Walking With Dinosaurs Reading Answers

Dec 20, 2022

Walking With Dinosaurs Reading Answers is the topic discussing about the harmful effects of using mobile phones while driving. The given IELTS topic has been taken from the book called “101 Ielts Reading Past Papers with Answers”. There are 13 questions total in the the topic called Walking With Dinosaurs Reading Answers, which should be answered within the time span of 20 minutes by the candidates. The topic includes three questions types, that are, True/False/Not Given, label the diagram, and no more than two words. The candidates should read thoroughly the IELTS reading passage in order to recognize the synonyms and identify the keywords and for answering the questions below. Similar kinds of topics like Walking With Dinosaurs Reading Answers are included in the IELTS reading practice papers, which the candidates can take into their consideration for performing a good score in this section.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Walking With Dinosaurs Reading Answers

Peter L. Falkingham and his colleagues at Manchester University are developing techniques which look set to revolutionize our understanding of how dinosaurs and other extinct animals behaved.

A. The media image of palaeontologists who study prehistoric life is often of field workers camped in the desert in the hot sun, carefully picking away at the rock surrounding a large dinosaur bone. But Peter Falkingham has done little of that for a while now. Instead, he devotes himself to his computer. Not because he has become inundated with paperwork, but because he is a new kind of palaeontologist: a computational palaeontologist.

B. What few people may consider is that uncovering a skeleton, or discovering a new species, is where the research begins, not where it ends. What we really want to understand is how the extinct animals and plants behaved in their natural habitats. Drs Bill Sellers and Phil Manning from the University of Manchester use a ‘genetic algorithm’ – a kind of computer code that can change itself and ‘evolve’ – to explore how extinct animals like dinosaurs, and our own early ancestors, walked and stalked.

C. The fossilized bones of a complete dinosaur skeleton can tell scientists a lot about the animal, but they do not make up the complete picture and the computer can try to fill the gap. The computer model is given a digitized skeleton, and the locations of known muscles. The model then randomly activates the muscles. This, perhaps unsurprisingly, results almost without fail in the animal falling on its face. So the computer alters the activation pattern and tries again … usually to similar effect. The modeled dinosaurs quickly ‘evolve’. If there is any improvement, the computer discards the old pattern and adopts the new one as the base for alteration. Eventually, the muscle activation pattern evolves a stable way of moving, the best possible solution is reached, and the dinosaur can walk, run, chase or graze. Assuming natural selection evolves the best possible solution too, the modeled animal should be moving in a manner similar to its now-extinct counterpart. And indeed, using the same method for living animals (humans, emu and ostriches) similar top speeds were achieved on the computer as in reality. By comparing their cyberspace results with real measurements of living species, the Manchester team of palaeontologists can be confident in the results computed showing how extinct prehistoric animals such as dinosaurs moved.

D. The Manchester University team have used the computer simulations to produce a model of a giant meat-eating dinosaur. lt is called an acrocanthosaurus which literally means ‘high spined lizard’ because of the spines which run along its backbone. It is not really known why they are there but scientists have speculated they could have supported a hump that stored fat and water reserves. There are also those who believe that the spines acted as a support for a sail. Of these, one half think it was used as a display and could be flushed with blood and the other half think it was used as a temperature-regulating device. It may have been a mixture of the two. The skull seems out of proportion with its thick, heavy body because it is so narrow and the jaws are delicate and fine. The feet are also worthy of note as they look surprisingly small in contrast to the animal as a whole. It has a deep broad tail and powerful leg muscles to aid locomotion. It walked on its back legs and its front legs were much shorter with powerful claws.

E. Falkingham himself is investigating fossilized tracks, or footprints, using computer simulations to help analyze how extinct animals moved. Modern-day trackers who study the habitats of wild animals can tell you what animal made a track, whether that animal was walking or running, sometimes even the sex of the animal. But a fossil track poses a more considerable challenge to interpret in the same way. A crucial consideration is knowing what the environment including the mud, or sediment, upon which the animal walked was like millions of years ago when the track was made. Experiments can answer these questions but the number of variables is staggering. To physically recreate each scenario with a box of mud is extremely time-consuming and difficult to repeat accurately. This is where computer simulation comes in.

F. Falkingham uses computational techniques to model a volume of mud and control the moisture content, consistency, and other conditions to simulate the mud of prehistoric times. A footprint is then made in the digital mud by a virtual foot. This footprint can be chopped up and viewed from any angle and stress values can be extracted and calculated from inside it. By running hundreds of these simulations simultaneously on supercomputers, Falkingham can start to understand what types of footprint would be expected if an animal moved in a certain way over a given kind of ground. Looking at the variation in the virtual tracks, researchers can make sense of fossil tracks with greater confidence.

G. The application of computational techniques in palaeontology is becoming more prevalent every year. As computer power continues to increase, the range of problems that can be tackled and questions that can be answered will only expand.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Question 1-6:
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet, write.

TRUE, if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE, if the statement contradicts with the information
NOT GIVEN, if there is no information on this

(Guide: Candidates need to answer questions 1 to 6 by identifying the given fact as true or false or not given)

In his study of prehistoric life, Peter Falkingham rarely spends time on outdoor research those days.

Answer: True
Supporting sentence: But Peter Falkingham has done little of that for a while now. Instead, he devotes himself to his computer. Not because he has become inundated with paperwork he is a new kind of paleontologist: a computational paleontologist.
Keywords: Paleontologist, computer, Peter Falkingham, Prehistoric.
Keyword location: Section A third line.
Explanation: The third line of paragaph A implies that Peter Falkingham hasn't really done much of that in a while. He dedicates himself to his computer instead. He is a computational palaeontologist, which is not a new type of palaeontologist because he has accumulated a tonne of documentation. So, it is a True sentence.

Several attempts are usually needed before the computer model of a Dinosaur used by Sellers and Manning manages to stay upright.

Answer: True.
Supporting Sentence: Dr. Bill Sellers and Phil Manning from the University of Manchester use a ‘genetic algorithm’ – a kind of computer code that can change itself and ‘evolve’ – to explore how extinct animals like dinosaurs, and our early ancestors, walked and stalked.
Keywords: Genetic algorithm, Manchester, Extinct animals, Sellers, and Manning.
Keyword Location: Section B fourth line.
Explanation: Line 4 of paragraph B explains that in order to better understand how extinct animals like dinosaurs and our earliest relatives walked and stalked, Dr. Bill Sellers and Phil Manning of the University of Manchester have developed a "genetic algorithm"—a type of computer code that can alter itself and "evolve." Hence, the statement is True.

When the Sellers and Manning computer model was used for people, it showed them moving faster than they are physically able to.

Answer: False.
Supporting Sentence: And indeed, using the same method for living animals (humans, emu and ostriches) similar top speeds were achieved on the computer as in reality.
Keywords: the stable way of moving, muscle activation pattern, top speeds, reality.
Keyword Location: Section C eleventh line.
Explanation: The muscle activation pattern in the computer model matches the speed of the actual extinct species, and the digital skeleton in the computer model has evolved swiftly. The Manchester crew developed a number of computerised patterns for muscle activation, and if the Dinosaur model is improved in any way, the computer discards the previous pattern and accepts the new one. Thus, the sentence is regarded is False.

Some Paleontologists have expressed reservations about the conclusions reached by the Manchester team concerning the movement of Dinosaur.

Answer: Not Given.
Explanation: No relevant information to support this sentence is available in the passage.

An experienced tracker can analyze fossil footprints as easily as those made by a live animal.

Answer: True.

Supporting Sentence: By running hundreds of these simulations simultaneously on supercomputers, Falkingham can start to understand what types of footprint would be expected if an animal moved in a certain way over a given kind of ground.
Keywords: Simulation, supercomputer, footprints, virtual tracks, researchers.
Keyword Location: Section F sixth and seventh line.

Explanation: Falkingham may begin to comprehend the types of footprints that would be anticipated if an animal moved in a specific way over a specific type of ground by running hundreds of these simulations concurrently on supercomputers. Hence, the statement is a False one.

Research carried out into the composition of prehistoric mud is inaccurate.

Answer: Not Given.
Explanation: No justified information is available in the passage in order to prove the validation of this sentence.

Questions 7-9:
Label the diagram below.
Choose NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.Write your
answers in boxes 7-9 on your answer sheet.

Question: 7

Answer: Sail
Supporting Sentence: There are also those who believe that the spines acted as a support for a sail.
Keyword: sail
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6
Explanation: According to the supporting sentence, the chosen response, "sail," is appropriate. According to one idea, the names of the dinosaurs were derived from their spines. Those had to keep the sail raised in order to manage their body heat. Other people, according to the supporting clause, thought that such spines "served as a support for a sail."

Question: 8

Answer: Narrow
Supporting Sentence: The skull seems out of proportion with its thick, heavy body because it is so narrow and the jaws are delicate and fine.
Keyword: skull, narrow
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6
Explanation: The size of the skull in relation to the body's other parts is questioned in the diagram. According to the supporting clause, the skull is "narrow" and "delicate and fine" in juxtaposition to the thick and "heavy" body.

Question: 9

Answer: Locomotion
Supporting Sentence: It has a deep broad tail and powerful leg muscles to aid locomotion.
Keyword: locomotion
Keyword Location: Paragraph 6
Explanation: Considering how large their bodies were, dinosaurs' feet were incredibly little. They have "deep broad tails and robust leg muscles" in their feet. These aid the dinosaurs' ability to move around. As a result, the chosen response, "locomotion," is correct.

Question 10-13:
Complete the flow-chart below
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer
Write your answers in the blank spaces next to 10-13 on your answer sheet

Question 10:

Answer: Moisture
Supporting Sentence: Falkingham uses computational techniques to model a volume of mud and control the moisture content, consistency, and other conditions to simulate the mud of prehistoric times
Keyword: moisture content, consistency
Keyword Location: Paragraph F
Explanation: Falkingham evaluated the ancient mud using computer methods. To "model a volume of mud and control moisture content, consistency," he employed these methods. These were employed to mimic the primordial mud.

Question 11:

Answer: Stress
Supporting Sentence: This footprint can be chopped up and viewed from any angle and stress values can be extracted and calculated from inside it.
Keyword: stress values
Keyword Location: Paragraph F
Explanation: According to paragraph F in the passage, the stress values may be recovered and calculated from inside this footprint, which can be divided up and viewed from any angle.

Question 12:

Answer: ground
Supporting Sentence: By running hundreds of these simulations simultaneously on supercomputers, Falkingham can start to understand what types of footprint would be expected if an animal moved in a certain way over a given kind of ground
Keyword: groud
Keyword Location: Paragraph F
Explanation: The paragraph F in the passage describes that Falkingham may begin to comprehend what kinds of footprint might be anticipated if an animal walked in a specific way over a particular type of ground by running hundreds of these simulations concurrently on supercomputers.

Question 13:

Answer: fossil tracks
Supporting Sentence: Looking at the variation in the virtual tracks, researchers can make sense of fossil tracks with greater confidence.
Keyword: fossil tracks
Keyword Location: Paragraph F
Explanation: The passage explains that the researchers are better able to understand fossil traces by observing the diversity in the virtual trails.