and the difficulties involved in rapidly collecting and processing the raw weather data from such a network were insurmountable. Fortunately, scientific and technological advances have overcome most of these problems. Radar systems, automated weather instruments, and satellites are all capable of making detailed, nearly continuous observation over large regions at a relatively low cost. Communications satellites can transmit data around the world cheaply and instantaneously, and modern computers can quickly compile and analyzing this large volume of weather information. Meteorologists and computer scientists now work together to design computer programs and video equipment capable of transforming raw weather data into words, symbols, and vivid graphic displays that forecasters can interpret easily and quickly. As meteorologists have begun using these new technologies in weather forecasting offices, Nowcasting is becoming a reality. 30. What does the passage mainly discuss? (A) Computers and weather (B) Dangerous storms (C) Weather forecasting (D) Satellites 31. Why does the author mention the tornado in Edmonton, Canada? (A) To indicate that tornadoes are common in the summer (B) To give an example of a damaging storm (C) To explain different types of weather (D) To show that tornadoes occur frequently in Canada 32. The word subtle in line 8 is closest in meaning to (A) complex (B) regular (C) imagined (D) slight 33. Why does the author state in line 10 that observations are taken just once every twelve hours? (A) To indicate that the observations are timely (B) To show why the observations are of limited value (C) To compare data from balloons and computers (D) To give an example of international cooperation 34. The word they in line 13 refers to (A) models (B) conditions (C) regions (D) events 35. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an advance in short-range weather forecasting ? (A) Weather balloons (B) Radar systems (C) Automated instruments (D) Satellites 36. The word compile in line 23 is closest in meaning to (A) put together (B) look up (C) pile high (D) work over 37. With Nowcasting, it first became possible to provide information about (A) short-lived local storms (B) radar networks (C) long-range weather forecasts (D) general weather conditions 38. The word raw in line 25 is closest in meaning to (A) stormy (B) inaccurate (C) uncooked (D) unprocessed 39. With which of the following statements is the author most likely to agree? (A) Communications satellites can predict severe weather. (B) Meteorologists should standardize computer programs. (C) The observation-intensive approach is no longer useful. (D) Weather predictions are becoming more accurate. 40. Which of the following would best illustrate Nowcasting? (A) A five-day forecast (B) A warning about a severe thunderstorm on the radio (C) The average rainfall for each month (D) A list of temperatures in major cities Investigation of the Deep-Ocean Keywords: ocean, researchers, techniques, samples, rocks The ocean bottom - a region nearly 2.5 times greater than the total land area of the Earth - is a vast frontier that even today is largely unexplored and uncharted, until about a century ago, the deep-ocean floor was completely inaccessible, hidden beneath waters averaging over 3,600 meters deep. Totally without light and subjected to intense pressures hundreds of times greater than at the Earths surface, the deep-ocean bottom is a hostile environment to humans, in some ways as forbidding and remote as the void of outer space. Although researchers have taken samples of deep-ocean rocks and sediments for over a century, the first detailed global investigation of the ocean bottom did not actually start until 1968, with the beginning of the National Science Foundations Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP). Using techniques first developed for the offshore oil and gas industry. The DSDPs drill ship, the Glomar Challenger, was able to maintain a steady position on the oceans surface and drill in very deep waters, extracting samples of sediments and rock from the ocean floor. The Glomar Challenger completed 96 voyages in a 15-year research program that ended in November 1983. During this time, the vessel logged 600,000 kilometers and took almost 20,000 core samples of seabed sediments and rocks at 624 drilling sites around the world. The Glomar Challengers core samples have allowed geologists to reconstruct what the planet looked like hundreds of millions of years ago and to calculate what it will probably look like millions of years in the future. Today, largely on the strength of evidence gathered during the Glomar Challengers voyages, nearly all earth scientists agree on the theories of plate tectonics and continental drift that explain many of the geological processes that shape the Earth. The cores of sediment drilled by the Glomar Challenger have also yielded information critical to understanding the worlds past climates. Deep-ocean sediments provide a climatic record stretching back hundreds of millions of years, because they are largely isolated from the mechanical erosion and the intense chemical and biological activity that rapidly destroy much land-based evidence of past climates. This record has already provided insights into the patterns and causes of past climatic change-information that may be used to predict future climates. 1. The author refers to the ocean bottom as a frontier in line 2 because it (A) is not a popular area for scientific research (B) contains a wide variety of life forms (C) attracts courageous explorers (D) is an unknown territory 2. The word inaccessible in line 3 is closest in meaning to (A) unrecognizable (B) unreachable (C) unusable (D) unsafe 3. The author mentions outer space in line 7 because. (A) the Earths climate millions of years ago was similar to conditions in outer space (B) it is similar to the ocean floor in being alien to the human environment (C) rock formations in outer space are similar to those found on the ocean floor (D) techniques used by scientists to explore outer space were similar to those used in ocean exploration 4. Which of the following is true of the Glomar Challenger? (A) It is a type of submarine. (B) It is an ongoing project. (C) It has gone on over 100 voyages. (D) It made its first DSDP voyage in 1968. 5. The word extracting in line 13 is closest in meaning to (A) breaking (B) locating (C) removing (D) analyzing 6. The Deep Sea Drilling Project was significant because it was (A) an attempt to find new sources of oil and gas (B) the first extensive exploration of the ocean bottom (C) composed of geologists from all over the world (D) funded entirely by the gas and oil industry 7. The word strength in line 21 is closest in meaning to (A) basis (B) purpose (C) discovery (D) endurance 8. The word they in line 26 refers to (A) years (B) climates (C) sediments (D) cores 9. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as being a result of the Deep Sea Drilling Project? (A) Geologists were able to determine the Earths appearance hundreds of millions of years ago. (B) Two geological theories became more widely accepted by scientists. (C) Information was revealed about the Earths past climatic changes. (D) Geologists observed forms of marine life never before seen. Surge Glaciers Keywords: surge, glaciers, Hubbards surge, Valerie Glacier, ice age During most of their lives, surge glaciers behave like normal glaciers, traveling perhaps only a couple of inches per day. However, at intervals of 10 to 100 years, these glaciers move forward up to 100 times faster than usual. The surge often progresses along a glacier like a great wave, proceeding from one section to another. Subglacial streams of meltwater might act as a lubricant, allowing the glacier to flow rapidly toward the sea. The increasing water pressure under the glacier might lift it off its bed, overcoming the friction between ice and rock, thus freeing the glacier, which rapidly sliders downhill surge glaciers also might be influenced by the climate, volcanic heat, or earthquakes. However, many of these glaciers exist in the same areas as normal glaciers, often almost side by side Some 800 years ago, Alaskas Hubbard Glacier advanced toward the sea, retreated, and advanced again 500 years later. Since 1895, this seventy-mile-long river of ice has been flowing steadily toward the Gulf of Alaska at a rate of approximately 200 feet per year. In June 1986, however, the glacier surged ahead as much as 47 feet a day. Meanwhile, a western tributary, called Valerie Glacier, advanced up to 112 feet per day. Hubbards surge closed off Russell Fiord with a formidable ice dam, some 2,500 feet wide and up to 800 feet high, whose caged waters threatened the town of Yakutat to the south. About 20 similar glaciers around the Gulf of Alaska are heading toward the sea. If enough surge glaciers reach the ocean and raise sea levels, West Antarctic ice shelves could rise off the seafloor and become adrift. A flood of ice would then surge into the Southern Sea. With the continued rise in sea level, more ice would plunge into the ocean, causing sea levels to rise even highter, which in turn would release more ice and set in motion a vicious cycle. The additional sea ice floating toward the tropics would increase Earths albedo and lower global temperatures, perhaps enough to initiate a new ice age. This situation appears to have occurred at the end of the last warm interglacial (the time between glacations), called the Sangamon, when sea ice cooled the ocean dramatically, spawning the beginning of the Ice Age. 30.What is the main topic of the passage? (A) The classification of different types of surge glaciers (B) The causes and consequences of surge glaciers (C) The definition of a surge glacier (D) The history of a particular surge glacier 31.The word intervals in line 2 is closest in meaning to (A) records (B) speeds (C) distances (D) periods 32.The author compares the surging motion of a surge glacier to the movement of a (A) fish (B) wave (C) machine (D) boat 33.Which of the following does the author mention as a possible cause of surging glaciers? (A) The decline in sea levels (B) The occurrence of unusually large ocean waves (C) The shifting Antarctic ice shelves (D) The pressure of meltwater underneath the glacier 34.The word freeing in line 7 is closest in meaning to (A) pushing (B) releasing (C) strengthening (D) draining 35. According to the passage, the Hubbard Glacier (A) moves more often than the Valerie Glacier (B) began movement toward the sea in 1895 (C) is 800 feet wide (D) has moved as fast as 47 feet per day 36. Yakutat is the name of (A) an Alaskan town (B) the last ice age (C) a surge glacier (D) an Antarctic ice shelf 37.The word plunge in line 20 is closest in meaning to (A) drop (B) extend (C) melt (D) drift 38.The term vicious cycle in lines 21-22 refers to the (A) movement pattern of surge glaciers (B) effect surge glaciers could have on the temperature of tropical areas (C) effect that repeated rising sea levels might have on glacial ice (D) constant threat surge glaciers could pose to the Gulf of Alaska 39.The author provides a definition for which of the following terms? (A) Tributary (line 14) (B) Ice dam (line 15) (C) Albedo (line 22) (D) Interglacial (line 24) 40.Which of the following statements is supported by the passage? (A) The movement of surge glaciers can be prevented. (B) The next ice age could be caused by surge glaciers. (C) Surge glaciers help to support Antarctic ice shelves. (D) Normal glaciers have little effect on Earths climate. Climates and Farming in America Keywords: climate, North America, region, soil, fertilization The wide variety of climates in North America has helped spawn a complex pattern of soil regions. In general, the realms soils also reflect the broad environmental partitioning into humid America and arid America. Where annual precipitation exceeds 20 inches (50 centimeters),soils in humid areas tend to be acidic in chemical content, since crops do best in soils that are neither acidic(higher in acid content) nor alkaline(higher in salt content). Fertilization is necessary to achieve the desired level of neutrality between the two. Arid Americas soils are typically alkaline and must be fertilized back toward neutrality by adding acidic compounds. Although many of these dryland soils, particularly in the Great Plains, are quite fertile, European settlers learned over a century ago that water is the main missing ingredient in achieving their agricultural potential. In the 1970s, certain irrigation methods were perfected and finally provided a real opportunity to expand more intensive farming west from the Central Lowland into the drier portions of the Great Plains. Glaciation also enhanced the rich legacy of fertile soils in the central United States, both from the deposition of mineral-rich glacial debris left by meltwater and from thick layers of fine wind-blown glacial material, called loess, in and around the middle Mississippi Valley. Natural vegetation patterns could be displayed on a map of North America, but the enormous human