Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
It is estimated that over 99 percent of all species that ever existed have become extinct. What causes extinction? When a species is no longer adapted to a changed environment, it may perish. The exact causes of a species’ death vary from situation to situation. Rapid ecological change may render an environment hostile to a species. For example, temperatures may change and a species may not be adapted. Food resources may be affected by environmental changes, which will then cause problems for a species requiring these resources. Other species may become better adapted to an environment, resulting in competition and, ultimately, in the death of a species.
The fossil record reveals that extinction has occurred throughout the history of Earth. Recent analyses have also revealed that on some occasions many species became extinct at the same time - a mass extinction. One of the best-known examples of mass extinction occurred 65 million years ago with the demise of dinosaurs and many other forms of life. Perhaps the largest mass extinction was the one that occurred 225 million years ago, when approximately 95 percent of all species died. Mass extinctions can be caused by a relatively rapid change in the environment and can be worsened by the close interrelationship of many species. If, for example, something were to happen to destroy much of the plankton in the oceans, then the oxygen content of Earth would drop, even affect organisms not living in the oceans. Such a change would probably lead to a mass extinction.
One interesting, and controversial, finding is that extinctions during the past 250 million years have tended to be more intense every 26 million years. The periodic extinction might be due to intersection of the earth’s orbit with a cloud of comets, but this theory is purely speculative. Some researchers have also speculated that extinction may often be random. That is, certain species may be eliminated and others may survive for no particular reason. A species’ survival may have nothing to do with its ability or inability to adapt. If so, some of revolutionary history may reflect a sequence of essentially random events.
Which of the following can be inferred from the theory of periodic extinction mentioned in paragraph 3?
A. The theory is no longer seriously considered.
B. evidence to support the theory has recently been found.
C. Most scientists believe the theory to be accurate.
D. Many scientists could be expected to disagree with it.
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Đáp án : D
Đầu đoạn cuối: One interesting, and controversial finding is that extinctions during the past 250 million years have tended to be more intense every 26 million years. The periodic extinction… is purely speculative -> phát hiện gây tranh gãi rằng sự tuyệt chủng 250 triệu năm qua cứ 26 triệu năm một lần sẽ gay gắt hơn. Thuyết tuyệt chủng theo giai đoạn này chỉ là suy đoán ---> nhiều nhà khoa học không đồng ý
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