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Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Considered the most influential architect of his time, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) was born in the small rural community of Richland Center, Wisconsin. He entered the University of Wisconsin at the age of 15 as a special student, studying engineering because the school had no course in architecture. At the age of 20 he then went to work as a draftsman in Chicago in order to learn the traditional, classical language of architecture. After marrying into a wealthy business family at the age of 21, Wright set up house in an exclusive neighborhood in Chicago, and after a few years of working for a number of architectural firms, set up his own architectural office.

For twenty years he brought up a family of six children upstairs, and ran a thriving architectural practice of twelve or so draftsmen downstairs. Here, in an idyllic American suburb, with giant oaks, sprawling lawns, and no fences, Wright built some sixty rambling homes by the year 1900. He became the leader of a style known as the “Prairie” school – houses with low–pitched roofs and extended lines that blended into the landscape and typified his style of “organic architecture”.

By the age of forty–one, in 1908, Wright had achieved extraordinary social and professional success. He gave countless lectures at major universities, and started his Taliesin Fellowship – a visionary social workshop in itself. In 1938 he appeared on the cover of Time magazine, and later, on a two cent stamp. The most spectacular buildings of his mature period were based on forms borrowed from nature, and the intentions were clearly romantic, poetic, and intensely personal. Examples of these buildings are Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel (1915–22: demolished 1968), and New York City’s Guggenheim Museum (completed 1959). He continued working until his death in 1959, at the age of 92, although in his later years, he spent as much time giving interviews and being a celebrity, as he did in designing buildings. Wright can be considered an essentially idiosyncratic architect whose influence was immense but whose pupils were few.

All of the following about Frank Lioyd Wright are true EXCEPT ______. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Considered the most influential architect of his time, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) was born in the small rural community of Richland Center, Wisconsin. He entered the University of Wisconsin at the age of 15 as a special student, studying engineering because the school had no course in architecture. At the age of 20 he then went to work as a draftsman in Chicago in order to learn the traditional, classical language of architecture. After marrying into a wealthy business family at the age of 21, Wright set up house in an exclusive neighborhood in Chicago, and after a few years of working for a number of architectural firms, set up his own architectural office.

For twenty years he brought up a family of six children upstairs, and ran a thriving architectural practice of twelve or so draftsmen downstairs. Here, in an idyllic American suburb, with giant oaks, sprawling lawns, and no fences, Wright built some sixty rambling homes by the year 1900. He became the leader of a style known as the “Prairie” school – houses with low–pitched roofs and extended lines that blended into the landscape and typified his style of “organic architecture”.

By the age of forty–one, in 1908, Wright had achieved extraordinary social and professional success. He gave countless lectures at major universities, and started his Taliesin Fellowship – a visionary social workshop in itself. In 1938 he appeared on the cover of Time magazine, and later, on a two cent stamp. The most spectacular buildings of his mature period were based on forms borrowed from nature, and the intentions were clearly romantic, poetic, and intensely personal. Examples of these buildings are Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel (1915–22: demolished 1968), and New York City’s Guggenheim Museum (completed 1959). He continued working until his death in 1959, at the age of 92, although in his later years, he spent as much time giving interviews and being a celebrity, as he did in designing buildings. Wright can be considered an essentially idiosyncratic architect whose influence was immense but whose pupils were few.

Which of the following can be inferred from the passage? 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Considered the most influential architect of his time, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) was born in the small rural community of Richland Center, Wisconsin. He entered the University of Wisconsin at the age of 15 as a special student, studying engineering because the school had no course in architecture. At the age of 20 he then went to work as a draftsman in Chicago in order to learn the traditional, classical language of architecture. After marrying into a wealthy business family at the age of 21, Wright set up house in an exclusive neighborhood in Chicago, and after a few years of working for a number of architectural firms, set up his own architectural office.

For twenty years he brought up a family of six children upstairs, and ran a thriving architectural practice of twelve or so draftsmen downstairs. Here, in an idyllic American suburb, with giant oaks, sprawling lawns, and no fences, Wright built some sixty rambling homes by the year 1900. He became the leader of a style known as the “Prairie” school – houses with low–pitched roofs and extended lines that blended into the landscape and typified his style of “organic architecture”.

By the age of forty–one, in 1908, Wright had achieved extraordinary social and professional success. He gave countless lectures at major universities, and started his Taliesin Fellowship – a visionary social workshop in itself. In 1938 he appeared on the cover of Time magazine, and later, on a two cent stamp. The most spectacular buildings of his mature period were based on forms borrowed from nature, and the intentions were clearly romantic, poetic, and intensely personal. Examples of these buildings are Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel (1915–22: demolished 1968), and New York City’s Guggenheim Museum (completed 1959). He continued working until his death in 1959, at the age of 92, although in his later years, he spent as much time giving interviews and being a celebrity, as he did in designing buildings. Wright can be considered an essentially idiosyncratic architect whose influence was immense but whose pupils were few.

The word “idiosyncratic” in last sentence is closest in meaning to _______. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Considered the most influential architect of his time, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) was born in the small rural community of Richland Center, Wisconsin. He entered the University of Wisconsin at the age of 15 as a special student, studying engineering because the school had no course in architecture. At the age of 20 he then went to work as a draftsman in Chicago in order to learn the traditional, classical language of architecture. After marrying into a wealthy business family at the age of 21, Wright set up house in an exclusive neighborhood in Chicago, and after a few years of working for a number of architectural firms, set up his own architectural office.

For twenty years he brought up a family of six children upstairs, and ran a thriving architectural practice of twelve or so draftsmen downstairs. Here, in an idyllic American suburb, with giant oaks, sprawling lawns, and no fences, Wright built some sixty rambling homes by the year 1900. He became the leader of a style known as the “Prairie” school – houses with low–pitched roofs and extended lines that blended into the landscape and typified his style of “organic architecture”.

By the age of forty–one, in 1908, Wright had achieved extraordinary social and professional success. He gave countless lectures at major universities, and started his Taliesin Fellowship – a visionary social workshop in itself. In 1938 he appeared on the cover of Time magazine, and later, on a two cent stamp. The most spectacular buildings of his mature period were based on forms borrowed from nature, and the intentions were clearly romantic, poetic, and intensely personal. Examples of these buildings are Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel (1915–22: demolished 1968), and New York City’s Guggenheim Museum (completed 1959). He continued working until his death in 1959, at the age of 92, although in his later years, he spent as much time giving interviews and being a celebrity, as he did in designing buildings. Wright can be considered an essentially idiosyncratic architect whose influence was immense but whose pupils were few.

The word “itself” in paragraph 3 refers to _______. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Considered the most influential architect of his time, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) was born in the small rural community of Richland Center, Wisconsin. He entered the University of Wisconsin at the age of 15 as a special student, studying engineering because the school had no course in architecture. At the age of 20 he then went to work as a draftsman in Chicago in order to learn the traditional, classical language of architecture. After marrying into a wealthy business family at the age of 21, Wright set up house in an exclusive neighborhood in Chicago, and after a few years of working for a number of architectural firms, set up his own architectural office.

For twenty years he brought up a family of six children upstairs, and ran a thriving architectural practice of twelve or so draftsmen downstairs. Here, in an idyllic American suburb, with giant oaks, sprawling lawns, and no fences, Wright built some sixty rambling homes by the year 1900. He became the leader of a style known as the “Prairie” school – houses with low–pitched roofs and extended lines that blended into the landscape and typified his style of “organic architecture”.

By the age of forty–one, in 1908, Wright had achieved extraordinary social and professional success. He gave countless lectures at major universities, and started his Taliesin Fellowship – a visionary social workshop in itself. In 1938 he appeared on the cover of Time magazine, and later, on a two cent stamp. The most spectacular buildings of his mature period were based on forms borrowed from nature, and the intentions were clearly romantic, poetic, and intensely personal. Examples of these buildings are Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel (1915–22: demolished 1968), and New York City’s Guggenheim Museum (completed 1959). He continued working until his death in 1959, at the age of 92, although in his later years, he spent as much time giving interviews and being a celebrity, as he did in designing buildings. Wright can be considered an essentially idiosyncratic architect whose influence was immense but whose pupils were few.

According to the passage, an idyllic American suburb is _______. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Considered the most influential architect of his time, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) was born in the small rural community of Richland Center, Wisconsin. He entered the University of Wisconsin at the age of 15 as a special student, studying engineering because the school had no course in architecture. At the age of 20 he then went to work as a draftsman in Chicago in order to learn the traditional, classical language of architecture. After marrying into a wealthy business family at the age of 21, Wright set up house in an exclusive neighborhood in Chicago, and after a few years of working for a number of architectural firms, set up his own architectural office.

For twenty years he brought up a family of six children upstairs, and ran a thriving architectural practice of twelve or so draftsmen downstairs. Here, in an idyllic American suburb, with giant oaks, sprawling lawns, and no fences, Wright built some sixty rambling homes by the year 1900. He became the leader of a style known as the “Prairie” school – houses with low–pitched roofs and extended lines that blended into the landscape and typified his style of “organic architecture”.

By the age of forty–one, in 1908, Wright had achieved extraordinary social and professional success. He gave countless lectures at major universities, and started his Taliesin Fellowship – a visionary social workshop in itself. In 1938 he appeared on the cover of Time magazine, and later, on a two cent stamp. The most spectacular buildings of his mature period were based on forms borrowed from nature, and the intentions were clearly romantic, poetic, and intensely personal. Examples of these buildings are Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel (1915–22: demolished 1968), and New York City’s Guggenheim Museum (completed 1959). He continued working until his death in 1959, at the age of 92, although in his later years, he spent as much time giving interviews and being a celebrity, as he did in designing buildings. Wright can be considered an essentially idiosyncratic architect whose influence was immense but whose pupils were few.

The word “some” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _______. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Considered the most influential architect of his time, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) was born in the small rural community of Richland Center, Wisconsin. He entered the University of Wisconsin at the age of 15 as a special student, studying engineering because the school had no course in architecture. At the age of 20 he then went to work as a draftsman in Chicago in order to learn the traditional, classical language of architecture. After marrying into a wealthy business family at the age of 21, Wright set up house in an exclusive neighborhood in Chicago, and after a few years of working for a number of architectural firms, set up his own architectural office.

For twenty years he brought up a family of six children upstairs, and ran a thriving architectural practice of twelve or so draftsmen downstairs. Here, in an idyllic American suburb, with giant oaks, sprawling lawns, and no fences, Wright built some sixty rambling homes by the year 1900. He became the leader of a style known as the “Prairie” school – houses with low–pitched roofs and extended lines that blended into the landscape and typified his style of “organic architecture”.

By the age of forty–one, in 1908, Wright had achieved extraordinary social and professional success. He gave countless lectures at major universities, and started his Taliesin Fellowship – a visionary social workshop in itself. In 1938 he appeared on the cover of Time magazine, and later, on a two cent stamp. The most spectacular buildings of his mature period were based on forms borrowed from nature, and the intentions were clearly romantic, poetic, and intensely personal. Examples of these buildings are Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel (1915–22: demolished 1968), and New York City’s Guggenheim Museum (completed 1959). He continued working until his death in 1959, at the age of 92, although in his later years, he spent as much time giving interviews and being a celebrity, as he did in designing buildings. Wright can be considered an essentially idiosyncratic architect whose influence was immense but whose pupils were few.

Frank Lioyd Wright first worked as a draftsman _______. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Considered the most influential architect of his time, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) was born in the small rural community of Richland Center, Wisconsin. He entered the University of Wisconsin at the age of 15 as a special student, studying engineering because the school had no course in architecture. At the age of 20 he then went to work as a draftsman in Chicago in order to learn the traditional, classical language of architecture. After marrying into a wealthy business family at the age of 21, Wright set up house in an exclusive neighborhood in Chicago, and after a few years of working for a number of architectural firms, set up his own architectural office.

For twenty years he brought up a family of six children upstairs, and ran a thriving architectural practice of twelve or so draftsmen downstairs. Here, in an idyllic American suburb, with giant oaks, sprawling lawns, and no fences, Wright built some sixty rambling homes by the year 1900. He became the leader of a style known as the “Prairie” school – houses with low–pitched roofs and extended lines that blended into the landscape and typified his style of “organic architecture”.

By the age of forty–one, in 1908, Wright had achieved extraordinary social and professional success. He gave countless lectures at major universities, and started his Taliesin Fellowship – a visionary social workshop in itself. In 1938 he appeared on the cover of Time magazine, and later, on a two cent stamp. The most spectacular buildings of his mature period were based on forms borrowed from nature, and the intentions were clearly romantic, poetic, and intensely personal. Examples of these buildings are Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel (1915–22: demolished 1968), and New York City’s Guggenheim Museum (completed 1959). He continued working until his death in 1959, at the age of 92, although in his later years, he spent as much time giving interviews and being a celebrity, as he did in designing buildings. Wright can be considered an essentially idiosyncratic architect whose influence was immense but whose pupils were few. 

With which of the following subject is the passage mainly concerned? 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the question.

Mountaineers have noted that as they climb, for example, up to the 12,633–foot Humphreys Peak in the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, plant life changes radically. Starting among the cacti of the Sonoran Desert, one climbs into a pine forest at 7,000 feet and a treeless alpine tundra at the summit. It may seem that plants at a given altitude are associated in what can be called “communities” – groupings of interacting species. The idea is that over time, plants that require particular climate and soil conditions come to live in the same places, and hence are frequently to be found together. Scientists who study the history of plant life are known as paleobotanists, or paleobots for short. They build up a picture of how groups of plants have responded to climate changes and how ecosystems develop. But are these associations, which are real in the present, permanent?

A great natural experiment took place on this planet between 25,000 and 10,000 years ago, when small changes in the earth’s orbit and axis of rotation caused great sheets of ice to spread from the poles. These glaciers covered much of North America and Europe to depths of up to two miles, and then, as the climate warmed, they retreated. During this retreat, they left behind newly uncovered land for living things to colonize, and as those living things moved in they laid down a record we can read now. As the ice retreated and plants started to grow near a lake, they would release pollen. Some would fall into the lake, sink to the bottom, and be incorporated into the sediment. By drilling into the lake bottom it is possible to read the record of successive plant life around the lake. The fossil record seems clear; there is little or no evidence that entire groups of plants moved north together. Things that lived together in the past don’t live together now, and things that live together now didn’t live together in the past. Each individual organism moved at its own pace. The fossil record seems to be telling us that we should be thinking about preserving species by giving them room to maneuver – to respond to environmental changes.

Which of the following can be inferred from the passage? 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the question.

Mountaineers have noted that as they climb, for example, up to the 12,633–foot Humphreys Peak in the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, plant life changes radically. Starting among the cacti of the Sonoran Desert, one climbs into a pine forest at 7,000 feet and a treeless alpine tundra at the summit. It may seem that plants at a given altitude are associated in what can be called “communities” – groupings of interacting species. The idea is that over time, plants that require particular climate and soil conditions come to live in the same places, and hence are frequently to be found together. Scientists who study the history of plant life are known as paleobotanists, or paleobots for short. They build up a picture of how groups of plants have responded to climate changes and how ecosystems develop. But are these associations, which are real in the present, permanent?

A great natural experiment took place on this planet between 25,000 and 10,000 years ago, when small changes in the earth’s orbit and axis of rotation caused great sheets of ice to spread from the poles. These glaciers covered much of North America and Europe to depths of up to two miles, and then, as the climate warmed, they retreated. During this retreat, they left behind newly uncovered land for living things to colonize, and as those living things moved in they laid down a record we can read now. As the ice retreated and plants started to grow near a lake, they would release pollen. Some would fall into the lake, sink to the bottom, and be incorporated into the sediment. By drilling into the lake bottom it is possible to read the record of successive plant life around the lake. The fossil record seems clear; there is little or no evidence that entire groups of plants moved north together. Things that lived together in the past don’t live together now, and things that live together now didn’t live together in the past. Each individual organism moved at its own pace. The fossil record seems to be telling us that we should be thinking about preserving species by giving them room to maneuver – to respond to environmental changes.

The passage states that by drilling into the lake bottom it is possible to find successive fossils of _______. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the question.

Mountaineers have noted that as they climb, for example, up to the 12,633–foot Humphreys Peak in the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, plant life changes radically. Starting among the cacti of the Sonoran Desert, one climbs into a pine forest at 7,000 feet and a treeless alpine tundra at the summit. It may seem that plants at a given altitude are associated in what can be called “communities” – groupings of interacting species. The idea is that over time, plants that require particular climate and soil conditions come to live in the same places, and hence are frequently to be found together. Scientists who study the history of plant life are known as paleobotanists, or paleobots for short. They build up a picture of how groups of plants have responded to climate changes and how ecosystems develop. But are these associations, which are real in the present, permanent?

A great natural experiment took place on this planet between 25,000 and 10,000 years ago, when small changes in the earth’s orbit and axis of rotation caused great sheets of ice to spread from the poles. These glaciers covered much of North America and Europe to depths of up to two miles, and then, as the climate warmed, they retreated. During this retreat, they left behind newly uncovered land for living things to colonize, and as those living things moved in they laid down a record we can read now. As the ice retreated and plants started to grow near a lake, they would release pollen. Some would fall into the lake, sink to the bottom, and be incorporated into the sediment. By drilling into the lake bottom it is possible to read the record of successive plant life around the lake. The fossil record seems clear; there is little or no evidence that entire groups of plants moved north together. Things that lived together in the past don’t live together now, and things that live together now didn’t live together in the past. Each individual organism moved at its own pace. The fossil record seems to be telling us that we should be thinking about preserving species by giving them room to maneuver – to respond to environmental changes.

The word “successive” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _______. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the question.

Mountaineers have noted that as they climb, for example, up to the 12,633–foot Humphreys Peak in the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, plant life changes radically. Starting among the cacti of the Sonoran Desert, one climbs into a pine forest at 7,000 feet and a treeless alpine tundra at the summit. It may seem that plants at a given altitude are associated in what can be called “communities” – groupings of interacting species. The idea is that over time, plants that require particular climate and soil conditions come to live in the same places, and hence are frequently to be found together. Scientists who study the history of plant life are known as paleobotanists, or paleobots for short. They build up a picture of how groups of plants have responded to climate changes and how ecosystems develop. But are these associations, which are real in the present, permanent?

A great natural experiment took place on this planet between 25,000 and 10,000 years ago, when small changes in the earth’s orbit and axis of rotation caused great sheets of ice to spread from the poles. These glaciers covered much of North America and Europe to depths of up to two miles, and then, as the climate warmed, they retreated. During this retreat, they left behind newly uncovered land for living things to colonize, and as those living things moved in they laid down a record we can read now. As the ice retreated and plants started to grow near a lake, they would release pollen. Some would fall into the lake, sink to the bottom, and be incorporated into the sediment. By drilling into the lake bottom it is possible to read the record of successive plant life around the lake. The fossil record seems clear; there is little or no evidence that entire groups of plants moved north together. Things that lived together in the past don’t live together now, and things that live together now didn’t live together in the past. Each individual organism moved at its own pace. The fossil record seems to be telling us that we should be thinking about preserving species by giving them room to maneuver – to respond to environmental changes.

The word “which” in last sentence of paragraph 1 refers to _______. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the question.

Mountaineers have noted that as they climb, for example, up to the 12,633–foot Humphreys Peak in the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, plant life changes radically. Starting among the cacti of the Sonoran Desert, one climbs into a pine forest at 7,000 feet and a treeless alpine tundra at the summit. It may seem that plants at a given altitude are associated in what can be called “communities” – groupings of interacting species. The idea is that over time, plants that require particular climate and soil conditions come to live in the same places, and hence are frequently to be found together. Scientists who study the history of plant life are known as paleobotanists, or paleobots for short. They build up a picture of how groups of plants have responded to climate changes and how ecosystems develop. But are these associations, which are real in the present, permanent?

A great natural experiment took place on this planet between 25,000 and 10,000 years ago, when small changes in the earth’s orbit and axis of rotation caused great sheets of ice to spread from the poles. These glaciers covered much of North America and Europe to depths of up to two miles, and then, as the climate warmed, they retreated. During this retreat, they left behind newly uncovered land for living things to colonize, and as those living things moved in they laid down a record we can read now. As the ice retreated and plants started to grow near a lake, they would release pollen. Some would fall into the lake, sink to the bottom, and be incorporated into the sediment. By drilling into the lake bottom it is possible to read the record of successive plant life around the lake. The fossil record seems clear; there is little or no evidence that entire groups of plants moved north together. Things that lived together in the past don’t live together now, and things that live together now didn’t live together in the past. Each individual organism moved at its own pace. The fossil record seems to be telling us that we should be thinking about preserving species by giving them room to maneuver – to respond to environmental changes.

The author mentions “cacti” and “a treeless alpine tundra” in paragraph 1 to illustrate _______. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the question.

Mountaineers have noted that as they climb, for example, up to the 12,633–foot Humphreys Peak in the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, plant life changes radically. Starting among the cacti of the Sonoran Desert, one climbs into a pine forest at 7,000 feet and a treeless alpine tundra at the summit. It may seem that plants at a given altitude are associated in what can be called “communities” – groupings of interacting species. The idea is that over time, plants that require particular climate and soil conditions come to live in the same places, and hence are frequently to be found together. Scientists who study the history of plant life are known as paleobotanists, or paleobots for short. They build up a picture of how groups of plants have responded to climate changes and how ecosystems develop. But are these associations, which are real in the present, permanent?

A great natural experiment took place on this planet between 25,000 and 10,000 years ago, when small changes in the earth’s orbit and axis of rotation caused great sheets of ice to spread from the poles. These glaciers covered much of North America and Europe to depths of up to two miles, and then, as the climate warmed, they retreated. During this retreat, they left behind newly uncovered land for living things to colonize, and as those living things moved in they laid down a record we can read now. As the ice retreated and plants started to grow near a lake, they would release pollen. Some would fall into the lake, sink to the bottom, and be incorporated into the sediment. By drilling into the lake bottom it is possible to read the record of successive plant life around the lake. The fossil record seems clear; there is little or no evidence that entire groups of plants moved north together. Things that lived together in the past don’t live together now, and things that live together now didn’t live together in the past. Each individual organism moved at its own pace. The fossil record seems to be telling us that we should be thinking about preserving species by giving them room to maneuver – to respond to environmental changes. 

The word “radically” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _______.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the question.

Mountaineers have noted that as they climb, for example, up to the 12,633–foot Humphreys Peak in the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, plant life changes radically. Starting among the cacti of the Sonoran Desert, one climbs into a pine forest at 7,000 feet and a treeless alpine tundra at the summit. It may seem that plants at a given altitude are associated in what can be called “communities” – groupings of interacting species. The idea is that over time, plants that require particular climate and soil conditions come to live in the same places, and hence are frequently to be found together. Scientists who study the history of plant life are known as paleobotanists, or paleobots for short. They build up a picture of how groups of plants have responded to climate changes and how ecosystems develop. But are these associations, which are real in the present, permanent?

A great natural experiment took place on this planet between 25,000 and 10,000 years ago, when small changes in the earth’s orbit and axis of rotation caused great sheets of ice to spread from the poles. These glaciers covered much of North America and Europe to depths of up to two miles, and then, as the climate warmed, they retreated. During this retreat, they left behind newly uncovered land for living things to colonize, and as those living things moved in they laid down a record we can read now. As the ice retreated and plants started to grow near a lake, they would release pollen. Some would fall into the lake, sink to the bottom, and be incorporated into the sediment. By drilling into the lake bottom it is possible to read the record of successive plant life around the lake. The fossil record seems clear; there is little or no evidence that entire groups of plants moved north together. Things that lived together in the past don’t live together now, and things that live together now didn’t live together in the past. Each individual organism moved at its own pace. The fossil record seems to be telling us that we should be thinking about preserving species by giving them room to maneuver – to respond to environmental changes.

What is the second paragraph mainly about?