Word List
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adj. If a plant or animal is aquatic, it lives or grows in water.The dolphin is an aquatic mammal.
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n. The biosphere is the Earth's surface and atmosphere where there are living things.Birds, trees, and worms all thrive in the biosphere.
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adj. When something is bizarre, it is very strange.My bizarre dreams make no sense to me when I am awake.
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n. Celsius is a scale for measuring temperature.Water freezes at zero degrees Celsius.
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adj. If something is coarse, that means it has a rough texture.The coarse sweater made my skin itch.
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n. A companion is a person that someone spends a lot of time with.I always walk to school with my companion Frank.
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v. To digest means to swallow food and pass it through the body.Allow some time for food to be digested before going swimming.
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n. The duration of an event is the time during which it happens.The girls watched television for the duration of the evening.
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n. Ecology is the study of the environment and living things.We study ecology to learn how to help improve the Earth.
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n. A feat is an impressive or difficult achievement or action.The elephant's standing up on one leg was a feat.
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adj. If something is infinite, it has no limit or end.Many scientists believe that the universe is infinite.
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n. The nucleus is the central part of an atom or cell.The nucleus is made up of many tiny particles.
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n. A parasite is a tiny animal or plant that attaches to another animal to get food.The sick dog was covered in parasites.
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adj. When something is prominent, it is important and well known.Queen Victoria was a prominent person in history.
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adj. When something is repetitive, it is repeated many times and becomes boring.Working on an assembly line making cars every day is a repetitive job.
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adj. If something is reproductive, it is a living thing which can produce young.The reproductive system of a plant is simple.
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adj. When a place is temperate, it never gets too hot or cold.In Peru, the weather is temperate and rarely gets too hot or cold.
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n. Tolerance is the ability to accept something unfavorable or to allow the freedom of choice for others.Boxers have a high tolerance for pain.
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v. To undergo an action means to have it happen to you.The cancer patient undergoes treatments twice a week.
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adj. When someone is vulnerable, they are weak and without protection.He felt very vulnerable when he was stranded in the desert.
Exercise
A ‣ Write the word from the word bank that best fits each sentence.
- temperate
- Celsius
- companion
- aquatic
- ecology
- bizarre
- vulnerable
- biosphere
- parasite
- feat
The climate where I live is very 1_____.
It never drops below ten degrees 2_____.
I learned about a tiny animal called a 3_____.
Some live on land, and others are 4_____.
The strange old man's behavior is quite 5_____.
The plastic chicken he takes with him everywhere is his only 6_____.
Jim loves every type of plant and animal in the 7_____.
Therefore, he is going to college to study 8_____.
Without his shield, the sword fighter was 9_____.
Defeating his enemy without protection was an amazing 10_____.
B ‣ Write a word that is similar in meaning to the underlined part.
- Dogs do not have an ability to bear the pain of high-pitched noises. _____
- The boring and repeating sounds from a ticking clock can make some people annoyed. _____
- My sister is a well-known and important musician. _____
- I used my microscope to see the cell's central part. _____
- The rough fur of the gorilla is a defining trait. _____
C ‣ Circle the two words in each group that are most closely related.
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- a. temperate
- b. feat
- c. ecology
- d. biosphere
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- a. infinite
- b. reproductive
- c. repetitive
- d. prominent
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- a. undergo
- b. companion
- c. parasite
- d. tolerance
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- a. nucleus
- b. coarse
- c. temperature
- d. Celsius
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- a. rough
- b. aquatic
- c. vulnerable
- d. bizarre
D ‣ Write the word that best fits each sentence.
- Celsius / aquatic
This oil spill in the ocean will affect all _____ life in the area.
Once the temperature drops to 0 degrees _____, water freezes. - ecology / parasites
While studying _____, I had to look into the effects of global warming.
The dog was given medication to get rid of the _____ in his digestive track. - feat / companion
It is not an easy _____ for a young person to gain a government position.
The dog served as my _____ on my hikes in the mountains. - nucleus / biosphere
The team was looking for a _____ similar to Earth's on another planet.
Scientists discovered the _____ of an atom in 1911. - prominent / infinite
Sebastian Bach was a(n) _____ baroque composer.
There are a(n) _____ number of ways to solve this puzzle.
Small World
Even though people can't see me, I'm an important part of Earth's biosphere. Scientists who study ecology know that I was the first life form on Earth. There are more of my kind than any other plant or animal in the world. Without me, other plants and animals would not even exist. I am a protist, and my tiny body is made up of one single cell.
In my small world, things can be absolutely bizarre. Unlike most aquatic plants and animals, I don't need a temperate climate. I have a very high tolerance for extreme conditions. Right now, I'm swimming around in a bucket of boiling water! The temperature is 150 degrees Celsius, but I feel comfortable. I have coarse hairs called cilia that help me swim around in here. I move my cilia in a repetitive motion for the duration of my swim. I cannot go very fast, though. It takes me about five minutes to swim a distance of just one millimeter!
When I get hungry, I look for tiny, vulnerable parasites. I swim up to one and swallow it whole. I digest things much like people do. I have an organ that works just like a human stomach. After leat, I release nitrogen gas. Nitrogen is a prominent gas in the Earth's atmosphere. Other plants and animals need my nitrogen to survive.
My reproductive ability is my most unique trait. I don't need a companion to mate with. Instead, I undergo a process called fission, where my own nucleus splits in half. An exact copy of my nucleus is made, which forms into another protist. It really is an impressive feat. I can create an infinite number of new protists all by myself!
Reading Comprehension
Part A: Mark each statement T for true or F for false. Rewrite the false statements to make them true.
- _____ Protists have a high tolerance for temperate conditions.
__________ - _____ Things in an aquatic protist's world can be absolutely bizarre.
__________ - _____ A protist splits its companion's nucleus in fission.
__________ - _____ Coarse cilia move in a repetitive motion for the duration of a protist's swim.
__________ - _____ An infinite number of new protists can be created by the impressive feat of fission.
__________
Part B: Answer the questions.
- What is the passage about?
- a. The biosphere
- b. Vulnerable parasites
- c. An organisms traits
- d. The origins of life
- What temperature, in degrees Celsius, could the protist be comfortable in?
_____ - What unique reproductive process does a protist undergo?
_____
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