Academic Reading # 51 - The History of the Tortoise

Academic Reading # 51 - The History of the Tortoise

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Written by IELTS Mentor

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on the reading passage below.

THE HISTORY OF THE TORTOISE

Questions 27-30
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet.

27. What had to transfer from sea to land before any animals could migrate?
28. Which TWO processes are mentioned as those in which animals had to make big changes as they   moved onto land?
29. Which physical feature. possessed by their ancestors, do whales lack?
30. Which animals might ichthyosaurs have resembled?

Questions 31-33
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?

In boxes 31-33 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE    if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE    if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN    if there is no information on this more than once
   
31. Turtles were among the first group of animals to migrate back to the sea.
32. It is always difficult to determine where an animal lived when its fossilized remains are incomplete.
33. The habitat of ichthyosaurs can be determined by the appearance of their fossilized remains.

Questions 34-39
Complete the flow-chart  below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 34-39 on your answer sheet.

Method of determining where the ancestors of turtles and tortoises come from

       Step 1:
71 species of living turtles and tortoises were examined and a total of 34 ................were taken from the bones of their forelimbs.
      Step 2:
The data was recorded on a 35 ................... (necessary for comparing the information). Outcome: Land tortoises were represented by a dense 36 .................. of points towards the top. Sea turtles were grouped together in the bottom part.
      Step 3:
The same data was collected from some living 37 .................. species and added to the other results. Outcome: The points for these species turned out to be positioned about 38 .................. up the triangle between the land tortoises and the sea turtles.
     Step 4:
Bones of R quenstedti and P talampayensis were examined in a similar way and the results added.
Outcome: The position of the points indicated that both these ancient creatures were
39......................

Questions 40
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in box 40 on your answer sheet.

According to the writer, the most significant thing about tortoises is that

A. they are able to adapt to life in extremely dry environments.
B. their original life form was a kind of primeval bacteria.
C. they have so much in common with sea turtles.
D. they have made the transition from sea to land more than once.

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