Passage 2
The origins of the horse go back to eohippus the "dawn horse" of me Eocene only 10 to 20 inches tall. Like its relatives the ancient tapir and rhinoceros, eohippus had four toes on its front feet, three on the rear, and teeth adapted to a forest diet of soft leaves. Eohippus died out about 5.1 million years ago in both North America and Europe. Late ancestral horse types moved from their forest niche out onto the grassy plains. Their teeth act to accommodate to hard siliceous grass. No longer could these protohorses slip away through thick forest when dancer threatened. Escape now demanded speed and endurance Limbs crew longer. Extra toes became vestiges that were not visible externally 1. The passage mainly discusses the (A) evolution of the horse (C) animals of the Eocene
Passage 3
In terrestrial affairs we think of "big" as being complicated; a city is more intricate than a village, an ocean more complicated than a puddle. For the universe, the reverse seems to be the case bigger is simpler Galaxies have some puzzling features, but on the whole, they are scarcely more complicated than the stars that compose them Beyond the galaxies, in the hierarchy of the cosmos, there are clusters of galaxies; these clusters are loosely bound by the gravity of their largest members and tend to look very much the same in all directions. Simplest of all is the universe at large, it is far less complicated than the Earth, one of its most trivial members. The universe consists of billions of galaxies flying apart as if from an explosion that set it in motion, it is not lopsided, nor does it rotate. The more thoroughly scientists investigate the universe, the more clearly its simplicity shines through. 1. What is the main point made in the passage? (A) The Earth is more complicated than the solar system (B) The universe is filled with puzzling materials. (C) The universe is a relatively simple phenomenon. (D) Galaxy clusters are an illusion. 2. According to the passage, clusters of galaxies are (A) indiscernible in the cosmos B) held together by gravity (C) made up of only one or two galaxies D) created when stars explode 3. According to the passage, which of the following is the most complicated? (A) The Earth (B) A cluster of galaxies (C) The universe (D) A galaxy 4. It can be inferred from the passage that future research will support which of the following statements? (A) Scientists in the past have been misled by the apparent simplicity of the universe. (B) The chaos and confusion of the universe will never be understood (C) Findings will confirm the belief that the universe is simple (D) Billions of galaxies are predicted to explode, adding to universal complexity.
(B) size of eohippus (D) plight of endangered species
2. The author states that eohippus was related to the (A) horsefly (B) tapeworm (C) hippopotamus (D) rhinoceros 3. What did the eohippus eat? (A) Rhinoceros meat (C) Hard siliceous grass
(B) Soft leaves (D) Other horses
4. In what way did predators present less of a threat to eohippus than to later proto horses. (A) Eohippus was hidden by the forest. (B) Eohippus could run farther. (C) Eohippus was not edible. (D) Eohippus was larger and stronger 5. The paragraph following the passage most probably discusses (A) other changes that the rhinoceros has undergone (B) more reasons for the extinction of eohippus (C) further development of early horse types. (D) the diet of eohippus.
