The Bering Land Bridge, or Beringia, emerged in the Bering and Chukchi Seas

Reading Passage Question

The Bering Land Bridge, or Beringia, emerged in the Bering and Chukchi Seas following a gradual drop in sea level during the Quaternary period (the last 2 million years). About 20,000 years ago the land bridge extended from Unalaska Island of the Aleutian chain on the southeast, and from near the mouth of the Mackenzie River of Canada on the east to near the Kolyma and Indigirka rivers of eastern Siberia on the west, and northwestward to Cape Olyutorsky of the Koryak area north of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Archaeologists believe that the first humans to penetrate North America used this bridge, migrating from northeast Asia to northwestern Canada. This migration probably occurred during the last major phase of the Wisconsin glaciation, a period that began approximately 30,000 years ago and lasted approximately 20,000 years. As this period ended, the two continents were separated as major continental ice sheets and other glaciers melted and caused the sea level to rise again. When the bridge existed, much of the area was not glaciated; it supported Arctic vegetation, particularly tundra, dry grasslands, marsh vegetation, and boreal forests. These plants supplied ample food for grazing animals, including horses, reindeer, and such Ice Age species as mammoths, mastodons, and woolly rhinoceros. The presence of fish and bird fossils points to the possibility that Beringia could have supported human communities.

“The Bering Land Bridge, or Beringia, emerged in the Bering and Chukchi Seas”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 5 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. Which of the following does the author use to support the claim that humans crossed the Bering Land Bridge from Asia to North America?

1. The presence of the remains of now-extinct animals on both sides of the Bering Land Bridge
2. Widely held theories describing early human migratory habits
3. Recent discoveries of plant species that are known to have formed the basis of the diets of early humans
4. Archaeologists' uncovering of man-made tools on the Alaskan side of the Bering Land Bridge
5. The clear presence of animal life during the years when Beringia was still above water

2. It can be inferred from the second paragraph of the passage that the migration across the Bering Land Bridge did not take place five thousand years ago because

1. the melting of glaciers and continental ice sheets would have flooded the bridge, making it impassable
2. the Wisconsin glaciation period lasted from thirty thousand to ten thousand years ago
3. by then, most sources of vegetation that supported animals would have been destroyed
4. the two continents, Asia and North! America, would have been separated due to continental drift
5. by that time, mammoths, mastodons, and woolly rhinoceros had become extinct

3. The author's argument in the second paragraph would be most supported by the discovery of

1. a 20,000-year-old, undersized mammoth skeleton on the Kamchatka Peninsula
2. 18,000-year-old cave drawings depicting humans and animals near the Mackenzie River
3. fossilized vegetation at Cape Olyutorsky that may have been part of the mammoth's diet
4. a 35,000-year-old reindeer skeleton near the Kolyma River
5. similar 20,000-year-old human skeletons on Unalaska Island and at Cape Olyutorsky

4. The passage is primarily concerned with

1. offering a thesis then providing supporting data
2. arguing against a traditional interpretation of a series of geological facts
3. discussing the history of human migration
4. presenting several possible scenarios for a series of historical events
5. critiquing the natural history of man

5. It can be inferred from the passage that before the Quaternary period

1. animals may have crossed the Bering Land Bridge at many different intervals
2. animals only crossed the Bering Land Bridge during the last phase of the Wisconsin glaciation
3. Siberia was covered in continental ice sheets
4. humans did not penetrate North America
5. the plant life on Beringia had evolved sufficiently to support only grazing animals

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