Camouflage
Mantids are stick insects which live on vegetation. Each has developed an appearance which blends perfectly with its surroundings. Mantids are usually colored green or brown to match the colour of surrounding foliage.
Some are long and slender like twigs and others have a rough appearance to resemble the barks of trees. They can keep still for long periods so it is difficult to detect them.
One particular species, the flower mantid, is able to camouflage well. It bears an amazing resemblance to the pink flower of the plant on which it lives. It matches the colour perfectly and the flattened extension from its legs look like the petals.
The mantid also has the duo advantages of being able to trap insects such as butterflies. Also, it remains inconspicuous and this protects it from its enemies. In the same way, the other camouflaged mantids are able to pounce on suspecting insects that wander by without having to move to hunt them.
Stick insects and leaf insects camouflage themselves to hide from their enemies. However, their ability to avoid being seen is comparable to the mantids. The stick insect has an elongated body and thin legs that make it look exactly like a twig when it is resting. Thus it is difficult to detect it unless it moves.
1.What is so unique about the appearance of mantids, stick insects and leaf insects ?
a). They are green. c). They blend well with their surroundings.
b). Thet feed on vegetation. d). They are well shaped.
2. Why is it difficult to detect these insects ?
a). They look like their environment. c). They are thin and small.
b). They hardly move. d). They have a rough appearance.
3. What are the two advantages of being able to camouflage ?
a). They look like their surroundings and they can easily catch their prey.
b). They are not noticeable and they can protect themselves.
c). They can protect themselves and they can catch their prey without having to move an inch.
d). They look exactly like flowers and can attract butterflies.
4. How does camouflage help the stick insects and leaf insects ?
a). It makes them resemble their surroundings.
b). It allows them to blend with their habitat.
c). It allows them to hunt for their food without moving.
d). It makes them difficult to detect.
5. The word ‘comparable’ used in the passage means …
a). alike c). unlike
b). related d). equal
Read the passage below. Then answer the questions
Natural Disasters
We live in a world where natural disasters occur. Strong winds and rain can cause serious damages. In tropical areas near the sea, whirl winds can tear down building, rip up the trees and lift up everything that is in its way.
Whirlwinds are caused when the air has been heated more than normal, sending up twisting streams of air. In America, they are known as hurricane. In Australia and Japan, they are referred to as typhoons. However, they usually affect small areas.
There is also the tornado which usually occurs on land. This is a very narrow column of spinning air, no more than a kilometer across, and it can cause much damage.
Rain is also another disaster that endangers many people. People in India,Pakistan and Ethiopia are dependent on the rain for water. Rain water is used for drinking and irrigation. When it doesn’t rain, the people cannot grow food. This leads to starvation which affects the old and the young. However, when it finally rain, it may be so intense that flooding occurs
6. What can you say about the whirlwinds which lift up everything that is in its way ?
a. They are very threatening. c. They are very powerful.
b. They are very disastrous. d. They are very dangerous.
7. How are typhoons and hurricanes brought about ?
a. When streams of air are twisted. c. When air gets heated up.
b. When air becomes extraordinary hot. d. when seas become rough.
8. In what way is the tornado similar to the hurricane ?
a. Both of them are extremely hot. c. Both of them are streams of twisting air.
b. Both of them affect only small area. d. Both of them are about a kilometer
across.
9. What does the word ‘dependent’ in the passage mean ?
a. Reliant c. Defenseless
b. determined d. Immature
10. Why couldn’t the people in India, Pakistan and Ethiopia live without rains ?
a. They need it for survival. c. They need it for drinking.
b. They need it for farming. d. They need it to make food.
The Wonder of Plants
If not for plants, there will be no other life forms on earth. Plants have the remarkable ability to synthesize their own food. However, animals do not possess the ability to make their own food.
Plants utilize carbon dioxide and water together with light energy from the sun to make sugar. The sugar can be stored as sucrose in the leaves or stem or can be transported to the growing regions of the plants.
The process by which plants make food is known as photosynthesis, which means ‘ building with light’. The leaves contain a green substance called chlorophyll. The chlorophyll absorbs sunlight and uses it as a source of energy for chemical changes that occur within the leaf.
11.What can plants do that animals cannot ?
a). Plants have capabilities to transport animals.
b). It is the remarkable ability to synthesize plants.
c). The sugar can be stored in the leaves.
d).Plants can make their own food.
12. The word ‘synthesize’ in the text has the same meaning as …….
a). contain c). make
b).transport d).change
13. In what form is the food made by plants stored in the plant ?
a). light c).sucrose
b). carbon dioxide d).water
14. ……. And uses it as a source ……. The word ‘it ‘ in the last sentence of the text refers to……
a).sunlight c). chlorophyll
b). source d). absorbs
15. Which is the correct statement related to the text ?
a).In the process of photosynthesis, the leaf absorbs the chlorophyll in the sunlight.
b).The sunlight absorbed the chlorophyll for the process of photosynthesis.
c).For the process of photosynthesis, the sunlight is needed for the chlorophyll as a
source of energy for chemical changes.
d).It is the sun light to change the source of energy to make the chlorophyll within the
leaf in the process of photosynthesis.
Bison
Bison have not always lived in North America; they are relatively new comers.
They belong to the Bovidae family, like domestic cattle and the wild buffalo of Africa and Asia. The oldest known bison fossils have been found in China and the Himalayan foothills, where an animal with all the essential feature of the genus lived a million years ago. They evolved rapidly and spread over most of the Nothern Hemisphere in Europe and Siberia. During one of ice ages, the sea level dropped, exposing a land bridge across the Bering Strait, allowing the faunas of Asia and North America to intermingle. Very early, the steppe bison moved eastward to the North American continent.
16. What is the topic of the paragraph ?
a. Places in the world where bison lived.
b. The spread of bison from China and Himalayas to North America.
c. Type of bisons belonging to Bovidae family.
d. The rapid evolution of bison.
17. What is the main idea of the text ?
a. Bisons are relatively newcomers in North America because they have lived in
other part of the world.
b. Bisons belong to the Bovidae family, like domestic cattle and the wild buffalo
of Africa and Asia.
c. From Asia bisons spread over most of the North America through the Bering
Strait.
d. Bison came to North America when the faunas of Asia and North America
intermingled.
EARTHQUAKES
Everyday about two hundred and fifty earthquakes take place around the globe. In total, one million earthquakes occur each year. The death toll resulting from this violent act of nature amounts to about fourteen thousand annually.
How does this natural disaster come about ? The earth’s crust is made up of plates of rocks. It is unstable so there is constant movement amongst these plates. This causes strains on the crust until violent shocks which we call earthquakes result.
Earthquakes can be measured with a seismograph. This is a sensitive apparatus which records the intensity of the earthquake. An earthquake is measured on a scale of one to ten.
A large earthquake can release energy as much as two hundred millions tones of explosive. Although scientist are able to make use of these instruments to predict earthquakes, they are never a hundred percent accurate. Thus the only way to prepare for an earthquake is to design better earthquake resistant buildings.
The greatest earthquake occurred in 1906 in San Francisco in America. It measured 8.9 on the scale. However, it was not as fatal as the Shensi earthquake in China in 1556 which claimed about 830 000 lives.
18. We know that how the earthquakes occur in the paragraph…….
a). one c). three
b). two d).four
19.According to the text the statement below is correct.
a). It is very difficult to predict earthquakes.
b). Scientists can predict earthquakes with one hundred percent accurate.
c). The intensity of the earthquake is unstable seismograph to prepare resistant buildings.
d).Violent shocks are sensitive apparatus to predict earthquakes in constant movements.
20. Why was the Shensi earthquake fatal ? It was fatal because………
a).the victims of the earthquake in Shensi was fewer ones than in San Francisco.
b).there were 830 000 people that were alive.
c).there were 830 000 people that were dead.
d). the victims of the earthquake in San Francisco is more ones than in Shensi.
| · · Sharks are the most fearsome predators in the ocean. They are excellent hunters and find their prey either by its smell, or by tracking the tiny electrical currents that the prey’s body gives out.The world’s most dangerous shark is the great white. It can grow to be 12 meters long, and has a huge mouth full of sharp, pointed teeth. Great whites are found in warm water all over the world. They sometimes attack bathers and surfers, but seals and sea lions are their favorite prey. |
21.. Sharks are the most fearsome predators in the ocean?
The synonym of the word “fearsome“ is ...
A. dangerous C. friendly
B. frightening D. calm
22. What is the great whites’ favorite food?
A. Seal and sea lions C. Sea horse and sea cow
B. Bathers and surfers D. Shrimp and prawn
TORNADOS
A tornado is a powerful, twisting windstorm. It is one of the most destructive of all the storms that we have on earth. A tornado is also called a waterspout.
A tornado is a long cloud which comes down from the sky. It is like a funnel and consists of wind which whirls around and around extremely fast. In fact, the wind can reach a speed of more than 900 km per hour.
Weather scientists are unable to know exactly when tornados will occur. Fortunately, the tornado is not usually very big and it does not last long.
23. What is the purpose of the text above?
a.To tell the story of a tornado.
b.To amuse the readers with a tornado.
c.To describe what a tornado is.
d.To tell how a tornado happens.
24. “It is like a funnel and consists of wind which whirls around …” (paragraph 2)
What does the word which refer to?
a.cloud C. funnel
b.sky D. wind
25.The statement below is correct related to the passage above.
a). The weather scientist can predict when tornado occurs exactly.
b). Tornado also has the other name , idest a waterspout.
c). Tornado can happen in a very long time.
d). Tornado is a long cloud which can have speed not more than 900 k.p.h.
Avian Influenza
Avian influenza is an infection caused by avian (bird) influenza (flu) viruses. These influenza viruses occur naturally among birds. Wild birds worldwide carry the viruses in their intestines but usually do not get sick from them. However, avian influenza is very contagious among birds and can make some domesticated birds, including chickens, ducks and turkeys, very sick and kill them.
Infected birds shed influenza viruses in their saliva, nasal secretions and feces. Susceptible birds become infected when they have contact with contaminated secretions or excretions or with surfaces that are contaminated with the secretions or excretions from infected birds. Domesticated birds may become infected with avian influenza viruses through direct contact with infected waterfowl or other infected poultry, or through contact with surfaces ( such as dirt or cages), or materials (such as water or food) that have been contaminated with the viruses.
Infection with avian influenza viruses in domestic poultry causes two main forms of disease that are distinguished by low and high extreme of virulence. The low pathogenic form may go undetected and usually causes only mild systems ( such as ruffled feathers and a drop in egg production ). However, the highly pathogenic form spreads more rapidly through flocks of poultry. This form may cause disease that affects multiple internal organs and has a mortality rate that can reach 90-100% often within 48 hours.
26. What is the writer’s intention of writing the text?
a. To entertain the readers. c. To report avian influenza.
b. To persuade the readers. d. To tell the history of avian influenza.
27.”However, avian influenza is very contagious among birds…….” The synonym of the word ‘contagious’ is ………..
a. infectious c. dangerous
b. frightening d. worrying
28. The text function in paragraph 1 is as……………..
a. orientation c. resolution
b. explanation d. general statement
29. What is NOT a medium to spread avian influenza viruses?
a. nasal secretion c. feces
b. feathers d. saliva
30. How does the writer describe highly pathogenic virus?
a. unexpected c. common
b. deadly d. strange
THE KEY OF THE ANSWERS
1.C 11.D 21.B
2.A 12.C 22.A
3.C 13.C 23.C
4.D 14.A 24.A
5.A 15.C 25.B
6.C 16.A 26.C
7.A 17.A 27.A
8.C 18.B 28.D
9.B 19.A 29.B
10.A 20.C 30.B
