Far from being fixed on Earth, scientists now know that Australia has
wandered over the face of the planet for billions of years, sometimes
lying in the northern hemisphere, sometimes in the south. For 40 million
years, after finally cutting the umbilicus with Antarctica, it slowly drifted
northwards, in isolation, at about half the rate at which a human hair
grows.

Now that the sheep has faltered, Australians ride more and more
upon the marsupial‘s back. To a large extent, but more difficult to
quantify, Australia‘s fauna and flora are being used as a unique
resource. In scientific disciplines from reproductive physiology and
evolutionary biology to medicine, Australia‘s native species are hailed as
a unique and priceless heritage. They are providing insights into the
way the world, and humans themselves, work.

Australia‘s rainforests—those ―unimportant appendages‖—are now
widely acknowledged as being the most ancient of humanity‘s landbased
ecosystems, which gave rise to most others. Botanical discoveries
of worldwide importance are being made in them every year. Australian
botanists have recently completed a catalogue of Australian plants, in
which they list 18,000 species. Their taxonomic work over recent years
has resulted in a 50 percent increase in the number of species in the
groups examined. Yet they estimate that about 7,000 undiscovered
plant species still exist in Australia. Many surely inhabit Australian
rainforests and are members of ancient and bizarre families, like the
southern pine (Podocarpus species) recently found growing in a steep
valley in Arnhem Land, thousands of kilometres distant from its nearest
relatives.

Research on newly discovered Australian dinosaur faunas is
challenging previous conceptions of what dinosaurs were like. So
important are these discoveries that an Australian dinosaur recently
made it onto the cover of a major international magazine. It was
discovered in one of only two deposits in the world which was laid down
near the South Pole during the age of dinosaurs. The chicken-sized
species survived three months of darkness each year in a refrigerated
world.

Scientists are finally understanding that evolution in Australia, in
contrast to evolution on some other continents, is not driven solely by
nature ―red in tooth and claw.‖ Here, a more gentle force—that of
coadaptation—is important. This is because harsh conditions force
individuals to cooperate to minimize the loss of nutrients, and to keep
them cycling through the ecosystem as rapidly as possible.

1. Based on information in the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Australia has moved from one hemisphere to the other over time.
B. Most Australian plant species remain undiscovered.
C. Important information is being gathered by studying Australian plants.
D. Australian rainforests are different from other rainforests.
E. Dinosaurs had once existed in what is now Australia

2. Suppose that a previously unknown species of plant that is capable of producing medicine is found in an Australian rainforest. How would this information affect the author‘s opinion of Australian rainforests?
A. It would support the author‘s opinion.
B. It would contradict the author‘s opinion.
C. It would neither support nor contradict the author‘s opinion.
D. It would contradict the author‘s opinion only if this species of plant cannot be found anywhere else.
E. It would weaken the argument that Australian ecosystem is unique

3. According to the passage, all of the following are considered benefits of studying Australian ecosystems EXCEPT:
A. increasing knowledge of reproductive physiology and medicine.
B. gaining information concerning evolutionary trends.
C. furthering the understanding of the uses of hydroelectric power and solar energy.
D. providing insight into ancient ecosystems
E. providing an insight into the way humans work

4. What is the main purpose of the author in writing the passage?
A. to state that dinosaurs originated in what is now Australia
B. to criticise modern scientists for not understanding the unique importance of Australia
C. to discuss some unique ecological features of Australia
D. to assert that Australian rainforests are the oldest of them all
E. Australian flora and fauna are not found anywhere else in the world

FYI:
1 B 03:57
2 B 01:48
3 C 02:02
4 C 01:04

total time: ~ 9 mins

3:57 includes time for reading the passage; i spent about 2 mins to read the whole passage.

Honestly, I am not good at RC and am still struggling to increase the accuracy as well as reading speed. Technically, we should spend about 1-2 mins to read the passage, around 1 min to answer the main idea questions, and about 2 mins to answer specific details/inference questions.
_________________

There can be Miracles when you believe

_________________

~fluke

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I didn't keep track of the timing. Guess between 8-9 mins.

Strategy:
Read the entire passage twice quickly. Noted some points from each paragraph. Ignored few statements from 2nd paragraph that I didn't understand "Now that the sheep has faltered, Australians ride more and more upon the marsupial‘s back". Most of my time was spent in reading and making notes; say 6 mins. Fortunately, I found the questions easy compared to the passage. I didn't have to revisit. Still wondering how many of them are correct but the answers made complete sense in my own head. Isn't that always the case?

Ideal timing for reading and answering all questions in this passage should be 6-7 minutes.

Will keep track of the timing in my next RC.

I usually spend 13-15 minutes on LSAT RC's, yet manage to get couple of answers wrong. Got to find a way out.
_________________

~fluke

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Total time : 6:21sec

Answers: BACC
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My MBA journey : mbafanatic.blogspot.com

I also scored about 6:32! Just start speed reading the economist. Try to do it actively... By the way, I find your nick really questionable. How do you come to this nick?