PASSAGE 3
Questions 21-30
The word noise is derived from the Latin word nausea, meaning “seasickness.” Noise is among the most pervasive pollutants today. Noise pollution can be broadly defined as unwanted or offensive sounds that unreasonably intrude into our daily activities. Noises from traffic, jet engines, barking dogs, garbage trucks, construction equipment, factories, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, televisions, boom boxes, and car radios, to name a few, are among the audible litter that is routinely broadcast into the air.
One measure of pollution is the danger it poses to health. Noise negatively affects human health and well-being. Problems related to noise include hearing loss, stress, high blood pressure, sleeplessness, fright, distraction, and lost productivity. Noise pollution also contributes to a general reduction in the quality of life and eliminates opportunities for tranquility.
A number of factors contribute to problems of growing noise levels. One is increasing population, particularly when it leads to increasing urbanization and urban consolidation, because activities associated with urban living generally lead to increased noise levels. Another is the increasing volume of road, rail, and air traffic. Some people would add to this list a diminishing sense of civility and a growing disrespect for the rights of others.
We experience noise in a number of ways. On some occasions, we can be both the cause and the victim of noise, such as when we are operating noisy appliances or equipment. There are also instances when we experience noise generated by others, just as people experience secondhand smoke. In both instances, noise is equally damaging physically. Secondhand noise is generally more troubling, however, because it is put into the environment by others, without our consent.
The air into which secondhand noise is emitted and on which it travels is “a commons.” [A] It belongs not to an individual person or a group, but to everyone. [B] People, businesses, and organizations, therefore, do not have unlimited rights to broadcast noise as they please, as if the effects of noise were limited only to their private property. [C] Those that disregard the obligation to not interfere with others’ use and enjoyment of the commons by producing noise pollution are, in many ways, acting like a bully in a school yard. [D] Although they may do so unknowingly, they disregard the rights of others and claim for themselves rights that are not theirs.
Noise pollution differs from other forms of pollution in a number of ways. Noise is transient; once the pollution stops, the environment is free of it. This is not the case with air pollution, for example. We can measure the amount of chemicals and other pollutants introduced into the air. Scientists can estimate how much material can be introduced into the air before harm is done. The same is true of water pollution and soil pollution.
Though we can measure individual sounds that may actually damage human hearing, it is difficult to monitor cumulative exposure to noise or to determine just how much noise is too much. The definition of noise pollution itself is highly subjective. To some people, the roar of an engine is satisfying or thrilling; to others it is an annoyance. Loud music may be a pleasure or a torment, depending on the listener and the circumstances.
The actual loudness of a sound is only one component of the negative effect noise pollution has on human beings. Other factors that have to be considered are the time and place, the duration, the source of the sound, and even the mood of the affected person. Most people would not be bothered by the sound of a 21-gun salute on a special occasion. On the other hand, the thump-thump of music coming from the apartment downstairs at 2 A.M., even if barely audible, might be a major source of stress. The sound of a neighbor’s lawn mower may be unobjectionable on a summer afternoon, but if someone is hoping to sleep late on a Saturday morning, the sound of a lawn mower starting up just after sunrise is an irritant.
Câu 1: The word ‘routinely’ in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to
- A. regularly
- B. accidentally
- C. recently
- D. unfortunately
- A. types of noise pollution
- B. factors that explain why noise pollution is getting worse
- C. activities that are associated with life in the city
- D. methods of transportation
- A. is not as damaging physically as noise that one generates oneself
- B. damages a person’s health as much as secondhand smoke
- C. makes people both the cause and the victim of noise pollution
- D. is usually more annoying because it is out of one’s control
- A. comparing it to another common negative experience
- B. pointing out ways in which people, businesses, and organizations sometimes interfere with the rights of others
- C. explaining that sometimes this interference is intentional and sometimes unintentional
- D. giving examples of various forms of commons and of ways people interfere with them
- A. [A]
- B. [B]
- C. [C]
- D. [D]
- A. irritating
- B. persistent
- C. temporary
- D. immeasurable
- A. It’s hard to monitor cumulative exposure to sound because it is difficult to measure individual sounds.
- B. The louder the sound, the more difficult it is to measure.
- C. Individual sounds can be measured, but not the effects of long-term exposure to noise, and it’s hard to say what level of sound is safe.
- D. Individual sounds are not usually very damaging to human hearing, but multiple sounds that occur at the same time can be very harmful.
- A. unusual
- B. exciting
- C. irritating
- D. unexpected
- A. The volume of the sound
- B. The time when the sound is heard
- C. The source of the sound
- D. The combination of one sound and another
- A. a particularly irritating form of noise pollution
- B. a type of noise pollution that can cause physical damage and fright
- C. a loud noise that most people tolerate on special occasions
- D. a noise that is much more annoying than soft music
PASSAGE 4
Questions 31-40
In the mid-1800s, scientists discovered the complete skeleton of a dinosaur called Archaeopteryx lithographica. The creature was thought to have lived approximately 150 million years ago and, curiously, had features that resembled not only dinosaurs, but modern birds as well. For instance, while it had sharp teeth and a bony tail like the dinosaurs of its time, it also had wings and feathers like modern birds. Despite these similarities to birds, the general consensus within the scientific community was that the closest living relatives of dinosaurs were reptiles, like lizards and alligators. It wasn’t until 1969, when paleontologists discovered the fossils of a dinosaur called Deinonychus antirrhopus, that the debate about whether or not birds evolved from dinosaurs was reopened.
The main problem with the theory linking dinosaurs to modern birds – which was also the main support for arguments that reptiles were, in fact, the closest living ancestors of dinosaurs – was the belief that dinosaurs did not have furculae, or wishbones. The main function of this fork-shaped bone, which is located at the base of the neck on birds, is to reinforce the skeleton against the many stresses of flight. However, fossil evidence found in recent years has revealed that many dinosaurs did indeed have furculae. For example, the dinosaurs in the Dromaeosauridae family, a group of bird-like dinosaurs, are all believed to have had furculae. This discovery contradicts the theory that the bones are unique to birds.
[A] In addition to the observation of furculae in dinosaur fossils, paleontologists have identified a number of other structural similarities between birds and dinosaurs. [B] For example, comparisons between the skeletons of birds and those of dinosaurs like Velociraptor mongoliensis and Deinonychus reveal that birds and dinosaurs share many unique skeletal features. [C] For instance, Velociraptor fossils show that the creature’s front limbs, the construction of which would have presumably allowed for great flexibility are similar to those of modern birds. [D] On the other hand, no such likenesses exist between dinosaurs and early reptiles.
Another compelling piece of evidence that paleontologists now generally agree that birds evolved from dinosaurs is the presence of feathers in both organisms. Fossils of Archaeopteryx feature imprints of feathers that closely resemble those found on modern birds. Since the discovery of Archaeopteryx, paleontologists have discovered fossils demonstrating that a number of other dinosaurs that were likely related to Archaeopteryx also had feathers. Furthermore, even the fossils of dinosaurs that were not related to Archaeopteryx, such as Tyrannosaurus rex, have been found to have long, feather-like structures that are commonly referred to as protofeathers which help to insulate dinosaurs from cold temperatures, not to assist with flight, which accounts for why many flightless dinosaurs may have had them.
Paleontologists have also found evidence that the lungs of dinosaurs were shaped similarly to birds’ lungs. Birds have extra air sacs in front of and behind their lungs that allow them to keep their lungs inflated constantly and some dinosaurs also had lungs with extra chambers. However, most animals, including primates, lizards, and frogs, have lungs with two compartments. The similarities in skeletal structures, the existence of feathers and extra lung chambers in both groups reveal that birds probably evolved from dinosaurs and are thus their closest living relatives.
Câu 11: Why does the author mention wings and feathers?
- A. to point out features shared by Archaeopteryx and modern birds.
- B. to explain the small size of Archaeopteryx fossils.
- C. to argue that Archaeopteryx was most likely a bird and not a dinosaur.
- D. to describe what Archaeopteryx probably looked like.
- A. question
- B. debate
- C. evidence
- D. agreement
- A. The idea that dinosaurs did not have wishbones was the chief difficulty in proving that modern birds were related to dinosaurs.
- B. Many people believed that reptiles were the closest living ancestors of dinosaurs because, like dinosaurs, they do not have furculae.
- C. The main reason that scientists couldn’t link modern birds and dinosaurs was because they could not find furculae in most modern bird species.
- D. Dinosaurs’ presumed lack of wishbones made people think that birds, not reptiles, were their closest living ancestors.
- A. it indicated that several bird species had already evolved during the time of dinosaurs.
- B. it proved that many reptilian animals, including dinosaurs, had furculae.
- C. it made people uncertain about the theory that reptiles were the closest living relatives of dinosaurs.
- D. it helped scientists determine the purpose of furculae in non-bird species.
- A. They were closely related to Archaeopteryx.
- B. They were able to fly.
- C. They were the only dinosaurs that had furculae.
- D. They were small compared to other dinosaurs.
- A. Velociraptor fossils.
- B. front limbs.
- C. likenesses.
- D. early reptiles.
- A. [A]
- B. [B]
- C. [C]
- D. [D]
- A. persuasive
- B. conflicting
- C. recent
- D. sufficient
- A. They were likely the type of feathers that Archaeopteryx had.
- B. Only bird-like dinosaurs had them.
- C. They probably helped dinosaurs stay warm.
- D. Some modern birds have been found to have them.
- A. They have a more elaborate lung structure than dinosaurs did.
- B. They are able to keep their lungs full of air constantly.
- C. Their lungs have a similar structure.
- D. They have other organs in addition to lungs to help them breathe.
