Question

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:(QUESTIONS 3-14)


If life exists on Mars, it is most likely to be in the form of bacteria buried deep in the planet’s permafrost or lichens growing within rocks, say scientists from NASA. There might even be fossilised Martian algae locked up in ancient lake beds, waiting to be found.

Scientific searches for evidence of life began in the 19th century and continue today via telescopic investigations and deployed probes. While early work focused on phenomenology and bordered on fantasy, the modern scientific inquiry has emphasized the search for water, chemical biosignatures in the soil and rocks at the planet's surface, and biomarker gases in the atmosphere.

Scientists do not know the minimum number of parameters for the determination of habitability potential, but they are certain it is greater than one or two of the factors. Similarly, for each group of parameters, the habitability threshold for each is to be determined. Laboratory simulations show that whenever multiple lethal factors are combined, the survival rates plummet quickly. There are no full-Mars simulations published yet that include all of the biocidal factors combined.

Christopher Mckay of NASA’s Ames Research Centre in California told the AAAS that exobiologists, who look for life on other planets, should look for clues among the life forms of the Earth’s ultra-cold regions, where conditions are similar to those on Mars.

Lichens, for example, are found within some Antarctic rocks, just beneath the surface where sunlight can still reach them. The rock protects the lichen from cold and absorbs water, providing enough for the lichen’s needs, said Mckay.

Bacteria have also been found in 3-million-year-old permafrost dug up from Siberia. If there are any bacteria alive on Mars today, they would have survived from the time before the planet cooled more than 3 billion years ago. Nevertheless, McKay is optimistic: ‘‘It may be possible that bacteria frozen into the permafrost at the Mastion South Pole, may be viable.

McKay said algae are found in Antarctic lakes with permanently frozen surfaces. Although no lakes are thought to exist on Mars, they might have existed long ago. If so, the dried-out Martian lake beds may contain the fossilised remains of algae. On Earth, masses of microscopic algae form large, layered structures known as stromatolites, which survive as fossils on lake beds, said Jack Farmer, one of McKay’s colleagues.

The researchers are compiling a list of promising Martian lake beds to be photographed from spacecraft, said Farmer. Those photographs could help to select landers that would search for signs of life, past or present. ‘‘If we find algae on Mars, I would say the Universe is lousy with algae,’’ McKay said, ‘‘intelligence would be another question.’’


The passage is primarily concerned withImmersive Reader

(1 Point)


a. the possibility of life on Mars.


b. selecting sites for landers on Mars.


c. research on Mars.


d. findings of Christopher McKay.

4.Lichens survive in the extreme cold conditions of Antarctica on earth for all the following reasons, except

(1 Point)


a. some Antarctic rocks protect lichens beneath their surface.


b. bacteria in the Antarctic frost protect lichen from the residual cold after the rock absorbs water.


c. sunlight penetrates the surface of the Antarctic rock where lichen grows.


d. the Antarctic rocks protect the lichen from cold by absorbing water and leaving enough for the lichen’s needs.



kindly answer!!

Answer 1

Answer:

1) A

2)C

Explanation:

1) The possibility of life on Mars.

2) Sunlight penetrates the surface of the Antarctic rock where lichen grows.