The history of the tortoise: Reading answers

The passage opens

Answers 27–40

1. 27

   What had to transfer from sea to land before any animals could migrate?

   plants Short answer

   The question asks what had to move onto land before other animals could migrate. The passage says plants had to invade the land first.

   “without whose prior invasion of the land none of the other migrations could have happened.”

2. 28

   Which TWO processes are mentioned as those in which animals had to make big changes as they moved onto land? ________ and _______

   breathing / breathing reproduction Short answer

   The question asks which processes needed major changes. The passage names breathing and reproduction.

   “including breathing and reproduction.”

3. 29

   Which physical feature, possessed by their ancestors, do whales lack?

   gills Short answer

   The question asks which feature whales lack. The passage says they never developed gills like those of their marine ancestors.

   “They do, however, still breathe air, having never developed anything equivalent to the gills of their earlier marine incarnation.”

4. 30

   Which animals might ichthyosaurs have resembled?

   dolphins Short answer

   The question asks what ichthyosaurs might have resembled. The passage compares their fossils to dolphins.

   “The fossils look like dolphins, and they surely lived like dolphins, in the water.”

5. 31

   Turtles were among the first group of animals to migrate back to the sea.

   NOT GIVEN True / False / Not Given

   The passage says turtles returned to the sea a very long time ago, but does not say whether they were among the first animals to do so.

6. 32

   It is always difficult to determine where an animal lived when its fossilised remains are incomplete.

   FALSE True / False / Not Given

   The statement says it is always difficult to identify an animal’s habitat from incomplete fossils, but the passage says it is sometimes obvious, so the statement is contradicted.

   “Sometimes it's obvious.”

7. 33

   The habitat of ichthyosaurs can be determined by the appearance of their fossilised remains.

   TRUE True / False / Not Given

   The passage says ichthyosaurs’ fossil appearance resembles dolphins and that they lived in water. This confirms that their habitat can be inferred from the appearance of their fossils.

   “The fossils look like dolphins, and they surely lived like dolphins, in the water.”

8. 34

   3 measurements / three measurements Table completion

   The flowchart refers to the measurements taken from forelimb bones. The passage specifies three measurements.

   “obtained three measurements in these particular bones of 71 species of living turtles and tortoises.”

9. 35

   graph / graph paper / triangular graph / triangular paper Table completion

   The flowchart asks what was used to plot the measurements. The passage identifies triangular graph paper.

   “They used a kind of triangular graph paper to plot the three measurements against one another.”

10. 36

    cluster Table completion

    The flowchart describes the grouping of land tortoises on the graph. The passage says they formed a tight cluster.

    “all the land tortoise species formed a tight cluster of points in the upper part of the triangle”

11. 37

    amphibious Table completion

    The flowchart refers to species that live in both habitats. The passage describes these as amphibious species.

    “except when they added some species that spend time both in water and on land.”

12. 38

    half way Table completion

    The question asks where the amphibious species appear on the graph. The passage places them approximately halfway between the wet and dry clusters.

    “these amphibious species show up on the triangular graph approximately half way between the 'wet cluster' of sea tortoises and the 'dry cluster' of land tortoises.”

13. 39

    dry-land tortoises Table completion

    The flowchart asks what the fossils were identified as. The passage concludes that both were dry-land tortoises.

14. 40

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

    D: they have made the transition from sea to land more than once. Multiple choice

    The writer’s key point is that tortoises returned from sea to land more than once. This matches option D.

    “Tortoises therefore represent a remarkable double return.”

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