Read the article below about food chains. Then answer the questions.
1 Every living organism gets energy from another organism, which gets energy from another, and so on. This process is known as a food chain. It is common knowledge that food provides energy, but what may not be so well known is the role of sunlight in this process.
2 All plants need sunlight to grow, using a process called photosynthesis. Imagine the morning sun shining down on a grassy hill. Dew trickles down the blades of grass and then seeps into the ground, down to the roots of the grass. The grass absorbs energy from the sunlight and manufactures food out of the air and water around it.
3 A cow wanders up the hill, takes a big bite of grass, and chews. The digested grass provides the cow with energy that allows it to grow, walk, and chew more grass. Eventually, this cow becomes food for humans in the form of beef. A person enters a restaurant and orders a steak. This person takes a bite of the steak and chews. This is a food chain in action. All links in the chain—the sunlight, the grass, the cow, and the human—all rely on the energy-giving power of the sun.
4 Even creatures in the deep, dark sea depend on the sun, despite never being exposed to any of its rays. One of the most important plants in the sea are phytoplankton. Like other ocean plants, phytoplankton use sunlight for energy. Many fish either eat phytoplankton, or eat fish that eat phytoplankton, or eat fish that eat fish that eat phytoplankton, and so on. This is another example of how a food chain operates. Thus, no matter what organism is eating another, each one relies directly or indirectly on the sun.
1. What is the main idea of the article?
a. Animals need plants to survive.
b. All plants need sunlight to grow.
c. Every living thing depends on the sun.
d. Human beings are at the top of the food chain.
2. Why did the author MOST LIKELY write this article?
a. to inform the reader about food chains
b. to persuade the reader to eat more plant-based foods
c. to convince the reader to appreciate many kinds of food
d. to entertain the reader with interesting facts about animals
3. What does Dew mean in this sentence? “Dew trickles down the blades of grass
and then seeps into the ground, down to the roots of the grass.”
a. dirt
b. stem
c. water
d. sunshine
4. Based on the article, which of the following is the BEST definition of a “food
chain?”
a. A line between animals and human beings.
b. A system of plants that gets energy from the sun.
c. The link between plants and the animals that eat plants.
d. The connection between organisms getting energy from each other.
5. Based on the article, which of the following comes LAST in the food chain?
a. sun
b. cow
c. grass
d. human
6. What does Eventually mean in this sentence? “Eventually, this cow becomes food
for humans in the form of beef.”
a. First
b. Finally
c. Mostly
d. Sometimes
7. What does exposed mean in this sentence? “Even creatures in the deep, dark sea
depend on the sun, despite never being exposed to any of its rays.”
a. burned
b. closed
c. protected
d. uncovered
8. In which paragraph does this sentence BEST belong?
“Sharks are near the top of the food chain in the ocean.”
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
9. Which of the following would the author MOST likely agree with?
a. Not all animals rely on the sun.
b. The sun is important to all forms of life.
c. A food chain can operate without a source of energy.
d. Fish don’t need sunlight in the same ways that cows do.
10. According to the article, how do fish deep under the sea rely on the sun?
a. They eat sea plants that need sunlight.
b. They need sunlight to stay warm.
c. They cannot breathe without sunlight.
d. They need sunlight in order to find food.
11. What does digested mean in this sentence? “The digested grass provides the cow
with energy.”
a. killed
d. linked
c. processed
d. developed
