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ELC IELTS - READING: Task

Mammals

A) A mammal is an animal that gives birth to live young and feeds them on milk. It is warm blooded, with spec it from other animals, such as middle ear bones allowing good hearing and jaws with teeth to cut, chew or grin digestion of nutrients and calories. Mammal embryos in the uterus are initially protected from rejection by the subsequently nourished by a placenta, which means they can stay in the womb long enough to develop specia or wings and are generally born fully formed. The mother-child bond is strong and young animals learn by copyi

B) The range of mammals is wide, including marsupials, rodents, predators, large plant eaters, aquatic m species' physiology is highly adapted to its environment and lifestyle. Mammals also have large brains a systems, enabling more intelligence and resourcefulness than other animals, a key survival feature. Learned be generation to another, so younger generations benefit from their ancestors' experience. This was vital to adaptation and problem solving skills are still an exceptional feature of our species.

C) The earliest true mammals, appearing over 200 million years ago, were small shrew -like tree dwellers. M some extent until the demise of the dinosaurs, around 65 million years ago, after the cataclysmic collision of what is now the Yucatan desert caused dramatic changes in climate and conditions worldwide. Fossil evidenc exploit Earth's resources freely, mammals diversified enormously. There are now around 4600 species of ma live on land and move about on four legs but some are aquatic (e.g the whale) and some fly (e.g a Thai forest b

D) The separation and (in some places) the reformation of land masses resulted in groups of species evolving of years. Some eventually succumbed to environmental changes, geographic events or other animals; flourished and adapted to become even more successful, perhaps also migrating to another areas.

E) Variations in size and specialisations are enormous. Lifespan ranges from less than a year (shrews) to range from the arctic, with temperatures of minus 68 C (polar bears, foxes), to deserts of up to 50 C (camels, 6000m high altitude plateaux; sperm whales dive to 2000m underwater; grassland ruminants graze in herds a escape predators, forest mammals are usually solo, nocturnal and often camouflaged. Desert mammals hav retaining water; high altitude animals carry extra red blood cells to maximise oxygen capacity.

F) Recent advances in genetic science and improved technological tools have led to some controversy i mammals. In the 1960s, evidence emerged to indicate that originally, earth had one single land mass, now c two about 225 million years ago, with each 'continent' carrying certain evolving species. Fossil finds indicated northern land mass and later migrated south over land bridges that formed at various times. However, more found evidence of advanced mammals from a much earlier period than in the north, turning the 'north to

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