Comprehension: Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow.…
2025
Comprehension:
Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow.
One potential cause of human extinction is global warming, but even without human-induced climate change, the sun's increasing radiation will eventually bring about our demise. A 2014 article in Science presents two models for this countdown, one more pessimistic than the other. Researchers from Pennsylvania State University, led by Ravi Kopparapu, predicted that with a 6% increase in solar radiation, in 150 million years, only underwater life and some resilient microbes will remain. According to this model, our species could be extinct within this timeframe.
Alternatively, if Earth's temperatures rise more gradually, we might have 600 to 700 million years left, based on the "Kopparapu model."
Wolf and Toon argue that we have 1.5 billion years left. Eventually, habitable territory would shrink to a strip around the poles. The ultimate end will come much later, in about four billion years, when the sun goes out. As the sun becomes a "red giant," it could strip away Earth's atmosphere, leaving a magma-covered surface with metal oxide icebergs floating on it.
These projections underscore the finite nature of our existence on this planet, emphasizing the importance of understanding and preparing for these eventualities.
Select the most appropriate ANTONYM of the given word as used in the passage.
Resilient
- A.
Uncertain
- B.
Brief
- C.
Weak
- D.
Endless
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
CONCEPT: An antonym is a word whose meaning is the direct opposite of another word's meaning. For a word used within a passage, the antonym must oppose the specific sense the word carries in that context, not just any dictionary sense of the word.
APPLICATION: In the passage, 'resilient' describes microbes that are predicted to withstand and survive the extremely harsh conditions caused by a 6% rise in solar radiation over 150 million years — the sense here is 'tough, hardy, able to endure hardship.' The opposite of this sense is a word meaning 'lacking strength or the ability to endure hardship.'
CROSS-CHECK: contrasting each option by value against this sense of resilient:
'Uncertain' opposes 'certain/sure' — a knowledge/certainty dimension, not a strength/endurance dimension.
'Brief' opposes 'long-lasting' — a duration dimension, not a strength/endurance dimension.
'Endless' opposes 'brief/finite' — also a duration dimension, not a strength/endurance dimension.
'Weak' opposes exactly the strength/endurance dimension that 'resilient' occupies.
Therefore, the antonym of 'resilient' as used in the passage is 'Weak.'