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    Grammar EP

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    Amira
    Lake Baikal is the world's oldest lake, estimated to be over 25 million years old. It is located in southeastern Siberia and contains more water than any other freshwater lake. It has exceptionally clear water that allows visibility down to 40 meters, due to a large population of crayfish that eat particles in the water. The lake is also home to unique creatures like freshwater seals that can stay underwater for over an hour.

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    Grammar EP

    Uploaded by

    Amira
    25 views5 pages
    Lake Baikal is the world's oldest lake, estimated to be over 25 million years old. It is located in southeastern Siberia and contains more water than any other freshwater lake. It has exceptionally clear water that allows visibility down to 40 meters, due to a large population of crayfish that eat particles in the water. The lake is also home to unique creatures like freshwater seals that can stay underwater for over an hour.

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    Lake Baikal is the world's oldest lake, estimated to be over 25 million years old. It is located in southeastern Siberia and contains more water than any other freshwater lake. It has exceptionally clear water that allows visibility down to 40 meters, due to a large population of crayfish that eat particles in the water. The lake is also home to unique creatures like freshwater seals that can stay underwater for over an hour.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    25 views5 pages

    Grammar EP

    Uploaded by

    Amira
    Lake Baikal is the world's oldest lake, estimated to be over 25 million years old. It is located in southeastern Siberia and contains more water than any other freshwater lake. It has exceptionally clear water that allows visibility down to 40 meters, due to a large population of crayfish that eat particles in the water. The lake is also home to unique creatures like freshwater seals that can stay underwater for over an hour.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 5

    2

    Section A: Reading

    Spend 20 minutes on this section.

    Read the text below about Lake Baikal, and then answer the questions.
    Lake Baikal

    Amazing facts!
    Surrounded almost entirely by mountains, the gigantic Lake Baikal is the world’s
    oldest lake. While most freshwater lakes are less than twenty thousand years old, it
    is estimated that this lake was created more than twenty-five million years ago. The
    lake runs for nearly 640 kilometres through south-eastern Siberia, just north of the
    Mongolian border. Although it is not the largest lake on Earth, with a depth of more
    than 1 600 metres, it is the deepest. It holds one fifth of the world’s total fresh water –
    more than any other freshwater lake on the planet. It contains more water than all the
    Great Lakes in North America put together!

    Many forms of life


    The lake’s deep, cold waters are surprisingly abundant with thousands of different
    plant forms and animal species. This is because of the lake’s unusually high oxygen
    levels. The oxygen allows a much wider variety of plants and animals to live in
    depths that would otherwise be unsuitable for life.

    Clear waters
    The lake has exceptionally crystal clear water. You can see as deep as 40 metres
    below its surface. This is probably due to the colossal population of crayfish that live
    there. They eat the algae and other particles in the water which, if left, would reduce
    the visibility.

    Weird and wonderful


    The lake’s remarkable qualities have made it home to a number of unusual and
    unique creatures. These include nerpa, the world’s only freshwater seals. These
    seals have two more litres of blood than other seals, allowing them to store more
    oxygen. This means they can dive 300 metres below the surface and can stay under
    water for an amazing 70 minutes!

    1 According to the text, how old is the freshwater Lake Baikal thought to be?

    [1]

    2 What is special about Lake Baikal that allows so many plants and animals to
    survive in such deep water?

    [1]

    © UCLES 2016 0844/01/O/N/16


    3

    3 Tick () two boxes to show which are true statements about Lake Baikal.

    It has the largest surface area of all the freshwater lakes in the world.

    It is in a very mountainous area.

    The lake contains no algae.

    It holds more fresh water than any other lake in the world.

    There are many different types of freshwater seal in the lake.


    [2]

    last

    5 Tick () the best description of the text Lake Baikal.

    It contains only facts.

    It contains mostly facts.

    It contains about half facts and half opinions.

    It contains only opinions.


    [1]

    © UCLES 2016 0844/01/O/N/16 [Turn over


    5

    Read this text about a type of fish, and then answer the questions.

    The golomyanka

    The golomyanka is an unusual little fish, unique to Lake Baikal. It is 15–20


    centimetres long and has a translucent body with no scales. Nearly 40% of its body
    weight is oil, which means it can swim at the bottom of the lake in depths of 1 400
    metres. The pressure at such a depth is capable of crushing steel, but these oily fish
    are unaffected by it.

    As so much of the body mass of the golomyanka is oil, it must remain in waters of
    five degrees Celsius or lower. If the water is any warmer than this, the fish literally
    melts, leaving behind a skeleton and a pool of oil. For this reason, the fish only
    comes to the surface at night and remains in deep water during daylight.

    The golomyanka is the only fish in the northern hemisphere to give birth to live
    young. When the female is approximately two years old, she produces between
    2 000 and 3 000 independent larvae and then dies.

    Due to the large number of golomyanka, it is the main food source of nerpa seals.
    Although there are thought to be about 150 000 tons of the fish in Lake Baikal,
    golomyanka are solitary creatures which do not form groups or shoals. This makes
    them difficult to catch, so they are not fished on any major scale, but local people use
    their oil for medical remedies.

    7 (a) What is special about the body of the golomyanka that allows it to swim in
    deep water?

    [1]

    (b) Why is it difficult to catch the golomyanka in large numbers?

    [1]

    © UCLES 2016 0844/01/O/N/16 [Turn over


    6

    8 Tick () two boxes to show which statements are FALSE.

    People use the fish oil in some medicines.

    The golomyanka is not hunted by any other animals in Lake Baikal.

    The female golomyanka’s life cycle lasts about two years.

    You cannot find the golomyanka anywhere else in the world apart from
    Lake Baikal.

    After giving birth, the golomyanka takes care of its young.


    [2]

    9 Suggest a reason why the golomyanka stays in deep water during sunlight.

    [1]

    © UCLES 2016 0844/01/O/N/16


    7

    10 This question refers to both texts.

    (a) What is the purpose of the sub-headings in the text Lake Baikal?

    [1]

    (b) In the text The golomyanka, paragraphs are used. Draw lines to link each
    paragraph to its sub-heading.

    1st paragraph Giving birth

    2nd paragraph Swimming alone

    3rd paragraph Beating pressure

    4th paragraph Staying cool


    [1]

    © UCLES 2016 0844/01/O/N/16 [Turn over

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