Item 15 Read the passage.

adapted from “Temperature: Why is Earth’s Global Average Temperature a Big Deal?” courtesy of NASA

When a doctor or nurse takes your pulse and your temperature, she or he is "checking your vital signs." These measurements are called "vital" because they are all-important signs of your health. The same is true of our planet.

The global average temperature combines the temperatures of all the hot places, all the cold places, and all the places in between. It is a very important measure of changes going on in earth's machinery. A rise of just one degree Fahrenheit (°F) on a sunny day where you live has little effect. But over the whole earth, a rise of 1°F makes a big difference. Just think, normally, water at 32°F is solid ice. But water at 33°F is liquid water.

Even a small rise in earth's global temperature means melting ice at the North and South Poles. It means rising seas. It means flooding in some places and drought in others. It means that some plants and animals thrive while others starve. It can mean big changes for humans, too. And that's why this number is a very big deal.

Question 1
Part A

Based on the information in the passage, what is the author’s point?

People should be aware of how the global average temperature affects the earth’s health.

Scientists have a process to determine the global average temperature.

Temperatures on Earth go up and down from time to time.

It is dangerous for living things when temperatures become warm enough to melt ice.
Question 2
Part B

What evidence from the text best supports the answer to Part A?

“A rise of just one degree Fahrenheit (°F) on a sunny day where you live has little effect.”

“It is a very important measure of changes going on in earth's machinery.”

“Just think, normally, water at 32°F is solid ice. But water at 33°F is liquid water."

“When a doctor or nurse takes your pulse and your temperature, she or he is 'checking your vital signs.'"