According to the teacher, what was needed to change the buried remains into oil?
Basic Understanding of Spoken English · TELPAS Grades 10–12 listening. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 2: understand the main points and important details of spoken stories and informational passages, about everyday life and school subjects.
Listen to part of a lesson in an earth science class. Then answer the questions.
An Earth Science Lesson
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Mr. Collins: Most of the oil found in Texas formed from the remains of tiny living things, mostly plankton and algae, that lived in ancient seas millions of years ago. When they died, they sank and were buried under layers of mud and sand.
Mr. Collins: Over millions of years, those layers piled higher and higher. The heat and pressure deep underground slowly changed the remains into oil and natural gas. Because oil is lighter than water, it moved upward through the rock until it was trapped under a layer that it could not pass through.
Mr. Collins: That's where drillers find it. In 1901, a well at Spindletop, near Beaumont, struck one of these traps, and oil shot high into the air. That discovery helped turn Texas into a major oil producer.
The question
Choose the best answer.
According to the teacher, what was needed to change the buried remains into oil?
- Water from the ancient seas flowing back in
- Drilling that brought the remains to the surface
- Deep heat and pressure over millions of yearsCorrect answer
- Sunlight shining on layers of mud and sand
Why “Deep heat and pressure over millions of years” is correct
This tests understanding of a step in a scientific process. The teacher says that 'heat and pressure deep underground slowly changed the remains into oil'. The student must keep the steps in order and not confuse forming oil with finding it.
Why the other answers are wrong
- Water from the ancient seas flowing back in — The seas are where the organisms lived; the teacher does not say water changed them.
- Drilling that brought the remains to the surface — Drilling finds oil after it has formed; it does not create it.
- Sunlight shining on layers of mud and sand — The remains were buried deep underground, away from sunlight.
Practice more of this
More listening practice for Grades 10–12, or see the TELPAS practice test for 10th–12th grade.
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Texas Education Agency or the official TELPAS program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published test design.