16Hit1600
Expression of IdeasHardEmphasising a striking contrast

Expression of Ideas practice question

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: - The Sahara receives less than 25 millimetres of rain a year in its driest parts. - Around 6,000 years ago it was covered in grassland and lakes. - Rock paintings from that time show cattle, hippos, and swimmers. - The change was driven by a slow shift in Earth's orbit.

The student wants to emphasise how different the Sahara once was. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

  1. A. The Sahara, whose driest parts now get under 25 millimetres of rain a year, was 6,000 years ago a land of grassland and lakes where people painted hippos and swimmers on the rocks.Correct
  2. B. Earth's orbit shifts slowly over time.
  3. C. The Sahara is very dry.
  4. D. Rock paintings exist in the Sahara.

Answer: A. The Sahara, whose driest parts now get under 25 millimetres of rain a year, was 6,000 years ago a land of grassland and lakes where people painted hippos and swimmers on the rocks.

Today's dryness against the ancient lakes and hippos: the contrast.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. Earth's orbit shifts slowly over time.
The cause, not the contrast.
C. The Sahara is very dry.
Only the present.
D. Rock paintings exist in the Sahara.
Mentions the paintings without what they show.

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