Reading Passage Question

Climatic conditions are delicately adjusted to the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere. If there were a change in the atmosphere—for example, in the relative proportions of atmospheric gases—the climate would probably change also. A slight increase in water vapor, for instance, would increase the heat-retaining capacity of the atmosphere and would lead to a rise in global temperatures. In contrast, a large increase in water vapor would increase the thickness and extent of the cloud layer, reducing the amount of solar energy reaching the Earth’s surface.

The level of carbon dioxide, CO2, in the atmosphere has an important effect on climatic change. Most of the Earth’s incoming energy is short-wavelength radiation, which tends to pass through atmospheric CO2 easily. The Earth, however, reradiates much of the received energy as long-wavelength radiation, which CO2 absorbs and then remits toward the Earth. This phenomenon, known as the greenhouse effect, can result in an increase in the surface temperature of a planet. An extreme example of the effect is shown by Venus, a planet covered by heavy clouds composed mostly of CO2, whose surface temperatures have been measured at 430℃. If the CO2 content of the atmosphere is reduced, the temperature falls. According to one respectable theory, if the atmospheric CO2 concentration were halved, the Earth would become completely covered with ice. Another equally respectable theory, however, states that a halving of the CO2 concentration would lead only to a reduction in global temperatures of 3℃.

If, because of an increase in forest fires or volcanic activity, the CO2 content of the atmosphere increased, a warmer climate would be produced. Plant growth, which relies on both the warmth and the availability of CO2 would probably increase. As a consequence, plants would use more and more CO2. Eventually CO2 levels would diminish and the climate, in turn, would become cooler. With reduced temperatures many plants would die; CO2 would thereby be returned to the atmosphere and gradually the temperature would rise again. Thus, if this process occurred, there might be a long-term oscillation in the amount of CO2 present in the atmosphere, with regular temperature increases and decreases of a set magnitude.

Some climatologists argue that the burning of fossil fuels has raised the level of CO2 in the atmosphere and has caused a global temperature increase of at least 1℃. But a supposed global temperature rise of 1℃ may in reality be only several regional temperature increases, restricted to areas where there are many meteorological stations and caused simply by shifts in the pattern of atmospheric circulation. Other areas, for example the Southern Hemisphere oceanic zone, may be experiencing an equivalent temperature decrease that is unrecognized because of the shortage of meteorological recording stations.

Solutions and Explanation

1. The passage supplies information for answering which of the following questions?

(A) Why are projections of the effects of changes in water vapor levels on the climate so inaccurate?
(B) What are the steps in the process that takes place as CO2 absorbs long-wavelength radiation?
(C) How might our understanding of the greenhouse effect be improved if the burning of fossil fuels were decreased?
(D) What might cause a series of regular increases and decreases in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere?
(E) Why are there fewer meteorological recording stations in the Southern Hemisphere oceanic zone than elsewhere?

2. The author is primarily concerned with

(A) explaining the effects that the burning of fossil fuels might have on climate
(B) illustrating the effects of CO2 on atmospheric radiation
(C) discussing effects that changes in the CO2 level in the atmosphere might have on climate
(D) challenging hypotheses about the effects of water vapor and CO2 on climate
(E) refuting hypotheses by climatologists about the causes of global temperature fluctuations

3. The passage suggests that a large decrease in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would result in

(A) at least a slight decrease in global temperatures
(B) at the most a slight increase in short-wavelength radiation reaching the Earth
(C) a slight long-term increase in global temperatures
(D) a large long-term increase in the amount of volcanic activity
(E) a slight short-term increase in atmosphere water vapor content

4. The author refers to Venus primarily in order to

(A) show the inherent weakness of the greenhouse effect theory
(B) show that the greenhouse effect works on other planets but not on Earth
(C) show the extent to which Earth’s atmosphere differs from that of Venus
(D) support the contention that as water vapor increase, the amount of CO2 increases
(E) support the argument that the CO2 level in the atmosphere has a significant effect on climate

5. The passage suggests that if there were a slight global warming at the present time, it would be

(A) easy to measure the exact increase in temperature because of the abundance of temperature recording stations throughout the world
(B) difficult to measure the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere because of local variations in amounts
(C) easy to demonstrate the effects of the warming on the water vapor in the atmosphere
(D) difficult to prove that the warming was caused by the burning of fossil fuels
(E) easy to prove that the warming was caused by an increase of cloud cover

6. The discussion of climate in the passage suggests which of the following conclusions?

1. Climate is not perfectly stable, and slight regional temperature variations can be considered a normal feature of the environment.
2. We are unable at present to measure global temperature changes precisely.
3. The most important cause of regional climatic fluctuations is the change in CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

(A) I only
(B) III only
(C) I and II only
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II, and III

7. All of the following can be found in the author’s discussion of climate EXCEPT

(A) a statement about the effects of increased volcanic activity on the Earth’s temperatures
(B) an indication of the effect of an increase in water vapor in the atmosphere
(C) a contrast between two theories about the effects of a lowering of CO2 levels in the atmosphere
(D) a generalization about the efficiency of meteorological recording stations
(E) a hypothesis about the relationship between atmospheric gasses and changes in climate

“Climatic conditions are delicately adjusted to the composition”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage of the GMAT exam. The candidates must have adequate knowledge of the English language in order to grasp English GMAT reading comprehension. The candidates can go through GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Papers that will help them to boost their reading skills.

Suggested GMAT Reading Comprehension Samples

• As Internet Marketing has Matured, it has Driven Two Trends GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Reviving the Practice of Using Elements of Popular Music in Classical GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Microlenders Offer Small Loans to Borrowers Who are Unable to Get Loans GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Of the Many Organisms Found in Marine Ecosystems, Sea Otters Play a Uniquely GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Is the Literary Critic Like the Poet, Responding Creatively, Intuitively GMAT Reading Comprehension
• You May Already be Familiar with the Big Dipper, an Asterism in Ursa GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Until Recently, the Generation and Tabulation of Toxicological and GMAT Reading Comprehension
• States do Vary Substantially in the Pollution Abatement Expenses (PAE) GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The Belief that Friendly Sociopolitical Climates and Low Costs GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Sunflowers are Made Up of Two Families, and They Provide the Bees GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The Earth Formed 4.5 Billion Years Ago. Evolutionary Biologists GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Kale is a Strong Winter Green that’s Increasingly Finding its Way to GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Some Kids Gravitate Toward Individual Competitions, Whereas Others GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Indeed, The Whole Concept of “Politics” Changes During The Latter Half GMAT Reading Comprehension
• In Most Respects Dissatisfaction with Market Processes and their Broad GMAT Reading Comprehension
• In a Large Number of Cases The Incentive for The Acquisition or Merger GMAT Reading Comprehension
• In February 1819, The Territory of Missouri Petitioned Congress to be GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Color is, First, a Sensory Event. Every Color Experience Begins as a GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Early Republics Defined Citizens as Only Male Property Owners and GMAT Reading Comprehension
• In 1879, Inventor Thomas A. Edison Came Up with a Practical Electric GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The state of nutrition in the past is one of the most intractable of GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Caffeine, the Stimulant in Coffee, has been called “the Most Widely GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Until recently, many anthropologists assumed that the environment of GMAT Reading Comprehension
• During the Nineteenth Century, Occupational Information about Women GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Schools Expect Textbooks To Be A Valuable Source Of Information GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The Relationships Between Age, Cognitive Functioning and Depression GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The Majority of Successful Senior Managers do not Closely GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Advocates of human therapeutic cloning believe the practice could GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Two Divergent Definitions have Dominated Sociologists' Discussions GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Cloud seeding can aid precipitation in three ways. Static mode seeding GMAT Reading Comprehension
• To Study Centuries-Old Earthquakes and The Geologic Faults that Caused Them GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Because of the proximity and likeness of Mars to Earth GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Sea turtles, reptilian amphibians that are classified GMAT Reading Comprehension
• A freshwater lake's summertime ecology is significantly affected GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The ill-fated Home Construction Lending Act of 1901 (the HCLA) GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Grassland Songbirds Often Nest in the Same Grassland-Wetland Complexes GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Keynesian economics is a theory that in the short run, especially GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Social Scientists Have Traditionally Defined Multipolar International GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The pioneers of the teaching of science imagined that its introduction GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The Internet Is A System Of Computer Networks That Allows Individuals GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Visual Recognition Involves Storing And Retrieving Memories GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Many politicians, business leaders, and scholars discount the role GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The Transfer of Heat and Water Vapor from the Ocean to the Air Above GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Financial Stress Has Befallen Many of the Biggest Airlines in the US GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Exploration For Offshore Oil Causes Environmental Problems Other Than GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Natural Gas Use for Power Generation Rose this Summer Because of Hot GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Antibiotics And Similar Drugs, Together Called Antimicrobial Agents GMAT Reading Comprehension
• David Packard, Co-Founder Of Hewlett-Packard GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Frogs react quickly and effectively to bugs that fly past them GMAT reading Comprehension
• The English spoken across the Atlantic nevertheless began to receive GMAT reading Comprehension