Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. A climate sceptic has said that it is now time to end the debate over whether global warming is real after the most definite study into temperature data gathered by weather stations over the past half - century. Professor Richard Muller, a physicist at the University of California, Berkeley, who has been an outspoken critic of the science underpinning global warming, said that there is little doubt in his mind the phenomenon of rising land temperatures is real. Over the past two years, he has chaired a group of scientists who have carried out an exhaustive analysis of more than 1.6 billion temperature recordings collected from more than 39,000 weather stations at land sites around the world. The Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature (Best) study was set up to test the findings of other studies and was part funded by US billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. "When we began our study, we felt that sceptics had raised legitimate issues, and we didn't know what we'd find. Our results turned out to be close to those published by prior groups. We think that means that those groups had truly been very careful in their work. Despite their inability to convince some sceptics of that, :Professor Muller said.
At the beginning of the last paragraph, the author mentions that his team was ______ about the findings.
Unsure
Analyzing the Passage on Climate Change Study
The question asks about the initial feeling of Professor Richard Muller's team regarding the findings of their study, based on the beginning of the last paragraph of the provided passage.
Examining the Relevant Part of the Passage
Let's look at the start of the last paragraph:
"When we began our study, we felt that sceptics had raised legitimate issues, and we didn't know what we'd find. Our results turned out to be close to those published by prior groups..."
Understanding the Team's Initial State
The key phrase here is "we didn't know what we'd find". This indicates that when they started the study, the team was uncertain about the outcome or the results they would obtain. They were open to different possibilities and didn't have a preconceived notion of what their analysis would reveal.
- "Didn't know what we'd find" directly implies a lack of certainty.
- This state of not knowing the outcome is best described as being 'unsure'.
Comparing with the Options
Let's consider the given options:
- Unfriendly: This relates to disposition or attitude towards others, not their state of mind about findings.
- Unreal: This means not real or imaginary, which doesn't fit the context of their expectations about study results.
- Uncharacteristic: This means unusual for them, which is not implied by the text.
- Unsure: This means not knowing or having doubts, which perfectly matches "didn't know what we'd find".
Therefore, the phrase "we didn't know what we'd find" clearly indicates that the team was unsure about the findings at the beginning of their study.
The correct option is the one that reflects this state of uncertainty.
Revision Table: Key Terms and Concepts
| Term | Explanation in Context |
|---|---|
| Climate Sceptic | Someone who doubts the claims made by climate scientists, especially regarding global warming. Professor Richard Muller initially identified with this perspective. |
| Global Warming | The long-term heating of Earth’s climate system observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth's atmosphere. |
| Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature (Best) | The specific study mentioned in the passage, led by Professor Richard Muller, which aimed to independently analyze temperature data. |
| Unsure | The state of not being certain or having doubts about something, as the team felt about their potential findings. |
Additional Information: Understanding Reading Comprehension Questions
Reading comprehension questions often require you to:
- Identify the main idea of a passage or paragraph.
- Understand the meaning of specific words or phrases in context.
- Infer the author's tone, purpose, or point of view.
- Locate specific details or information within the text.
- Determine the relationship between different parts of the text.
For this question, the key was to locate the specific sentence mentioned and correctly interpret the meaning of the phrase "didn't know what we'd find" in the context of starting a scientific study.
Important Questions from Reading Comprehension
Why, according to the writer can't people be motivated to use a resource prudently?
1. They feel that others may overuse the resource
2. It is possible to substitute the resource
3. Abundance of the resource availability
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
When do people use resources exhaustively?
The self-interest of people affects the use of renewable resources
People rooted in a locality
Which among the following is closest in meaning with the word 'deplete'?
