IELTS Online Test
CAM10 - Reading Test 4
When evolution runs backwards
Evolution isn’t supposed to run backwards - yet an increasing number of examples show that it does and that it can sometimes represent the future of a species.
Wildfires are becoming an increasing menace in the western United States, with Southern California being the hardest hit area. There's a reason fire squads battling more frequent blazes in Southern California are having such difficulty containing the flames, despite better preparedness than ever and decades of experience fighting fires fanned by the ‘Santa Ana Winds’. The wildfires themselves, experts say, are generally hotter, faster, and spread more erratically than in the past.
Megafires, also called ‘siege fires’, are the increasingly frequent blazes that burn 500,000 acres or more - 10 times the size of the average forest fire of 20 years ago. Some recent wildfires are among the biggest ever in California in terms of acreage burned, according to state figures and news reports.
One explanation for the trend to more superhot fires is that the region, which usually has dry summers, has had significantly below normal precipitation in many recent years. Another reason, experts say, is related to the century- long policy of the US Forest Service to stop wildfires as quickly as possible.
The unintentional consequence has been to halt the natural eradication of underbrush, now the primary fuel for megafires.
Three other factors contribute to the trend, they add. First is climate change, marked by a 1-degree Fahrenheit rise in average yearly temperature across the western states. Second is fire seasons that on average are 78 days longer than they were 20 years ago. Third is increased construction of homes in wooded areas.
‘We are increasingly building our homes in fire-prone ecosystems,’ says Dominik Kulakowski, adjunct professor of biology at Clark University Graduate School of Geography in Worcester, Massachusetts. ‘Doing that in many of the forests of the western US is like building homes on the side of an active volcano.'
In California, where population growth has averaged more than 600,000 a year for at least a decade, more residential housing is being built. ‘What once was open space is now residential homes providing fuel to make fires burn with greater intensity,’ says Terry McHale of the California Department of Forestry firefighters' union. ‘With so much dryness, so many communities to catch fire, so many fronts to fight, it becomes an almost incredible job.'
That said, many experts give California high marks for making progress on preparedness in recent years, after some of the largest fires in state history scorched thousands of acres, burned thousands of homes, and killed numerous people. Stung in the past by criticism of bungling that allowed fires to spread when they might have been contained, personnel are meeting the peculiar challenges of neighborhood - and canyon- hopping fires better than previously, observers say.
State promises to provide more up-to-date engines, planes, and helicopters to fight fires have been fulfilled. Firefighters’ unions that in the past complained of dilapidated equipment, old fire engines, and insufficient blueprints for fire safety are now praising the state's commitment, noting that funding for firefighting has increased, despite huge cuts in many other programs. ‘We are pleased that the current state administration has been very proactive in its support of us, and [has] come through with budgetary support of the infrastructure needs we have long sought,' says Mr. McHale of the firefighters’ union.
Besides providing money to upgrade the fire engines that must traverse the mammoth state and wind along serpentine canyon roads, the state has invested in better command-and-control facilities as well as in the strategies to run them. ‘In the fire sieges of earlier years, we found that other jurisdictions and states were willing to offer mutual-aid help, but we were not able to communicate adequately with them,’ says Kim Zagaris, chief of the state's Office of Emergency Services Fire and Rescue Branch.
After a commission examined and revamped communications procedures, the statewide response ‘has become far more professional and responsive,’ he says. There is a sense among both government officials and residents that the speed, dedication, and coordination of firefighters from several states and jurisdictions are resulting in greater efficiency than in past ‘siege fire’ situations.
In recent years, the Southern California region has improved building codes, evacuation procedures, and procurement of new technology. ‘I am extraordinarily impressed by the improvements we have witnessed,’ says Randy Jacobs, a Southern California- based lawyer who has had to evacuate both his home and business to escape wildfires. ‘Notwithstanding all the damage that will continue to be caused by wildfires, we will no longer suffer the loss of life endured in the past because of the fire prevention and firefighting measures that have been put in place,’ he says.
27
When discussing the theory developed by Louis Dollo, the writer says that
A
it was immediately referred to as Dollo’s law
B
it supported the possibility of evolutionary throwbacks
C
it was modified by biologists in the early twentieth century
D
it was based on many years of research
ĐÁP ÁN & GIẢI THÍCH CÂU 27
Locate
Simplify & Connection
1
While Lombroso measuring criminals , Louis Dollo was studying fossil records and coming to the conclusion.
2
In 1980 he proposed that the evolution was irreversible : an organism is unable to return.
3
Early 20th century biologists came to similar conclusion though they qualified it in terms of probability.
4
And the idea stuck and came to be known as Dollo’s law Giải thích chi tiết
Sau khi các bạn đọc phần Simplication xong, thì xem phần giải thích ý chính từng câu để nắm rõ phần thông tin nha:
1
Dollo nghiên cứu về fossils và dần đi tới kết luận
2
Năm 1980, Dollo kết luận: the evolution was irreversible
3
Đầu thế kỷ 20, biologists có chung kết luận với Dollo mặc dù có đủ điều kiện và xác suất để xảy ra nhưng không có lý do gì mà tiến hóa có thể chạy ngược
4
The idea (the evolution was irreversible) bị dừng lại ở đây và được biết tới như là Dollo'law--> Main idea: Sau khi có những nghiên cứu từ biologists >> The idea (the evolution was irreversible) bị dừng lại ở đây được biết tới như là Dollo's law
So sánh với các đáp án còn lại:
Đáp án A: It was immediately referred to as Dollo’s law → không đề cập sự immediate → Sai
Đáp án B: It supported the possibility of evolutionary throwbacks → Sai vì evolution was irreversible (sự tiến hóa không thể đảo ngược)
Đáp án D: It was based on many years of research → Sai vì không nhắc tới
--> Đáp án: C - It was modified by biologists in the early twentieth century
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