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GUST 0341 – COLLEGE READING I
FINAL EXAM
PLEASE DO NOT WRITE ON EXAM
Directions: For the following questions, read this paragraph and choose the best definition of the
underlined words according to the context.
Climate Change, Disease, and the Amphibians of Monteverde
1 In the late 1980s, the golden toad and the harlequin frog were the most diligently studied species
affected by changing environment conditions in the Costa Rican cloud forest. However, once scientists began
looking at populations of other species at Monteverde, they began to notice more troubling changes. By the
early 1990s, not only had golden toads, harlequin frogs, and other organisms been pushed from their cloudforest habitat into apparent extinction, but also many species from lower, drier habitats had begun to appear at
Monteverde. By the year 2000, 15 dryforest species had moved into the cloud forest and begun to breed.
2 Soon after the golden toad’s disappearance, scientists began to investigate the potential role of global
climate change in driving cloud-forest species toward extinction. They noted that the period from July 1986 to
June 1987 was the driest on record at Monteverde. There were unusually high temperatures and record-low
stream flows during this time. These conditions had caused the golden toad’s breeding pools to drop in the
spring of 1987, likely killing nearly all of the eggs and tadpoles in the pools.
3 By reviewing reams of weather data, scientists found that the number of dry days and dry periods each
winter in the Monteverde region had increased between 1973 and 1998. Because amphibians breathe and absorb
moisture through their skin, they are susceptible to dry conditions. During this time, herpetologists were noting
the high adult mortality and breeding problems among golden toads and other amphibians.
4 Throughout this period, scientists worldwide were realizing that the atmosphere and oceans were
warming because of human release of carbon dioxide and other green house gases. With this in mind, scientists
reviewed the literature on ocean and atmospheric science to analyze the effects on Monteverde’s local climate
of warming patterns in the ocean regions around Costa Rica.
5 Warmer oceans, the researchers found, caused clouds to pass over at higher elevations. Then the
clouds were no longer in contact with the trees. Once the cloud forest’s moisture supply was pushed upward, the
forest began to dry out. Higher clouds and decreasing moisture could explain the disappearance of the golden
toad and harlequin frog and also the concurrent population crashes and subsequent disappearance of 20 other
species of frogs and toads from the Monteverde region.
6 Moreover, whole communities were being altered. As the mountain forests dried out, drytolerant
species of birds and reptiles shifted upslope, and moisture-dependent species were stranded at the mountaintops
by a rising tide of aridity. If a species has nowhere to go, then extinction may result.
7 Meanwhile, population sizes of several cloud-forest bird species had declined. After 1987, 20 of 50
frog species vanished from one part of Monteverde. Ecologists later reported more disappearances, including
those of two lizards native to the cloud forest. Scientists hypothesized that changes in climate were causing
population fluctuations and disease outbreaks and were unleashing changes in the composition of the
community.
8 The golden toad and other organisms of the Montverde cloud forest have helped illuminate the
fundamentals of evolution and population ecology that are integral to environmental science. The evolutionary
processes of natural selection, speciation, and extinction help determine Earth’s biodiversity. Studying the
extinction of the golden toad and the decline of other species of the Monteverde cloud forest has been crucial to
helping scientists learn how ecological processes work in order to protect biodiversity. Understanding these
processes at the population level is crucial because biodiversity is threatened by the mass extinction event that
many biologists maintain is already underway.
―Adapted from Withgott and Brennan, Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, 3rd ed., pp. 87 – 89.
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1. Which sentence best states the central point of this passage?
a. By the year 2000, 15 dry-forest species had moved into the cloud forest and begun to breed.
b. Studying the extinction of the golden toad and the decline of other species of the Monteverde cloud forest has
been crucial to helping scientists learn how ecological processes work in order to protect biodiversity.
c. In the late 1980s, the golden toad and the harlequin frog were the most diligently studied species.
d. Scientists found that the number of dry days and dry periods each winter in the Monteverde region had
increased between 1973 and 1998..
2. What question would best help the reader discover the major points of this passage?
a. Where is Monteverde and what are its primary features?
b. What is a cloud forest?
c. What are the evolutionary processes of natural selection?
d. How has climatic change affected the amphibians and other species of Monteverde?
3. The context clues in paragraph 1 suggest that organisms are ______.
a. living things
b. groups
c. scientific discoveries
d. scientific theories
4. The context clues in paragraph 3 suggest that the best definition of susceptible as used in the sentence is _________.
a. emotional
b. capable of something
c. likely to be affected by
d. delighted by
5. Examine the meaning of the following word parts:
ology
ist
study of
a person who specializes in a certain area
The context clues in paragraph 3 and the meaning of these word parts suggest that a herpetologist is a ________.
a. weatherman
b. doctor
c. person who studies the desert
d. person who studies reptiles and amphibians
6. Examine the meaning of the following words:
mortician – funeral director
mortuary – place for the dead
mortal – eventually dying
The context clues in paragraph 3 and the related words suggest that the best definition of mortality is _______.
a. inability to breed
b. skin problems due ot dryness
c. death rate
d. birth rate
7. The context clues in paragraph 6 suggest that the best definition of aridity is ______.
a. humidity
b. water
c. dryness
d. infertility
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8. Examine the meaning of the following word part:
bio = life
The context clues in paragraph 8 and the word part bio suggest that the meaning of biodiversity is the _______.
a. variety of life forms
b. cycles of life
c. evolution of human beings
d. societies of humans
9. Which sentence states the main idea of paragraph 1?
a. In the late 1980s, the golden toad and the harlequin frog were the most diligently studied species affected by
changing environment conditions in the Costa Rican cloud forest.
b. However, once scientists began looking at populations of other species at Monteverde, they began to notice
more troubling changes.
c. By the early 1990s, not only had golden toads, harlequin frogs, and other organisms been pushed from their
cloud-forest habitat into apparent extinction, but also many species from lower, drier habitats had begun to appear
at Monteverde.
d. By the year 2000, 15 dry-forest species had moved into the cloud forest and begun to breed.
10. Which sentence is states the main idea of paragraph 2?
a. Soon after the golden toad’s disappearance, scientists began to investigate the potential role of global climate
change in driving cloud-forest species toward extinction.
b. They noted that the period from July 1986 to June 1987 was the driest on record at Monteverde.
c. There were unusually high temperatures and record-low stream flows during this time.
d. These conditions had caused the golden toad’s breeding pools to drop in the spring of 1987, likely killing
nearly all of the eggs and tadpoles in the pools.
11. According to the passage, amphibians __________.
a. lay their eggs in the desert
b. breathe through their skin
c. prefer hot, dry conditions
d. are not affected much by climate change
12. What inference can be drawn from paragraph 3?
a. Golden toads and other amphibians require hot dry climates for their habitats.
b. Herpetologists are able to make predictions about the weather based upon golden toads and other amphibians.
c. Weather data can be used to determine mortality rates.
d. Golden toads and other amphibians cannot thrive in desert areas.
13. Which sentence states the main idea of paragraph 5?
a. Warmer oceans, the researchers found, caused clouds to pass over at higher elevations.
b. Then the clouds were no longer in contact with the trees.
c. Once the cloud forest’s moisture supply was pushed upward, the forest began to dry out.
d. Higher clouds and decreasing moisture could explain the disappearance of the golden toad and harlequin frog
and also the concurrent population crashes and subsequent disappearance of 20 other species of frogs and toads
from the Montverde region.
14. Which sentence states the main idea of paragraph 7?
a. Meanwhile, population sizes of several cloud-forest bird species had declined.
b. After 1987, 20 of 50 frog species vanished from one part of Monteverde.
c. Ecologists later reported more disappearances, including those of two lizards native to the cloud forest.
d. Scientists hypothesized that changes in climate were causing population fluctuations and disease outbreaks and
were unleashing changes in the composition of the community.
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15. What is the relationship expressed between the parts of this sentence from paragraph 3?
“Because amphibians breathe and absorb moisture through their skin, they are susceptible to dry conditions.”
a. addition
b. cause and effect
c. contrast
d. comparison
16. What is the relationship expressed between paragraph 5 and paragraph 6?
a. addition
b. cause and effect
c. contrast
d. comparison
17. Which pattern of thought does the author use to develop paragraph 6?
a. addition
b. cause and effect
c. contrast
d. comparison
18. “Higher clouds and decreasing moisture could explain the disappearance of the golden toad and harlequin frog and
also the concurrent population crashes and subsequent disappearance of 20 other species of frogs and toads from the
Monteverde region.”
a. fact
b. opinion
c. informed opinion
d. biased opinion
19. “After 1987, 20 or 50 frog species vanished from one part of Monteverde.”
a. fact
b. opinion
c. both fact and opinion
d. irrelevant facts
20. What background information would be most helpful in understanding this passage?
a. information about desert life
b. familiarity with amphibians and the language used in their study
c. knowledge of weather conditions around the world
d. an understanding of the requirements to become an ecologist
21. What is the overall tone of this passage?
a. emotional and biased
b. anxious and horrified
c. cynical and doubtful
d. informative and serious
22. The primary purpose of this passage is to _________.
a. persuade the reader to support the “green movement”
b. inform the reader about the possible effects of climate change
c. entertain the reader with a poignant story about the sad disappearance of many amphibians
d. convince the reader that the world as we know it may be ending
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23. Which college course would most likely study this excerpt?
a. english composition
b. psychology
c. history
d. environmental science
24. The primary pattern of thought for this article is _______.
a. time order
b. space order
c. classification
d. cause and effect
25. What does the author imply in the last paragraph?
a. The extinction of amphibians and other species of Monteverde may only be the beginning of an ecological
crisis if changes in climate continue.
b. Evolution is a myth that must be disproved by scientists.
c. Humans are in danger of becoming extinct just as the amphibians of Monteverde.
d. The extinction of amphibians of the Monteverde cloud forest is a unique occurrence that does not relate to the
rest of the world.
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