Directions : Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that…
2017
Directions : Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow by selecting the most appropriate option.
Antarctica is an icy continent in the South Pole. It is covered by permanently frozen ground, is surrounded by water and is about 1.5 times longer than the United States. The world's largest desert is in Antarctica. 98% of the land is covered with a continental ice sheet; the remaining 2% of land is barren rock. Antarctica has about 87% of the world's ice. The South Pole is the coldest, windiest and driest place on Earth. The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was at the South Pole; it reached as low as $-128.6$ °F or $-88.0$ °C. On an average most of the Antarctica gets less than 2 inches of snow each year. Although scientific expeditions visit Antarctica, there are no permanent human residents. This is because of the extreme weather, which includes freezing temperature, strong winds and blizzards. There are about 4000 seasonal visitors to Antarctica. Antarctica hasn't always been located at the South Pole. It has drifted, like the other continents and has ranged from the Equator during the Cambrian period, about 500 million years ago to the South Pole. During the time of the dinosaurs, Antarctica was more temperate and housed dinosaurs and many other life-forms. Now there is very little indigenous life.
Has Antarctica always been fixed in the South Pole?
- A.
Yes
- B.
No
- C.
May be
- D.
Not given in the passage
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept: In a literal-comprehension passage question, the correct response is the fact stated explicitly in the passage. The reader must locate the exact sentence carrying that fact and answer strictly from it, without adding outside knowledge, assumptions, or general world facts about Antarctica.
Application: The passage states directly: "Antarctica hasn't always been located at the South Pole. It has drifted, like the other continents, and has ranged from the Equator during the Cambrian period, about 500 million years ago, to the South Pole." This sentence directly answers the question "Has Antarctica always been fixed in the South Pole?" — the passage says it has NOT always been fixed there; it has drifted over geological time from an equatorial position to its current polar location.
Cross-check: The statement is explicit and unhedged (no "possibly" or "it is believed"), so there is no basis for treating the passage as uncertain, and the sentence is present verbatim in the text, so the information cannot be treated as absent. Both the "drifted from the Equator" fact and the "not always fixed" fact confirm the same direct answer.