What geologists call the Basin and Range Province in the United States roughly

            coincides in its northern portions with the geographic province known as the Great

            Basin. The Great Basin is hemmed in on the west by the Sierra Nevada and on the east

 Line     by the Rocky Mountains; it has no outlet to the sea. The prevailing winds in the Great

 (5)       Basin are from the west. Warm, moist air from the Pacific Ocean is forced upward as it

            crosses the Sierra Nevada. At the higher altitudes it cools and the moisture it carries is

            precipitated as rain or snow on the western slopes of the mountains. That which

            reaches the Basin is air wrung dry of moisture. What little water falls there as rain or

            snow, mostly in the winter months, evaporates on the broad, flat desert floors. It is,

 (10)      therefore, an environment in which organisms battle for survival. Along the rare

            watercourses, cottonwoods and willows eke out a sparse existence. In the upland

            ranges, piñon pines and junipers struggle to hold their own.

                But the Great Basin has not always been so arid. Many of its dry, closed depressions

            were once filled with water. Owens Valley, Panamint Valley, and Death Valley were

 (15)      once a string of interconnected lakes. The two largest of the ancient lakes of the Great

            Basin were Lake Lahontan and Lake Bonneville. The Great Salt Lake is all that

            remains of the latter, and Pyramid Lake is one of the last briny remnants of the former.

                There seem to have been several periods within the last tens of thousands of

            years when water accumulated in these basins. The rise and fall of the lakes were

 (20)      undoubtedly linked to the advances and retreats of the great ice sheets that covered

            much of the northern part of the North American continent during those times. Climatic

            changes during the Ice Ages sometimes brought cooler, wetter weather to midlatitude

            deserts worldwide, including those of the Great Basin. The broken valleys of the Great

            Basin provided ready receptacles for this moisture.  

 

            40. What is the geographical relationship between the Basin and Range

              Province and the Great Basin?

              (A) The Great Basin is west of the Basin and Range Province.

              (B) The Great Basin is larger than the Basin and Range Province

              (C) The Great Basin is in the northern part of the Basin and Range Province.

              (D) The Great Basin is mountainous ; the Basin and Range Province is flat desert.

 

            41. According to the passage, what does the Great Basin lack?

              (A) Snow

              (B) Dry air

              (C) Winds from the west

              (D) Access to the ocean

 

            42. The word "prevailing" in line 4 is closest in meaning to

              (A) most frequent           (B) occasional

              (C) gentle                      (D) most dangerous

 

            43. It can be inferred that the climate in the Great Basin is dry because

              (A) the weather patterns are so turbulent

              (B) the altitude prevents precipitation

              (C) the winds are not strong enough to carry moisture

              (D) precipitation falls in the nearby mountains

 

 

            44. The word "it" in line 5 refers to

              (A) Pacific Ocean

              (B) air

              (C) west

              (D) the Great Basin

 

            45. Why does the author mention cottonwoods and willows in line 11?

              (A) To demonstrate that certain trees require a lit of water

              (B) To give examples of trees that are able to survive in a difficult environment

              (C) To show the beauty of the landscape of the Great Basin

              (D) To assert that there are more living organisms in the Great Basin than there

                used to be

 

            46. Why does the author mention Owens Valley, Panamint Valley, and Death Valley

              in the second paragraph?

              (A) To explain their geographical formation

              (B) To give examples of depressions that once contained water

              (C) To compare the characteristics of the valleys with the characteristics of the lakes

              (D) To explain what the Great Basin is like today

 

            47. The words "the former" in line 17 refer to

              (A) Lake Bonneville

              (B) Lake Lahontan       

              (C) the Great Salt Lake

              (D) Pyramid Lake

 

            48. The word "accumulated" in line 19 is closest in meaning to

              (A) dried

              (B) flooded

              (C) collected

              (D) evaporated

 

            49. According to the passage, the Ice Ages often brought about

              (A) desert formation

              (B) warmer climates

              (C) broken valleys

              (D) wetter weather

 

            50. Where in the passage does the author explain how lakes probably formed

                in the Great Basin?

              (A) Lines 6-7

              (B) Lines 10-11

              (C) Lines 13-14

              (D) Lines 21-24