Did bees (a type of insect) exist on Earth as early as 200 million years ago? Such a theory is supported by the discovery of very old fossil structures that resemble bee nests. The structures have been found inside 200- million-year-old fossilized trees in the state of Arizona in the southwestern United States. However, many skeptics doubt that the structures were created by bees. The skeptics support their view with several arguments.
No Fossils of Actual Bees
First, no fossil remains of actual bees have ever been found that date to 200 million years ago. The earliest preserved body of a bee is 100 million years old—only half as old as the fossilized structures discovered in Arizona.
Absence of Flowering Plants
A second reason to doubt that bees existed 200 million years ago is the absence of flowering plants in that period. Today's bees feed almost exclusively on the flowers of flowering plants; in fact, bees and flowering plants have evolved a close, mutually dependent biological relationship. Flowering plants, however, first appeared on Earth 125 million years ago. Given the bees’ close association with flowering plants, it is unlikely bees could have existed before that time.
Structures Lack Some Details
Third, while the fossilized structures found in Arizona are somewhat similar to nest chambers made by modern bees, they lack some of the finer details of bees’ nests. For example, chambers of modern bee nests are closed by caps that have a spiral pattern, but the fossilized chambers lack such caps. That suggests the fossilized structures were made by other insects, such as wood-boring beetles.
The professor provides information regarding the possibility of existence of bees on Earth 200 million years ago. The passage presents points which contradict with that theory. These contradictions will be elaborated in the following paragraphs.
Firstly, according to the passage, there are no actual bees fossil discovered which be estimated that belongs to about 200 million years ago. However, the professor illustrates that although this is true, but is not a cogent reason for disproving the existence of bees in that time. There could be another reason for that fact, the absence of the trees producing a material necessary for forming fossils.
Secondly, as it is stated in the reading, the fact that there is no evidence that plants which are able to flower existed in that period, is another reason for rejecting the mentioned theory. On the contrary, based on the information from the listening, the early bees could feed on the non-flowering plants instead.
Last but not least, the reading passage notes that the fossilized structures discovered in the state of Arizona, which is the base of the above theory, do not include all features of nest made by modern kind of bees. For example, the spiral pattern of current bees' chambers, was not repeated in the Arizona structures. The lecturer, however, says that some other properties of new ones have been found in the 200 million-year fossils, such as the same water-proofing materials.
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| 2020-01-16 | 3dra | 66 | view |
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- Some people from poor and rural backgrounds find it difficult to get a university education. Universities should make it easier for such groups to enrol. To what extent do you agree or disagree? 84
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Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 3, column 56, Rule ID: POSSESIVE_APOSTROPHE[1]
Message: Possible typo: apostrophe is missing. Did you mean 'bees'' or 'bee's'?
Suggestion: bees'; bee's
...ing to the passage, there are no actual bees fossil discovered which be estimated th...
^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
but, first, firstly, however, regarding, second, secondly, so, for example, kind of, such as, on the contrary
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 13.0 10.4613686534 124% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 3.0 5.04856512141 59% => OK
Conjunction : 2.0 7.30242825607 27% => More conjunction wanted.
Relative clauses : 14.0 12.0772626932 116% => OK
Pronoun: 13.0 22.412803532 58% => OK
Preposition: 30.0 30.3222958057 99% => OK
Nominalization: 6.0 5.01324503311 120% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 1219.0 1373.03311258 89% => OK
No of words: 236.0 270.72406181 87% => More content wanted.
Chars per words: 5.16525423729 5.08290768461 102% => OK
Fourth root words length: 3.91947592106 4.04702891845 97% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.7984457253 2.5805825403 108% => OK
Unique words: 136.0 145.348785872 94% => More unique words wanted.
Unique words percentage: 0.576271186441 0.540411800872 107% => OK
syllable_count: 370.8 419.366225166 88% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.6 1.55342163355 103% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 1.0 3.25607064018 31% => OK
Article: 9.0 8.23620309051 109% => OK
Subordination: 1.0 1.25165562914 80% => OK
Conjunction: 1.0 1.51434878587 66% => OK
Preposition: 2.0 2.5761589404 78% => OK
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 11.0 13.0662251656 84% => Need more sentences. Double check the format of sentences, make sure there is a space between two sentences, or have enough periods. And also check the lengths of sentences, maybe they are too long.
Sentence length: 21.0 21.2450331126 99% => OK
Sentence length SD: 44.5530605751 49.2860985944 90% => OK
Chars per sentence: 110.818181818 110.228320801 101% => OK
Words per sentence: 21.4545454545 21.698381199 99% => OK
Discourse Markers: 9.90909090909 7.06452816374 140% => OK
Paragraphs: 4.0 4.09492273731 98% => OK
Language errors: 1.0 4.19205298013 24% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 1.0 4.33554083885 23% => More positive sentences wanted.
Sentences with negative sentiment : 4.0 4.45695364238 90% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 6.0 4.27373068433 140% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.267407834794 0.272083759551 98% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0941360529014 0.0996497079465 94% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.102123416702 0.0662205650399 154% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.152908642896 0.162205337803 94% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0582280812751 0.0443174109184 131% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 13.6 13.3589403974 102% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 50.16 53.8541721854 93% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 5.55761589404 158% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 11.5 11.0289183223 104% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 12.71 12.2367328918 104% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 9.36 8.42419426049 111% => OK
difficult_words: 70.0 63.6247240618 110% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 8.5 10.7273730684 79% => OK
gunning_fog: 10.4 10.498013245 99% => OK
text_standard: 9.0 11.2008830022 80% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
Rates: 76.6666666667 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 23.0 Out of 30
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Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.