4000 Essential English Words 4 » Unit 23: How the Dinosaurs Really Died

Word List
  • accurate [ˈækjərit] adj.
    If something is accurate, it is completely correct.
    → The story in the newspaper wasn’t very accurate.
  • analyze [ˈænəlaiz] v.
    To analyze something is to study it.
    → The scientist will analyze the blood sample.
  • asteroid [ˈæstərɔɪd] n.
    An asteroid is a giant rock from outer space.
    → In 1908, a giant asteroid hit Siberia.
  • controversy [kɒnˈtrəvə:rsɪ] n.
    A controversy is a dispute about something that affects many people.
    → There has been a lot of controversy over the judge’s decision.
  • evolve [iˈvɒlv] v.
    To evolve is to change over time.
    → Many people think that humans evolved from animals.
  • factor [ˈfæktər] n.
    A factor is something that has an effect on the way another thing happens.
    → Smoking is the main factor that causes lung cancer.
  • genetic [dʒiˈnetik] adj.
    If something is genetic, it is related to the genes in one’s body.
    → The color of one’s eyes is genetic.
  • genome [ˈdʒiːnoum] n.
    A genome is the collection of all the genes in a living thing.
    → Understanding the human genome may help cure many diseases.
  • identical [aiˈdentikəl] adj.
    To be identical is to be the same as someone or something else.
    → James and John are identical twins.
  • intellectual [ˌɪntəˈlektjuəl] n.
    An intellectual is a very smart person.
    → We’ve always considered my Uncle Max the intellectual of the family.
  • majority [məˈdʒɔ(:)rətɪ] n.
    A majority of something is almost all of the people or things in that group.
    → A majority of the people voted for Tom Smith in the election.
  • mammal [ˈmæməl] n.
    A mammal is an animal that usually has hair and is not born from an egg.
    → Even though it lives in the water, whales are actually mammals.
  • multiply [ˈmʌltəplai] v.
    To multiply is to increase in number.
    → In the past year, the number of people at work multiplied by ten percent.
  • offspring [ˈɔ:fspriŋ] n.
    Offspring are the children of a person or the babies of an animal.
    → The dog’s offspring had the same color of fur as she did.
  • pesticide [ˈpestəsaid] n.
    A pesticide is a substance used to kill insects.
    → The farmer sprayed his crops with a pesticide to keep bugs away.
  • regulate [ˈregjəleit] v.
    To regulate something is to control how it happens.
    → The bank regulates how much money people can borrow from it.
  • reinforce [riːinˈfoːrs] v.
    To reinforce something is to make it stronger.
    → Peter reinforced his opinion with information from a book.
  • stricken [ˈstrikən] adj.
    If one is stricken by a disease or problem, they are badly affected by it.
    → Mike was stricken with a horrible illness.
  • vast [væst] adj.
    If something is vast, it is very large.
    → The wealthy man bought a vast amount of land in the countryside.
  • vegetarian [ˌvedʒəˈtɛəriən] n.
    A vegetarian is someone who does not eat any meat products.
    → I became a vegetarian because I don’t like the taste of meat.
Exercise 1

Choose the answer that best fits the question.

  1. A professor at a university is probably ______.
    • a. a majority
    • b. an intellectual
    • c. a controversy
    • d. a factor
  2. If every member of a family has a disease, the disease is ______.
    • a. accurate
    • b. identical
    • c. vast
    • d. genetic
  3. What would a farmer do if bugs were eating his plants?
    • a. Use a pesticide
    • b. Find a mammal
    • c. Raise offspring
    • d. Become a vegetarian
  4. What is something that scientists do?
    • a. Analyze chemicals
    • b. Multiply books
    • c. Reinforce messages
    • d. Regulate businesses
  5. Which word is related to the term “outer space”?
    • a. Stricken
    • b. Evolve
    • c. Genome
    • d. Asteroid
  6. What happens when something evolves?
    • a. It studies more.
    • b. It disagrees.
    • c. It changes.
    • d. It gets stronger.
  7. Which of these is a mammal?
    • a. A chicken
    • b. A snake
    • c. A spider
    • d. A monkey
  8. What would a vegetarian eat?
    • a. Steak
    • b. Sausage
    • c. Chicken
    • d. Corn
  9. If something is accurate, it is ______.
    • a. long
    • b. false
    • c. correct
    • d. mysterious
  10. Which of these is usually considered vast?
    • a. The sky
    • b. A bedroom
    • c. A pool
    • d. The newspaper
Exercise 2

Part A: Match the phrases to make complete sentences.

  1. The cheaper blouse is nearly identical ______.
  2. The zoo is full of mammals ______.
  3. The computer has evolved from ______.
  4. My teacher said that asteroids ______.
  5. Many pesticides that are used on ______.
  6. The woman reinforced her statement ______.
  7. The doctor analyzes the daily report ______.
  8. The vast space of the room was ______.
  9. My report on animal genomes ______.
  10. The accident left her stricken ______.
  1. a. will be printed in a science textbook
  2. b. about each patient
  3. c. with two broken legs and an injured arm
  4. d. that come from all over the world
  5. e. with an example from a scientific study
  6. f. a big machine to a tiny one
  7. g. to the one I found in that expensive store
  8. h. are made of rock, ice and metal
  9. i. big enough to fit at least 5,000 people
  10. j. crops cause illnesses in humans

Part B: Match the clauses to make complete sentences.

  1. A small group of kids wanted pizza, ______.
  2. I don’t read gossip magazines ______.
  3. The people in this department can’t be trusted, ______.
  4. There are many things to consider about the car, ______.
  5. The sisters both had the strange disease, ______.
  6. James thought he made the right choice, ______.
  7. Pam served steak and potatoes to Ben, ______.
  8. Alice is a short woman, ______.
  9. I thought it would take weeks for them to grow, ______.
  10. Daniel loves sports and parties, ______.
  1. a. but the flowers multiplied fast
  2. b. but the majority wanted hamburgers
  3. c. so dad thought it was genetic
  4. d. but she didn’t know he was a vegetarian
  5. e. since the news isn’t accurate
  6. f. but the most important factor is its price
  7. g. but her offspring are very tall
  8. h. but his brother is more of an intellectual
  9. i. but it caused a lot of controversy
  10. j. so we must regulate their actions

Answer Key
Exercise 1
  1. b
  2. d
  3. a
  4. a
  5. d
  6. c
  7. d
  8. d
  9. c
  10. a
Exercise 2
Part A
  1. g
  2. d
  3. f
  4. h
  5. j
  6. e
  7. b
  8. i
  9. a
  10. c
Part B
  1. b
  2. e
  3. j
  4. f
  5. c
  6. i
  7. d
  8. g
  9. a
  10. h
Answer Key
How the Dinosaurs Really Died

Many scientists and intellectuals think that dinosaurs died when an asteroid smashed into the Earth millions of years ago. However, recently, there has been some controversy over this theory. Some scientists think that it isn’t accurate. They think that a tiny insect may have been the biggest factor in the death of these huge creatures. That insect was the mosquito.

These scientists do think that an asteroid hit the Earth the time of the dinosaurs. But that wasn’t what killed all of them. At that time, insects, including the mosquito, were beginning to evolve. Today, we can regulate the number of mosquitoes with pesticides. But that was impossible millions of years ago. The mosquitoes multiplied quickly. And they were certainly not idle. Since there were so many mosquitoes, it was easy for them to bite many of the dinosaurs. When they bit another living thing, the mosquitoes passed along a deadly disease. So the dinosaurs were stricken with the disease. A vast majority of them, from the vegetarians to the meat eaters, died.

To reinforce this idea, scientists stress how gradually the dinosaurs died. If an asteroid killed them, they would have died very quickly. But the number of dinosaurs decreased slowly. In addition, scientists have found genetic material of mosquitoes in fossils. This material proves that mosquitoes existed back then. Although there may have been other factors, the dinosaurs died mainly because of disease, the scientists say.

No matter how it happened, the dinosaurs’ death had a major impact on other living things. Many dinosaurs ate mammals. After the dinosaurs died, mammals were able to evolve and produce offspring. Birds also evolved. Scientists have analyzed the genomes of birds, and they discovered that birds have identical genetic material to some dinosaurs. So there may still be dinosaurs among us after all.

Reading Comprehension

Part A: Mark each statement T for true or F for false. Rewrite the false statements to make them true.

  1. _____ Some scientists think the asteroid theory isn’t accurate.
    • _____________________________________________________
  2. _____ A huge creature may have been the biggest factor in the death of these tiny insects.
    • _____________________________________________________
  3. _____ Today, we can regulate the number of mosquitoes with pesticides.
    • _____________________________________________________
  4. _____ A vast majority of mosquitoes, from the vegetarians to the meat eaters, died.
    • _____________________________________________________
  5. _____ In addition, scientists have found the genetic material of mammals in fossils.
    • _____________________________________________________
  6. _____ Many dinosaurs ate mammals.
    • _____________________________________________________

Part B: Answer the questions.

  1. What might have been the biggest factor in the dinosaurs’ death?
    • a. Their genetic material
    • b. An asteroid
    • c. Other animals
    • d. Mosquitoes
  2. What do we do to regulate the number of mosquitoes?
    • a. We use pesticides.
    • b. We feed them to vegetarians.
    • c. We kill their offspring.
    • d. We analyze their genomes.
  3. How did the mosquitoes spread the deadly disease?
    • a. They produced offspring.
    • b. They bit many dinosaurs.
    • c. They ate birds.
    • d. They multiplied quickly.
  4. What proves that mosquitoes were around at the same time as dinosaurs?
    • a. Genetic material in fossils
    • b. Similar modern insects
    • c. Fossils of dinosaurs
    • d. Other disease-stricken animals
Answer Key
Answer Key
Reading Comprehension
Part A
  1. T
  2. F / A tiny insect may have been the biggest factor in the death of these huge creatures.
  3. T
  4. F / A vast majority of dinosaurs, from the vegetarians to the meat eaters, died.
  5. F / In addition, scientists have found the genetic material of mosquitoes in fossils.
  6. T
Part B
  1. d
  2. a
  3. b
  4. a
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