Problem: OPTIONS:
- Ants, bees and spiders have been shrinking by 50% to 70% in the past decade.
- Birds have suffered more from climate change than fish.
- Climate change has even affected plankton negatively.
- A warming event causing species to become smaller has never happened before.
Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: "Plants were expected to get larger with increased carbon dioxide in atmosphere, but changes in temperature, humidity and nutrient availability seem to trumped the benefits of increased carbon dioxide," said researchers from the National University of Singapore. 45 percent of the species studied now reach smaller adult sizes than they did in the past. The researchers pointed out that warmer temperatures and changing habitats, caused by climate change, are possible reasons for shrinking creatures. "We do not yet know the mechanisms involved, or why some organism are getting smaller while others are unaffected," the researchers said. "Until we understand more, we could be risking negative consequences that we can't yet quantify." The change was big in coldblooded animals. Only two decades of warmer temperatures were enough to make reptiles smaller. An increase of 1 degree centigrade caused nearly a 10 percent increase in metabolism . Greater use of energy resulted in tiny tortoises and little lizards. Fish are smaller now too. Though overfishing has played a part in reducing numbers, experiments show that warmer temperatures also stop fish growth. There is a recent report on warmer temperatures' negative effects on plankton , the base of the marine ecosystem. Warmblooded animals weren't immune from the size change caused by climate change. Many birds are now smaller. Mammals have been miniaturized too. Soay sheep are thinner. Red deer are weaker. And polar bears are smaller, compared with historical records. This is not the first time this has happened in Earth's history. 55 million years ago, a warming event similar to the current climate change caused bees, spiders and ants to shrink by 50 to 75 percent over several thousand years. That event happened over a long time than the current climate change. The speed of modern climate change could mean organisms may not respond or adapt quickly enough, especially those with long generation times. So, it is likely that more negative influences of climate... Question: What can we learn from the passage? _ Answer:
Answer: Climate change has even affected plankton negatively.
Problem: OPTIONS:
- Ways to test visuospatial memory.
- Why having kids improves memory.
- How young mothers are different from never-pregnant women.
- The negative effects that worries of women without children have.
Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: Having a child may improve a woman's memory, a new study suggests. In the study, women who were new mothers scored better on tests of visuospatial memory - the ability to understand and remember information about their surroundings--compared with women who didn't have children. The findings contradicts the old belief that women develop"baby brain" or a decline in memory and cognitive function, after they have kids, said study researcher Melissa Santiago, a doctoral student at Carlos Albizu University in Miami. "You don't have to feel that because you have kids, your memory isn't the same," Santiago said. The study was small, and the findings will have to be tested in larger groups of people, Santiago said. Previous studies on the topic have had mixed results--some showed motherhood hurts cognition, and others showed the opposite. Studies on rats show those with pups have better memory than those without offspring. Santiago analyzed information from 35 first-time mothers whose children were ages 10 to 24 months, and 35 women who had never been pregnant. Both groups scored similarly on intelligence tests. The average age of mothers was 29 and the average age of never-pregnant women was 27. To test visuospatial memory, the women were shown a paper containing six symbols for 10 seconds, and then asked to draw what they remembered. This task was repeated several times. The first time women were shown the paper, both groups remembered about the same amount. But on the second and third pass, mothers performed better than those without children, indicating that the mothers collected more information each time than the other women. Later, the women were shown a variety of different symbols, and asked to remember which ones were presented on the earlier task. Mothers did not make a mistake in this task--they remembered every symbol correctly--but those without children made one or two errors, Santiago said. Question: Which of the following was discussed in the text? Answer:
Answer: Ways to test visuospatial memory.
Problem: OPTIONS:
- They thought it was too late to have children in their fifties.
- When they reached middle age, they thought of having children.
- They believed that children born of older parents would be smarter.
- Not until they had the twins did they feel they had formed a family.
Q: Read the following article and answer the question. Article: Psychiatrists who work with older parents say that maturity can be an advantage in child raising--older parents are more thoughtful, use less physical discipline and spend more time with their children. But raising kids takes money and energy. Many older parents find themselves balancing their limited financial resources, decreasing energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active child. Dying and leaving young children is probably the older parents' biggest, and often unspoken fear. "Having late-life children often means parents, particularly fathers, end up retiring much later. For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream." says Brandy Gabrielle, an economics professor. Henry Metcalf, a 54-year-old journalist, knows it takes money to raise kids. But he's also worried that his energy will give out first. Sure, he can still ride bikes with his athletic fifth grader, but he's learned that young at heart doesn't mean young. Lately he's been taking afternoon naps to keep up his energy. "My body is aging," says Metcalf. "You can't get away from that." Often, older parents hear the ticking of another kind of biological clock. Therapists who work with middle-aged and older parents say fears about aging are nothing to laugh at. "They worry they'll be mistaken for grandparents, or that they'll need help getting up out of those little chairs in nursery school," says Joann Gals, a New York psychologist. But at the core of those little fears there is often a much bigger one: "that they won't be alive long enough to support and protect their children," she says. Many late-life parents, though, say their children came at just the right time. After marrying late and undergoing years of pregnancy treatment, Marilyn Nolen and her husband, Randy, had twins. "We both wanted children," says Marilyn, who was 55 when she gave birth. The twins have given the couple what they desired for years -- a sense of family. Kids of older dads are often smarter, happier and more sociable because their fathers are... Question: What do we learn about Marilyn and Randy Nolen? Answer:
Answer:
Not until they had the twins did they feel they had formed a family.