From a vantage point in space, an observer could see that the Earth is engaged in a variety of motions. First, there is its rotation on its own axis, causing the alternation of day and night. This rotation, however, is not altogether steady. Primarily because of the moon’s gravitational action, the Earth’s axis wobbles like that of an ill-spun top. In this motion, called ‘precession’, the North and South Poles each traces out the base of a cone in space, completing a circle every 25,800 years. In addition, as the Sun and the Moon change their positions with respect to the Earth, their changing gravitational effects result in a slight ‘nodding’ of the earth’s axis, called ‘mutation’, which is superimposed on precession. The Earth completes one of these ‘nods’ every 18.6 years.
The earth also, of course, revolves round the Sun, in a 6-million mile journey that takes 365.25 days. The shape of this orbit is an ellipse, but it is not the center of the Earth that follows the elliptical path. Earth and Moon behave like an asymmetrical dumb-bell, and it is the center of mass of this dumb-bell that traces the ellipse around the sun. The center of the Earth-Moon mass lies about 3000 miles away from the center of the Earth, and the Earth thus moves in an S-curve that crosses and re-crosses its orbital path. Then too, the Earth accompanies the sun in the sun’s movements: first, through its local star cloud, and second, in a great sweep around the hub of its galaxy, the Milky Way that takes 200 million years to complete.
The passage is most likely directed towards an audience of
Show Hint
- geologists.
- astronauts.
- meteorologists interested in weather prediction.
- person with little technical knowledge of astronomy.
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
- Options (a), (b), and (c) imply a technical or professional audience, but the passage does not use highly specialized jargon or focus on those fields.
Which of the following best describes the main subject of the passage?
Show Hint
- The various types of the Earth’s motions
- Past changes in the Earth’s position
- The moon gravitational effect on the earth
- Oddities of the Earth’s rotation of its axis.
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
- Option (b) is too narrow and historical.
- Option (c) focuses only on one cause.
- Option (d) addresses only one type of motion, not all discussed.
The passage indicates that a single cycle of which of the following motions is completed in the shortest period of time?
Show Hint
- Mutation.
- Precession.
- The Earth’s rotation on its axis.
- The movement of the dumb-bell formed by the center of mass of Earth-Moon.
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
- Mutation takes 18.6 years per cycle.
- Precession takes 25,800 years.
- The Earth-Moon dumb-bell movement around the Sun takes one year.
Which of the following techniques does the author use in order to make the descriptions of motion clear?
I. Comparison with familiar objects.
II. Reference of geometric forms.
III. Allusions to the works of other authors.
II. Reference of geometric forms.
III. Allusions to the works of other authors.
Show Hint
- I only
- II only
- I and II only
- II and III only
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
As of 2009, there are 890 World Heritage Sites that are located in 148 countries (map). 689 of these sites are cultural and include places like the Sydney Opera House in Australia and the Historic Center of Vienna in Austria. 176 are natural and feature such locations as the U.S.’s Yellowstone and Grand Canyon National Parks. 25 of the World Heritage Sites are considered mixed i.e. natural and cultural Peru’s Machu Picchu is one of these. Italy has the highest number of World Heritage Sites with 44. India has 36 (28 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed) World Heritage Sites. The World Heritage Committee has divided the world’s countries into five geographic zones which include (1) Africa, (2) Arab States, (3) Asia Pacific (including Australia and Oceania), (4) Europe and North America and (5) Latin America and the Caribbean.
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