(A)

    Every year geohazards—such as volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides and tsunamis—claim thousands of lives, devastate homes and destroy livelihoods. In an effort to reduce their impact, more than 250 scientists from around the world gathered for a five-day workshop at ESA’s Earth Observation Centre in Frascati, Italy, to adopt a declaration for an internationally coordinated program to help save lives and reduce human suffering worldwide.

    Because of their unique, panoramic view from space, Earth Observation (EO) satellites can regularly monitor high-risk regions—namely over volcanoes, major landslides and seismic faults. Satellite imagery combined with in-situ measurements make it possible to produce hazard maps, disaster scenarios, forecasts and post-event assessments maps.

   “This workshop is very beneficial because it attracts experts from approximately 40 countries in the field of geohazards and allows us to present results of EO applications from our respective countries,” Dr Vernon H. Singhroy, Senior Research Scientist at the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, said.

    “ESA is leading the way in satellite observations and applications for geohazards,” Singhroy continued. “As a community, we learn from the extensive applications of geohazard processes, such as InSAR monitoring, across Europe conducted through ESA programs.

    Data from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instruments like those flown aboard ESA’s Envisat and ERS-2 satellites are the basis for a technique called SAR interferometry, or InSAR for short. InSAR involves combining two or more radar images of the same ground location in such a way that very precise measurements —down to a scale of a few millimetres—can be made of any ground motion taking place between image acquisitions.

    Because very small movements can potentially be detected across tectonic plates grinding past one another or the slow “breathing” of active volcanoes, for example, InSAR has achieved spectacular results in various fields such as the monitoring of volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides and land subsidence.

    “The integration of in-situ observations with satellite observations helps us to better understand and forecast specific geological phenomena like volcanoes and seismic sites,” said Jacques Varet, Director of Strategic Planning for Geoscience for a sustainable Earth (BRGM) and Vice President of EuroGeoSurveys.“In-situ observations have a local approach while space-based observations have a global approach. With these communities working together, we integrate our approach and enlarge our horizon.”

Which of the following would probably NOT be found in geohazards?

Western Fast Food and Traditional Chinese Food

Which of the following may best express the purpose of the last paragraph?

    Every once in a while the government here passes out an order banning shop keepers from providing plastic bags to customers for carrying their purchases, with little lasting effect. Plastic bags are very popular with both retailers as well as consumers because they are cheap, strong, lightweight, functional, as well as a hygienic means of carrying food as well as other goods. Even though they are one of the modern conveniences that we seem to be unable to do without, they are responsible for causing pollution, killing wildlife, and using up the precious resources of the earth.

       Here are some of the harmful effects of plastic bags: Plastic bags litter the landscape. Once they are used, most plastic bags go into landfill, or rubbish tips. Each year more and more plastic bags are ending up littering the environment. Once they become litter, plastic bags find their way into our waterways, parks, beaches, and streets. And, if they are burned, they infuse the air with toxic fumes.

       Plastic bags kill animals. About 100,000 animals such as dolphins, turtles, whales and penguins are killed every year due to plastic bags. Many animals ingest plastic bags, mistaking them for food, and therefore die. And worse, the ingested plastic bag remains intact even after the death and decomposition of the animal. Thus, it lies around in the landscape where another victim may ingest it.

       Plastic bags are non-biodegradable. And one of the worst environmental effects of plastic bags is that it is non-biodegradable. The decomposition of plastic bags takes about 1000 years.

All of the following affect the movement of species EXCEPT_____.

According to the passage, the US Department of Agriculture______.

To determine the entry pathway for a non-native species is LEAST likely to depend on_____.

With which of the following statements is the author most likely to agree?

(B)

    Non-indigenous species of plants and animals arrive by way of two general types of pathways. First, species having origins outside the US may enter the country and become established either as free-living populations or under human cultivation—for example, in agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, or as pets. Some cultivated species subsequently escape or are released and also become established as free-living populations. Second, species of either US or foreign origin and already within the US may spread to new locales. Pathways of both types include intentional as well as unintentional species transfers. Rates of species movement driven by human transformations of natural environments as well as by human mobility-through commerce, tourism, and travel—greatly exceed natural rates by comparison. While geographic distributions of species naturally expand or contract over historical time intervals, species’ ranges rarely expand thousands of miles or across physical barriers such as oceans or mountains.

     Habitat modification can create conditions favorable to the establishment of non-indigenous species. Soil disturbed in construction and agriculture is open for colonization by non-indigenous weeds, which in turn may provide habitats for the non-indigenous insects that evolved with them. Human-generated changes in fire frequency, grazing intensity, as well as soil stability and nutrient levels similarly facilitate the spread and establishment of non-indigenous plants. When human changes to natural environments span large geographical areas, they effectively create passages for species movement between previously isolated locales. The rapid spread of the Russian wheat aphid to fifteen states in just two years following its 1986 arrival has been attributed in part to the prevalence of alternative host plants that are available when wheat is not. Many of these are non-indigenous grasses recommended for planting on the forty million or more acres enrolled in the US Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve Program.

What can be inferred about ESA from the passage?

Hazard maps can be produced with_______.