34. Why are marine organisms good candidates for fossilization?
(A) they have more fleshy structures than land organisms.
(B) It is likely that they will be buried rapidly
(C) The water environment speeds the decay caused by bacteria.
(D) It takes longer for them to be preserved.

30. The word "excavating" in line 19 is closest in meaning to (A) Living (B) digging (C) assembling (D) building

31. According to the passage, how did archaeologists learn to read the Sumerian language? (A) By translating the work of the Subarians (B) By using their knowledge of spoken Semitic languages (C) By comparing Sumerian to other classical languages (D) By using their knowledge of Akkadian

32. According to the passage, an organism without hard body parts (A)is not likely to appear in the fossil record (B)is not heavy enough to sink below the surface (C)is not attractive to predators (D)takes a long time to decay

33. The word "agents" in line 5 is closest in meaning to (A) dangers (B) examples (C) areas (D) causes

35. The fact that the "land is largely the site of erosion" (line 7) is significant because (A) erosion is less destructive than sedimentation (B) fossils are most common in areas subject to erosion (C) erosion contributes to the destruction of skeletal remains (D) few organisms live in areas that experience extensive erosion

36. According to the passage, why were the remains of organisms trapped in swamps better preserved for the fossil record than those that were not? (A) The swamp environment reduced the amount of bacterial decay. (B) Swamp waters contained higher amounts of materials such as calcium carbonate. (C) There were fewer sediments in swamps than in other bodies of water. (D) Swamp vegetation accelerated the decomposition of organisms.

37. The word "aided" in line 12 is closest in meaning to (A) reversed (B) helped (C) reformed (D) counted

38. It can be inferred that flood plains, deltas, and stream channels (lines 13-14) are similar in which of the following ways? (A) Animals rather than plants have been preserved at such locations. (B) Such locations are likely to be rich sources of fossils. (C) Fossilized human remains are only rarely found in such locations. (D) Rapid sedimentation in such locations makes it difficult to locate fossils.

39. What is the author's main point in paragraph 3? (A) Weathering makes it impossible to identify many fossils. (B) Many fossils have been buried forever under the soil. (C) Fossils provide a limited sample of ancient organisms. (D) It is easier to find the remains of plants than animals.

40. Why does the author mention "aragonite" in line 26 (A) To explain why fossils are rare (B) To compare aragonite fossils and calcite fossils (C) To argue that certain fossils are more informative than others (D) To illustrate the kinds of inorganic hard parts that can form fossils