VII. Cloze Test Design      Write a summary of the passage and design five multiple-choice cloze questions for 11 th graders. Each question must include answer choices: (A), (B), (C), and (D), with one of them being the best answer. Answers to each question must be provided.      Mammals are characterized by a more upright limb posture compared to their early ancestors, a trait often considered important in their evolutionary history. However, the earliest ancestors of modern mammals moved with sprawled limbs, similar to those of reptiles. For decades, scientists believed that the transition from a sprawled to an upright posture followed a gradual and linear path. Yet exactly how, why, and when this change occurred has long remained unclear.     A recent study published in Science Advances challenges this traditional view. By combining fossil evidence with advanced biomechanical modeling, researchers investigated how limb function evolved over 300 million years. They first examined living animals with different limb postures—from sprawled lizards to semi-upright alligators and fully upright mammals—to better understand how anatomy influences movement. They then applied these principles to digital models of extinct species.     Using engineering-based simulations, the researchers calculated each species’ “feasible force space,” a three-dimensional representation of how much force a limb can produce in different directions. This measurement reflects overall locomotor performance, since animals must generate sufficient force to run, turn, or maintain balance. By comparing fossil species across time, the team discovered that locomotor performance did not steadily improve toward upright posture. Instead, it peaked and declined repeatedly, suggesting a complex and nonlinear evolutionary pattern.     Some extinct species appeared capable of shifting between sprawled and more upright positions, while others showed reversals toward more sprawled postures. The findings indicate that the full set of traits associated with modern upright mammals likely evolved much later than previously assumed, probably near the common ancestor of therian mammals.     Overall, the findings suggest that evolutionary transitions are rarely simple or linear. Advances in digital modeling now allow scientists to reconsider long-standing assumptions and reveal a far more dynamic picture of how mammals—and perhaps other groups—evolved.