Summarize in not more than 120 words, describing the life in deserts.
1
As what geographers have estimated, about twenty percent of the earth's surface is occupied by deserts. A maority of us view deserts as one uni!ue "ind of landscape ## areas with little or no rainfalls. $n actual fact, there are differences between the deserts, though in varying degrees. %hile it is common for laymen li"e us to see deserts as roc"y or covered with gravel or pebbles, there are are some some where where large large sand sand dune duness inha inhabi bit. t. &esp &espit itee the the fact fact that that rainf rainfal alll is minim minimal, al, temper temperatur atures es do change change in desert deserts, s, rangin ranging g from from season seasonal al ones ones to daily daily change changess where where etreme hotness and coldness are eperienced in the day and night.
(nfavourable conditions in the deserts, especially the lac" of water, have discouraged many living living things things from from inhabi inhabitin ting g these these landsc landscapes apes.. )everth )evertheles eless, s, there there are ecept eception ionally ally surviving ones which through their superb tactics, have managed to live through and are still going going strong. strong. *ne such such "ind "ind is the speciali specialist st annual annual plants plants which which overcom overcomee season seasonal al temperature temperature changes with their etremely etremely short, active life cycles. $n events events of sudden rain, the plant seeds pullulate and grow very !uic"ly to ma"e full use of the rain water. +heir flowers bloom and set seeds that ripen !uic"ly in the hot sun too. *nce the water runs dry, the mother mother plant dies, leaving behind behind the drought#resistan drought#resistantt seeds, waiting patiently for the net rainy season to arrive.
+he acti, a native in American deserts, adapts to the dry surroundings by having uni!ue body structures. +he plant has swollen stems to help store water that carries it through months. -y having sharp pines instead of leaves, water loss through respiration is minimized. -esides, these pointed pines also help the plant ward off grazing animals, thus enhancing its survival period.
-esides plants, there are also animals with distinct surviving tactics in deserts too. or instance, S"in"s / desert lizards metabolize stored fats in their bulbous tails, producing water to supplement their needs, ust li"e what camels do with the stored food in their humps during long ourneys through deserts. Antelopes li"e the adda, have very low water needs and hence are able to tolerate the conditions in deserts, etracting moisture from the food they eat.
inally, there are the sandgrouses / desert birds which do not have special features to overcome the drought#li"e nature in deserts. ence, to survive in these hot, dry deserts, they need to spend a large part of their time flying in search of waterholes.
Answer
&espite the dry conditions in the deserts, some plants and animals still manage to survive there. *ne of them is the specialist annual plants. +heir short life cycles allow them to germinate, grow and produce seeds during short rainy seasons. +hese seeds are drought# resistant and are able to wait for the net rainy season before starting their life cycles again. +he acti adapts to the dry weather by having swollen stems for water storage and pine#li"e leaves to minimize water loss through respiration. S"in"s generate water from stored fats in their tails and antelopes which re!uires very little water, survives in deserts by etracting water from food they eat. inally, sandgrouse with no adaptive features turn to waterholes constantly for help. / 11 words
gravel
Small pieces of roc"s and stones
pullulate
breed or spread prolifically or rapidly.
bulbous
li"e a bulb
1
Summarize in not more than 120 words, the various communicative methods practiced by animals in the wild.
2
ommunication is part of our everyday life. %e greet one another, smile or frown, depending on our moods. Animals too, communicate, much to our surprise. 3ust li"e us, interaction among animals can be both verbal or non#verbal. Singing is one way in which animals can interact with one another. 4ale blac"birds often use their melodious songs to catch the attention of the females. +hese songs are usually rich in notes variation, encoding various "inds of messages. Songs are also used to warn and "eep off other blac"birds from their territory, usually a place where they dwell and reproduce.
5arge mammals in the oceans sing too, according to adventurous sailors. 6normous whales groan and grunt while smaller dolphins and porpoises produce pings, whistles and clic"s. +hese sounds are surprisingly received by other mates as far as several hundred "ilometers away.
-esides singing, body language also forms a large part of animals' communication tactics. &ominant hyenas ehibit their power by raising the fur hac"les on their nec"s and shoulders, while the submissive ones normally 7surrender7 to the powerful parties by crouching their heads low and curling their lips a little, revealing their teeth in friendly smiles.
olors, which are most conspicuously found on animals are also important means of interaction among animals. 4ale birds of paradise, which have the most gaudy colored feathers often hang themselves upside down from branches, among fluffing plumes, displaying proudly their feathers, attracting the opposite se.
+he alternating blac" and white striped coats of zebras have their roles to play too. 6ach zebra is born with a uni!ue set of stripes which enables its mates to recognize them. %hen grazing safely, their stripes are all lined up neatly so that none of them loses trac" of their friends. owever, when danger such as a hungry lion approaches, the zebras would dart out in various directions, ma"ing it difficult for the lion to choose his target.
$nsects such as the wasps, armed with poisonous bites or stings, normally have brightly painted bodies to remind other predators of their power. overflies and other harmless insects also ma"e use of this fact and colored their bodies brightly in attempts to fool their predators into thin"ing that they are as dangerous and harmful as the wasps too.
Answer
Animals ma"e use of various "inds of communicative methods. 4ale blac"birds sing to attract female ones and also to "eep other blac"birds off their dwellings. 4ammals in the oceans li"e whales, 'sing' to interact with their mates far away too. &ominating hyenas raise their fur hac"les in attempts to ehibit power while submissive ones crouch their heads and 'smile' to epress respects. -irds of paradise attract female partners by displaying their colorful feathers while the stripes of zebras not only enable them to recognize each other, but also divert the predator's attention in times of danger. inally, dangerous wasps are brightly colored to warn off others while some harmless ones try to fool their predators by using the same principle. / 11 words
dwell
conspicuously
gaudy
2
to live in a particular way
very noticeable and tending to attract attention
unpleasantly bright in colour
4a"e a summary of not more than 120 words, describing the various means of transportation.
3 +he means of transportation has changed and improved over many centuries. 5ong ago, during the times of the "ings and "nights, animals such as horses, buffaloes and camels were used by man for transportation purposes. +hese animals no doubt did save man from traveling by foot, they too" a long time to complete the ourneys, especially when transporting goods. $n 1829, :eorge Stephenson's opening of the first railway mar"ed a significant progress in the history of transportation. ;ailways were in popular demand because they could carry more people and loads. 4ore importantly, they ran faster than animals. ;ailways improved the communication networ"s and hence, imports and eports of goods and people traveling out of their towns or even countries to wor" were made possible. (nfortunately, since the invention of motor vehicles, the popularity of railways has declined.
4otor vehicles were first invented in the eighteenth century. +hese vehicles were preferred by many people as they do not run on trac"s and hence do not have fied routes. +ravelers can then plan their own routes to suit their convenience. +his is especially so when the destinations are places li"e small towns or remote areas. $n these places, few or even none of the trains ever reach them< so traveling by the motor vehicle would solve this problem. *ver many years of modifications, the motor vehicle is now one of the most commonly used means of transportation. +oday, we travel in cars, tais, buses, lorries or vans almost every day.
Another form of transportation is by water. $t may be the slowest but definitely the cheapest form of bul" transportation. +hough over the centuries of innovations, water transportation has improved from the ancient wind dependent yachts to the modern motor driven ships, ourneys by water are still characterized by the dangers and unpredictability of meeting natural disasters li"e the storms.
+he evolution of world transportation has reached its pinnacle with the invention of airplanes. +ransportation by planes is the easiest and fastest. =lanes gliding smoothly in the air, are not obstructed by seas, hills, buildings and so on. +hough convenient, this means of transport is the most epensive. &espite the popular demand, the transportation networ" of the planes is still not a balanced and complete one till today. &eveloped countries tend to ma"e use of air transportation more fre!uently than the less developed ones as they do more eporting and importing of goods and also have more people traveling to and fro their countries. ence, the networ"s in these developed countries are denser.
Answer
$n ancient times, man made use of animals li"e the horses to transport themselves and goods. +he ourneys usually too" a long time. +rains were preferred to animals since its invention, as they carry more people and goods and travel faster. 4otor vehicles proved more superior to trains as they do not run on rails. ence, they are able to reach small towns and remote areas where trac"s are not available. +raveling via waters man be slow but it is the cheapest form of bul" transportation. owever, ourneys by water are often characterized by the danger of meeting a storm. +raveling by plane is the most convenient but epensive way and thus we do not use it for daily purposes. / 120 words
loads
things to be done
bul"
in large amounts
pinnacle
the most successful or admirable part of a system or achievement
3
4 Summarize in not more than 120 words, the advantages and disadvantages of advertisements.
%e are bombarded by many advertisements every day. >endors try all means and ways to gain our attention and sell us their products or services. Advertisements appear everywhere< on television programs, radios, in the papers, magazines, pamphlets and so on. Advertisements are actually very useful though we sometimes feel annoyed when they interrupt our favorite television programs. +hey provide us with free information on the products and services. +here are two types of advertisements. +he informative advertisements are the ones which provide us with the details of the products or services. +his information is especially useful if the product or service is new. or instance, when we need to buy a computer, advertisements describing the latest models and their different functions would be etremely helpful. owever, only a minority of the advertisements are informative ones. 4any of them belong to the second category ## the persuasive "ind. +hese advertisements not only tell us more about the products, at the same time, they persuade customers to buy them by claiming that their products are superior to the rivalry ones. +hese claims may sometimes be untrue.
-esides being informative and persuasive, advertisements also help to subsidize the prices of magazines and newspapers. *ur newspapers are sold at a low price of about one dollar, owing to the advertisements in the papers< otherwise, the price would have been higher.
%hile advertisements can be good helpers for shopping, they do have their shortcomings. 4ost advertisements aim to sell only. aults of the products or services are usually hidden from the consumers. ence, sometimes, we feel deceived if the product or service we bought does not turn out the way the advertisements claim to be.
Sometimes, advertisements by rival competitors can get very intensive, especially when there are many firms producing similar products. *ne common eample is the washing powder. +here are so many advertisements for the different brands that customers sometimes get confused over what they should buy. urthermore, having more advertisements would mean that the production cost of the firm would be increased. +hese rises in cost are usually passed on to the consumers in the form of higher prices.
ence, in conclusion, though $ do advocate advertisements, $ do not deny their flaws. %ithout them, we might have to buy things based on incomplete information or go through more complicated ways before getting to "now the products or services. *n the other hand, too many advertisements also complicate our buying decisions. So $ would say that we cannot live without advertisements but we must be careful how we live with them.
Answer
+here are two types of advertisements. $nformative advertisements provide consumers information about the products or services. +hey are especially useful when we are purchasing new products. +he second "ind is the persuasive ones which provide us with products information and also persuade us to buy them by claiming the superiority of their products. Advertisements also benefit readers of newspapers and magazines by helping to subsidize the prices. *ne disadvantage of advertisements is that they sometimes aim to sell only and cover up the flaws of the advertised products. onsumer may sometimes get confused over buying decisions when too many advertisements are advertise. Advertising also raises the production costs which in turn increases the prices of the products too. / 120words
4
persuasive
to ma"e someone do or believe something by giving them a good reason to do it
rivalry
competing with others for the same thing
advocate
to publicly support or suggesting an idea
Summarize in your own words, the advantages and disadvantages of owning a television. ?our account should not be more than 120 words.
5
%ith the invention of televisions, many forms of entertainments have been replaced. 5ively programs li"e television serials and world news, have removed from us the need to read boo"s or papers, to listen to radios or even to watch movies. $n fact, during the 1@0s, when televisions were first introduced, cinema theatres suffered great losses as many people chose to stay in the comforts of their homes to watch their favorite programs. $ndeed, the television brings the world into our house. ence, by staying at home and pressing some buttons world happenings are immediately presented before us. hildren nowadays develop faster in language, owing to the early eposure to television programs. At such tender age, it would be difficult for them to read boo"s or papers. +hus, television programs are a good source of learning for them. urthermore, pronunciations by the newscasters, actors or actresses are usually standardized, hence young children watching these programs will learn the 'right' pronunciations too. *wning a television is also etremely beneficial to wor"ing parents who are usually too busy or tired to ta"e their "ids out for entertainments. Surrounded by the comforts of their home, the family can have a chance to get together and watch their favorite television programs.
*f course, we should not be too carried away by the advantages of the television and overloo" its negative points. %atching television programs ta"es away our need to read. %hy bother to read the papers when we can hear them from the television news reports %hy read boo"s when eciting movies are screened +he lac" of reading is unhealthy especially to younger children as they will grow up only with the ability to spea" but not write. $ have a neighbor whose si#year#old child can say complete sentences li"e 7$ li"e cats,7 but when told to write out the sentence, is unable to do so. )ot only are the writing s"ills of children affected, their thin"ing capacities are also handicapped. +elevision programs remove the need to thin". +he stories, ideas and facts are woven in the way television planners wanted. 6posure to such opinions and the lac" of thin"ing opportunities will hinder the children's analyzing ability.
&espite the disadvantages of watching television programs, personally, $ thin" that choosing the 'middle path', which is to do selective television viewing and not over indulging in the habit should be the best solution to reconcile both the merits and demerits of owning a television.
Answer
+he television "eeps us informed of the world affairs. 6arly eposure to television programs helps to develop language s"ills of young children. +hese children can also learn to pronounce words accurately because of the standardized pronunciation in the programs. $n a family where both the parents are wor"ing, the television provides the family an opportunity to get together at leisure times. *ne disadvantages of watching television programs is that we do less reading and hence our writing s"ills are affected. ?ounger children may learn to spea" but not write from television programs. urthermore, television programs often spare viewers, especially the young ones, from pondering upon opinions presented before them, which will in turn handicap their ability analyse facts.. / 11 words
tender age
A young age
newscaster
someone who reads out the reports on a television or radio news program
indulge
5
to allow yourself to have something enoyable, especially more than is good for you
