English fifth meeting "HORSE

HORSE

The development of the horse has been recorded from the beginning through all of its evolutionary stages to the modern form. It is, in fact, one of the most complete and well-documented chapters of paleontological history. Fossil finds provide us not only with detailed information about the horse itself but also with valuable insights into the migration of herds, and even evidence for speculation about the climatic conditions that could have instigated such migratory behavior.

Perkembangan kuda telah dicatat dari awal melalui semua tahapan evolusi hingga ke bentuk modern. Hal ini, pada kenyataannya, salah satu bab yang paling lengkap dan terdokumentasi dengan baik sejarah paleontologi. Menemukan fosil memberikan kita tidak hanya dengan informasi rinci tentang kuda itu sendiri, tetapi juga dengan wawasan berharga mengenai migrasi dari kawanan, dan bahkan bukti untuk spekulasi tentang kondisi iklim yang bisa dihasut perilaku migrasi.

Geologists believe that the first horses appeared on Earth about sixty million years ago as compared with two million years ago for the appearance of human beings. There is evidence of early horses on both the American and European continents, but it has been documented that, almost twelve million years ago at the beginning of the Pliocene Age, a horse about midway through its evolutionary development crossed a land bridge where the Bering Strait is now located, from Alaska into the grasslands of Asia, and traveled all the way to Europe. 

Para pakar geologi yakin bahwa kuda pertama muncul di bumi sekitar enam juta tahun lalu dibandingkan dengan dua juta tahun yang lalu dalam kemunculan manusia. Ada bukti awal kuda di benua Amerika dan Eropa, tetapi telah didokumentasikan, hampir dua belas juta tahun yang lalu pada permulaan era Pliosen, kuda tentang midway melalui perkembangan evolusioner menyeberangi jembatan darat mana Selat Bering kini terletak, dari Alaska ke padang rumput Asia, dan melakukan perjalanan sepanjang jalan ke Eropa.

This early horse was a hipparion, about the size of a modern-day pony with three toes and specialized cheek teeth for grazing. In Europe, the hipparion encountered another less advanced horse called the anchitheres, which had previously invaded Europe by the same route, probably during the Miocene Period. Less developed and smaller than the hipparion, the anchittheres was eventually completely replaced by it.

 

Kuda pertama adalah hipparion, ukurannya seperti kuda poni dengan tiga jari-jari kaki dan gigi yang khusus untuk memakan rumput. Di Eropa, hipparion menemui kuda kurang maju lain yang disebut anchitheres, yang telah sebelumnya menuju Eropa oleh rute yang sama, mungkin selama periode Miosen. Kurang berkembang dan lebih kecil dari hipparion, anchittheres akhirnya diganti oleh itu.

By the end of the Pleistocene Age both the anchitheres and the hipparion had become extinct in North America, where they had originated, as fossil evidence clearly indicates. In Europe, they evolve into the larger and stronger animal that is very similar to the horse as we know it today. For many years, the horse was probably hunted for food by early tribes of human beings. Then the qualities of the horse that would have made it a good servant were noted – mainly its strength and speed. It was time for the horse to be tamed, used as a draft animal at the dawning of agriculture, and than ridden as the need for transportation increased. It was the descendant of this domesticated horse that was brought back to the Americas by European colonists

Pada zaman Pleistosen akhir anchitheres dan hipparion telah menjadi punah di Amerika Utara, di mana mereka berasal, sebagai bukti fosil jelas menunjukkan. Di Eropa, mereka berevolusi menjadi lebih besar dan lebih kuat hewan yang sangat mirip dengan kuda seperti yang kita kenal sekarang. Selama bertahun-tahun, kuda mungkin diburu untuk makanan oleh suku-suku awal manusia. Kemudian kualitas kuda yang akan berhasil baik hamba dicatat-terutama kekuatan dan kecepatan. Sudah waktunya untuk kuda untuk dijinakkan, digunakan sebagai hewan rancangan pada fajar pertanian, dan daripada naik sebagai kebutuhan transportasi yang meningkat. Itu adalah keturunan ini dijinakkan kuda yang dibawa kembali ke Amerika oleh para koloni Eropa

1. What is this passage mainly about?  

A.  The evolution of the horse

B.  The migration of horses

C.  The modern-day pony 

D. The replacement of the anchitheres by the hipparion

2. According to the author, fossils are considered valuable for all of the following reasons EXCEPT

A.  they suggest how the climate may have been 

B.  they provide information about migration

C.  they document the evolution of the horse

D. they maintain a record of life prior to the Miocene Age

3. The word instigated in paragraph 1 could best be replaced by

A. explained   C.  improved

B.   caused D.  influenced

4. What does the author mean by the statement Geologists believe that the first horses appeared on Earth about sixty million years ago as compared with two million years ago for the appearance of human beings?

A. Horses appeared long before human beings according to  

           the theories of geologists.

B. Both horses and human beings appeared several million years ago, if we believe geologists.

C.  The geological records for the appearance of horses

           and human beings are not very accurate. 

D. Horses and human beings cannot be compared by geologists because they appeared too long ago.

 

 5. Which of the following conclusions may be made on the basis of information in the passage? 

A. The hipparions migrated to Europe to feed in developing 

           grasslands.

B. There are no fossil remains of either the anchitheres   or the hipparion.

C. There were horses in North America when the first European colonists arrived.

D. Very little is known about the evolution of the horse.

 

6. According to this passage, the hipparion were

A.  five-toed animals  

B.  not as highly develop as anchiteres

C.  larger than the anchiteres

D.  About the size of a small dog

7. The word it in paragraph 2 refer to

A.   anchiteres C.   Miocene Period

B.   hipparion D.   Route

8. The word extinct in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

A.   familiar   C.  nonexistent

B.   Widespread D.  tame

9. It can be concluded from this passage that the 

A. Miocene Period was prior to the Pleistocene

B.  Pleistocene Period was prior to the Miocene 

C.  Pleistocene Period was prior to the Pliocene 

D.  Pliocene Period was prior to Miocene