Test 7. Writing. Question 1.

TEXT:

Much archaeological evidence supports the widely held view that the first people to migrate to the American continent entered through a land bridge, which at one time joined Eastern Asia with North America. This land bridge, known as Beringia, was a wide expanse of terrain that emerged from the ocean as the sea levels dropped due to widespread glaciations at the time of the last Ice Age. Groups of humans could have slowly migrated across the grassy tundra of Beringia, feeding on herds of animals or coastal marine life. At the time, much of North America including what is now Canada, would have been covered with thick ice sheets making further movement southward a physical impossibility.

At a later period, the ice receded and humans would have been able to traverse an ice-free corridor in a southerly direction, and gradually settle the vast uninhabited continent. The ending of the Ice Age also caused the ocean levels to rise, thus submerging Beringia and isolating the new migrants from peoples on the Asian side. During the next centuries the descendents of the pioneers who crossed Beringia gradually peopled the entire landmass of the Americas. This view of the origins of the first Americans is often known as the Clovis-first theory (named after the site in New Mexico where stone artefacts made by these settlers were first found). Many subsequent finds of Clovis tools demonstrate this culture’s extensive penetration throughout the continent

LISTENING

OK, you've all read about humans crossing the Beringia landbridge from Asia to the North American continent. Now, ice sheets would have prevented this penetration until about 13,000 years ago, so one could assume the first people entered between 11,000 and 13,000 years ago. That's the theory, which, however, has recently come under attack. So, let me mention some evidence that seems to undermine the "Clovis-first" idea.

So first, several archaeological sites in the Americas appear older than the Clovis period. Some sites in the eastern United States may be up to 19,000 years old. That's a long time before Clovis tools were made. In South America, one site suggests the existence of pre-Clovis people as far south as Chile. Dating techniques put this settlement at around 15,000 years old, several thousand years before the first humans are claimed to have entered North America. And it presumably took centuries for humans to migrate that far south. So, we can say that the dates of these finds don't tally with Clovis first.

Now, another finding which weakens the Clovis-first idea is that some of the oldest remains found don't look like the remains of Native Americans. They resemble people from the Pacific islands or northern Japan. This could mean that America was colonized by a variety of peoples. This diversity must have been reduced at some point - since modern Native Americans seem to be descended anatomically from Siberian people.

A third problem is that DNA analysis suggests people from Siberia may have migrated to North America about 40,000 years ago - way before the Clovis period.

The picture emerging here is very complex. It seems different groups coming from numerous places inhabited the continent and some seem to have come at a much earlier period than the Clovis theory allows.

QUESTION

Summarize the main points made in the lecture, being careful to explain the ways in which they cast doubt on points made in the reading.

MY ANSWER:

The lecture talks about a bridge between Eastern Asia and North America. This bridge allowed some people TO

cross the ocean and migrated from Eastern Asia to North America. They cOULD migrate because they were  able to feed ON animals or coastal marine life. There are three pieces of evidence in order to demonstrate that people emigrated to America using this bridge, or in other words, to prove the Clovis theory.

The first evidence is the archaeological sites in America where stone artifacts have been found. These sites were established 19000 years ago in North America and 15000 years ago in South America. These places prove that people emigrated from North to South America.

The second evidence is about the diversity in America. Thanks the text, we can know that America was peopled. The people who peopled America came from Pacific Islands like Japon. Because of that, we can find a large diversity in American people. For example, there are people with different anatomies

The last evidence ARE the DNA studies. These studies have proved that we can classifY American people in very differenciated groups, because of their DNA. These studies have a clear conclusion: there are different groups in the population because of the migration.

In conclusion, the Clovis theory can explain the origins of the first Americans, due to there being several pieces of evidence which allow support this theory.

Test 7. Writing. Question 2.

I think a good sense of humor is one of the most important human qualities. A person who has a good sense of humor has several advantages in order to triumph in  life. In the next paragraphs, I will explain these advantages.

First of all, I think if a person has a good sense of humor, he can avoid situations where he can feel shy. For example, if a person is in a social meeting and somebody jokes about his suit or his hair, he will know how to act in order to take it with humor and not get angry with this 'funny' person.

The good sense of humor has another advantage. It can help you to break the ice when you are in a place where people are very shy and don't speak too much. For example, if a boyfriend goes to meet his girlfriendS parents and this meeting is very quiet and unconfortable for everyone, he can make a joke to transform the meeting in more confortable situation.

The third advantage consist oF meeting a lot of people. A person who has this feature can meet people in order to have a lot of friends, meet a boy or a girl or meet influence people who can help you in improvING your laboral situation. This type of person has more facility to meet people than another who hasn't a good sense of humor because this person isn't shy.

But I believe you have to control your humor sense because in some situations it can produce bad consequences. For example, you have to know where you can made jokes or where you should be a serious person. For example, if somebody has died, you can't maKE jokes because it can BE

offensive for his family or his friends. On the other hand, you have to know when somebody is making jokes about you with bad feelings. Because of that, you have to be awake with your sense of humor due to sometimes have\ING to stop these people.

In conclusion, I think it's very important that a person has a good sense of humor.