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1 | |
The blue whale expels water through its blowhole. |
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| | A) | True |
| | B) | False |
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2 | |
The blue whale can hold its breath for more than 1 hour as it glides under water. |
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| | A) | True |
| | B) | False |
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3 | |
The blue whale feeds daily on trillions of tiny shrimplike animals called krill. |
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| | A) | True |
| | B) | False |
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4 | |
Although large, the blue whale is not the largest animal ever to inhabit our earth. |
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| | A) | True |
| | B) | False |
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5 | |
A human adult could crawl on hands and knees through the largest blood vessels of a blue whale. |
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| | A) | True |
| | B) | False |
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6 | |
In paragraph 1, “a spout as tall and straight as a telephone pole fountaining upward from the blowhole of a blue whale,” refers to |
|
| | A) | ice. |
| | B) | saltwater. |
| | C) | fresh air. |
| | D) | stale air that has condensed into water vapor. |
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7 | |
The “living mountain” mentioned in paragraph 2 refers to |
|
| | A) | the dinosaur. . |
| | B) | 8,000 pounds of krill. |
| | C) | the blue whale. |
| | D) | a grown elephant. |
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8 | |
After diving for food, the blue whale surfaces and |
|
| | A) | expels stale air through its blowhole, then dives again. |
| | B) | expels stale air, rests long enough to take four breaths of fresh air, then dives again. |
| | C) | expels stale air, rests on the surface for 30 minutes, then dives again. |
| | D) | none of the above. |
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9 | |
Which of the following problems of day-to-day survival does the blue whale share with all other animals? |
|
| | A) | how to extract energy (food) from the environment |
| | B) | how to distribute materials to all the cells in the body. |
| | C) | how to balance the internal environment with the changes in the external environment. |
| | D) | all of the above. |
|
10 | |
Because the blue whale is a warm-blooded animal and has a relatively high metabolic rate, it must |
|
| | A) | rid itself of organic wastes. |
| | B) | expel stale air through its blowhole. |
| | C) | consume and burn 1 million kilocalories a day in order to stay warm and active in the icy ocean. |
| | D) | take four deep breaths of fresh air before diving again for food. |
|
11 | |
“An intrepid visitor to the perpetually frozen Antarctic could stand at the coastline, raise binoculars, and witness a dramatic sight just a few hundred meters off shore.”
Columbus was an intrepid explorer who set sail for the unknown New World.
intrepid means: |
|
| | A) | extremely cold |
| | B) | fun-loving |
| | C) | fearless; bold |
| | D) | weary; fatigued |
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12 | |
“An intrepid visitor to the perpetually frozen Antarctic could stand at the coastline, raise binoculars, and witness a dramatic sight just a few hundred meters off shore.”
The Earth moves perpetually around the sun.
perpetually means: |
|
| | A) | forever |
| | B) | partially |
| | C) | slowly |
| | D) | once a month |
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13 | |
"An intrepid visitor to the perpetually frozen Antarctic could stand at the coastline, raise binoculars, and witness a dramatic sight just a few hundred meters off shore: a spout as tall and as straight as a telephone pole fountaining upward from the blow hole of a blue whale, then condensing into a massive cloud of water vapor in the frigid air.”
When you turn on your car heater in the winter, water vapor may start condensing and running down the inside of the windows.
condensing means: |
|
| | A) | turning into steam |
| | B) | changing from a gas into a liquid |
| | C) | becoming colder |
| | D) | changing from a liquid into a solid |
|
14 | |
"An intrepid visitor to the perpetually frozen Antarctic could stand at the coastline, raise binoculars, and witness a dramatic sight just a few hundred meters off shore: a spout as tall and as straight as a telephone pole fountaining upward from the blow hole of a blue whale, then condensing into a massive cloud of water vapor in the frigid air.”
Snowflakes began to fall from the gray, frigid sky.
frigid means: |
|
| | A) | smoky. |
| | B) | dry |
| | C) | cloudy |
| | D) | extremely cold |
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15 | |
“The gigantic animal beneath the water jet would be expelling stale air from its 1-ton lungs after a dive in search of food.”
Our college is expelling five students for cheating on an exam.
expelling means: |
|
| | A) | maintaining |
| | B) | breathing out |
| | C) | forcing out or ejecting |
| | D) | preventing |
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16 | |
“Leviathan proportions aside, it is difficult to grasp the enormous problems that so large an organism must overcome simply to stay alive.”
The deep-sea fishermen swore they had seen a leviathan—a shark so huge that it was larger than their boat.
leviathan means: |
|
| | A) | something unusually large of its kind |
| | B) | measuring device |
| | C) | large shark |
| | D) | huge ship |
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17 | |
“For starters, a blue whale is a warm-blooded animal with a relatively high metabolic rate; to stay warm in an icy ocean environment, it must consume and burn 1 million kilocalories a day.”
Our boss is usually very talkative, but he was relatively quiet at the staff meeting today.
relatively means: |
|
| | A) | pertaining to social relationships |
| | B) | pertaining to reality |
| | C) | pertaining to a member of the family |
| | D) | in comparison with something else |
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18 | |
“For starters, a blue whale is a warm-blooded animal with a relatively high metabolic rate; to stay warm in an icy ocean environment, it must consume and burn 1 million kilocalories a day.”
Exercise and stress increase a person’s metabolic rate.
metabolic means: |
|
| | A) | pertaining to the speed at which an organism moves |
| | B) | pertaining to bodily physical and chemical processes that maintain life |
| | C) | pertaining to breathing and respiration |
| | D) | pertaining to survival |
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19 | |
“For this reason, the whale needs elaborate transport systems to deliver oxygen and nutrients and to carry away carbon dioxide and wastes.”
The plans for the queen’s coronation were so elaborate that it took a staff of 500 people to carry out the arrangements.
elaborate means: |
|
| | A) | time-consuming |
| | B) | very complex |
| | C) | difficult to understand |
| | D) | simple |
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20 | |
“Finally, the galaxy of living cells inside a whale must be coordinated and controlled by a brain, a nervous system, and chemical regulators (hormones) so that the organism can function as a single unit.”
From the dazzling galaxy of toys in the toy department, my young nephew finally selected a remote-controlled car.
galaxy means: |
|
| | A) | stars in the universe |
| | B) | numerous collection of things |
| | C) | system |
| | D) | display |