READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-32, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

Irish Elk

Toothed cats, mastodons, giant sloths, woolly rhinos, and many other big, shaggy mammals are widely thought to have died out around the end of the last ice age, some 10,500 years ago.

A. The Irish elk is also known as the giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus). Analysis of ancient bones and teeth by scientists based in Britain and Russia show the huge herbivore survived until about 5,000 B.C. - more than three millennia later than previously believed. The research team says this suggests additional factors, besides climate change, probably hastened the giant deer's eventual extinction. The factors could include hunting or habitat destruction by humans.

B. The Irish elk, so-called because its well-preserved remains are often found in lake sediments under peat bogs in Ireland, first appeared about 400,000 years ago in Europe and central Asia. Through a combination of radiocarbon dating of skeletal remains and the mapping of locations where the remains were unearthed, the team shows the Irish elk was widespread across Europe before the last "big freeze." The deer's range later contracted to the Ural Mountains, in modern-day Russia, which separate Europe from Asia.

C. The giant deer made its last stand in western Siberia, some 3,000 years after the ice sheets receded, said the study's co-author, Adrian Lister, professor of palaeobiology at University College London, England. "The eastern foothills of the Urals became very densely forested about 8,000 years ago, which could have pushed them on to the plain," he said. He added that pollen analysis indicates the region then became very dry in response to further climactic change, leading to the loss of important food plants. "In combination with human pressures, this could have finally snuffed them out," Lister said.

D. Hunting by humans has often been put forward as a contributory cause of extinctions of the Pleistocene mega fauna. The team, though, said their new date for the Irish elk's extinction hints at an additional human-made problem-habitat destruction. Lister said, "We haven't got just hunting 7,000 years ago-this was also about the time the first

F. The extinction of megafauna around the world was almost completed by the end of the last ice age. It is believed that megafauna initially came into existence in response to glacial conditions and became extinct with the onset of warmer climates. Tropical and subtropical areas have experienced less radical climatic change. The most dramatic of these changes was the transformation of a vast area of north Africa into the world's
largest desert. Significantly, Africa escaped major faunal extinction as did tropical and sub-tropical Asia. The human exodus from Africa and our entrance into the Americas and Australia were also accompanied by climate change. Australia's climate changed from cold-dry to warm-dry. As a result, surface water became scarce. Most inland lakes became completely dry or dry in the warmer seasons. Most large, predominantly browsing animals lost their habitat and retreated to a narrow band in eastern Australia, where there was permanent water and better vegetation. Some animals may have survived until about 7000 years ago. If people have been in Australia for up to 60 000 years, then megafauna must have co-existed with humans for at least 30 000 years. Regularly hunted modem kangaroos survived not only 10000 years of Aboriginal hunting, but also an onslaught of commercial shooters.
G. The group of scientists led by A.J. Stuart focused on northern Eurasia, which he was taking as Europe, plus Siberia, essentially, where they 've got the best data that animals became extinct in Europe during the Late Pleistocene. Some cold-adapted animals, go through into the last part of the cold stage, and then become extinct up there. So you've actually got two phases of extinction. Now, neither of these coincide- these are Neanderthals here being replaced by modem humans. There's no obvious coincidence between the arrival of humans or climatic change alone and these extinctions. There's a climatic change here, so there's a double effect here. Again, as animals come through to the last part of the cold stage, here there's a fundamental change in the climate, reorganization of vegetation, and the combination of the climatic change and the presence of humans-of advanced Paleolithic humans - causes this wave of extinction. There's a profound difference between the North American data and that of Europe, which summarize that the extinctions in northern Eurasia, in Europe, are moderate and staggered, and in North America severe and sudden. And these things relate to the differences in the timing of human arrival. The extinctions follow from human predation, but only at times of fundamental changes in the environment.

Questions 28-32 Summary
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than three words from the Reading Passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 28-32 on your answer sheet.
IT is commonly believed that large woodly mammals became extinct about 28..... at the end of last ice age. Having been preserved well in Europe and central Asia, the remains of the Irish elk was initially found approximately 29........ Around 30.......they were driven to live in the plain after being restricted to the Ural Mountains. Hunting was considered as one of the important factors of Irish elk's extinction. However, another major problem could be habita lestruction that happened due to settlement of Neolithic people arond until 31.. ..the Irisk elk was able to withstand climatic fluctuation. Some scientists think that the huge antles may also have possibly contributed to the Irish elk's extinction, but this explanation was highly controversial as they lived pleasantly during the 32......

Questions 33-35
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
33. What man-made issue bisides hunting suggest that the advent of human resulted in the extinction of Irish elk?

1. Mastodon

Definition: An extinct large elephant-like mammal with long tusks.
Vietnamese: Voi răng mấu (đã tuyệt chủng).
IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Toothed cats, mastodons, giant sloths, woolly rhinos, and many other big, shaggy mammals..."

2. Shaggy

Definition: Covered with long, rough, and untidy hair.
Vietnamese: Xù xì, rậm rạp.
IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "...many other big, shaggy mammals are widely thought to have died out..."

3. Herbivore

Definition: An animal that feeds on plants.
Vietnamese: Động vật ăn cỏ.
IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "The huge herbivore survived until about 5,000 B.C."

4. Peat bog

Definition: A type of wetland that accumulates peat, a deposit of dead plant material.
Vietnamese: Đầm lầy than bùn.
IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "...its well-preserved remains are often found in lake sediments under peat bogs in Ireland..."

5. Radiocarbon dating

Definition: A method for determining the age of an object containing organic material.
Vietnamese: Phương pháp xác định niên đại bằng carbon phóng xạ.
IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Through a combination of radiocarbon dating of skeletal remains..."

6. Foothill

Definition: A low hill at the base of a mountain or mountain range.
Vietnamese: Chân đồi.
IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "The eastern foothills of the Urals became very densely forested..."

7. Pollen analysis

Definition: The study of pollen samples to understand past climates and vegetation.
Vietnamese: Phân tích phấn hoa.
IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Pollen analysis indicates the region then became very dry..."

8. Megafauna

Definition: Large or giant animals, especially those of a particular region or period.
Vietnamese: Động vật lớn.
IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Hunting by humans has often been put forward as a contributory cause of extinctions of the Pleistocene megafauna."

9. Subtropical

Definition: Relating to regions bordering the tropics.
Vietnamese: Cận nhiệt đới.
IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Tropical and subtropical areas have experienced less radical climatic change."

10. Exodus

Definition: A mass departure of people.
Vietnamese: Cuộc di cư lớn.
IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "The human exodus from Africa and our entrance into the Americas and Australia..."

11. Predominantly

Definition: Mainly; for the most part.
Vietnamese: Phần lớn, chủ yếu.
IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Most large, predominantly browsing animals lost their habitat..."

12. Commercial shooter

Definition: A person who hunts animals for trade or profit.
Vietnamese: Thợ săn thương mại.
IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "...an onslaught of commercial shooters."

13. Paleolithic

Definition: Relating to the early part of the Stone Age.
Vietnamese: Thời kỳ đồ đá cũ.
IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "...the presence of humans - of advanced Paleolithic humans..."

14. Staggered

Definition: Arranged or occurring at intervals.
Vietnamese: Bị gián đoạn, so le.
IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "The extinctions in northern Eurasia, in Europe, are moderate and staggered..."

15. Severe

Definition: Very great; intense.
Vietnamese: Khắc nghiệt, nghiêm trọng.
IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "In North America [the extinctions are] severe and sudden."

• 10,500 years ago
• 400,000 years ago
• 8,000 years ago
• 7,000 years ago
• wooded interglacials
• male's huge antlers
• minerals
• B
• D
• A
• C
• A