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 from 35 to 42.
Biological diversity has become widely recognized as a critical conservation issue only in the past two decades. The rapid destruction of the tropical rain forests, which are the ecosystems with the highest known species diversity on Earth, has awakened people to the importance and fragility of biological diversity. The high rate of species extinctions in these environments is jolting, but it is important to recognize the significance of biological diversity in all ecosystems. As the human population continues to
expand, it will negatively affect one after another of Earth’s ecosystems. In terrestrial ecosystems and in fringe marine ecosystems (such as wetlands), the most common problem is habitat destruction. In most situations, the result is irreversible. Now humans are beginning to destroy marine ecosystems through other types of activities, such as disposal and runoff of poisonous waste; in less than two centuries, by significantly reducing the variety of species on Earth, they have irrevocably redirected the course of evolution.
Certainly, there have been periods in Earth’s history when mass extinctions have occurred. The extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by some physical event, either climatic or cosmic. There have also been less dramatic extinctions, as when natural competition between species reached an extreme conclusion. Only 0.01 percent of the species that have lived on Earth have survived to the present, and it was largely chance that determined which species survived and which died out.
However, nothing has ever equaled the magnitude and speed with which the human species is altering the physical and chemical world and demolishing the environment. In fact, there is wide agreement that it is the rate of change humans are inflicting, even more than the changes themselves, that will lead to biological devastation. Life on Earth has continually been in flux as slow physical and chemical changes have occurred on Earth, but life needs time to adapt-time for migration and genetic adaptation within existing species and time for the proliferation of new genetic material and new species that may be able to survive in new environments
What can be inferred from the extinction of the dinosaurs in paragraph 2?
B. Actions by humans could not stop the irreversible process of a species' extinction
B. Actions by humans could not stop the irreversible process of a species' extinction
C. Earth's climate has changed significantly since the dinosaurs' extinction
D. The cause of the dinosaurs' extinction is unknown
1. The rise in green jobs has positive effects on the conservation of ecosystems. (BENEFICIAL)
-> The rise in green jobs has beneficial effects on the conservation of ecosystems
2. The destruction of the rainforest can badly affect the survival of many species. (THREATEN)
-> The destruction of the rainforest can badly threaten the survival of many species
3. If we continue to use our natural resources too much, we will cause loss of biodiversity. (OVERUSE)
-> If we continue to overuse our natural resources, we will cause loss of biodiversity
4. Both individuals and governments should take responsibility for protecting the environment. (RESPONSIBLE)
-> Both indiviuals and governments should be responsible for protecting the environment
5. Conservation organisations are of great importance to protect rare species from hunting. (ROLE)
-> Conservation organisations play an important role in protecting rare species from hunting