Easy 2 TOEFL Preparation

Reading TEXT 6 wildlife of Antarctica

Early in the month of April, most of the wildlife of Antarctica heads north because
the most frigid weather of the year is about to set in. The emperor penguin, however,
does not head north with the others.
Instead, the emperor penguin heads further south to its traditional nesting sites. The
customary nesting sites of the emperor penguin are on the sea ice, which at this time of
year is extraordinarily cold and in complete darkness.
In early May, the female emperor penguin lays her egg and then heads north to the
sea; this leaves the bulk of the work for the male. Throughout the freezing winter, it is
the job of the male emperor penguin to keep the egg warm. This means that the emperor
penguin cannot leave the egg to search out food for two months.
The female emperor penguin returns in July to feed and care for the newly hatched
chick. By the time the female returns, the male emperor penguin will have lost about half
of his body weight because of his dedication in staying with the egg to keep it warm.

1. According to the passage, what happens in April?

A. Most animals head south.
B. The emperor penguin heads north.
C. The emperor penguin travels with other animals.
D. The emperor penguin moves south.

2. Look at the expression #most frigid# in paragraph 1. This expression is closest in

meaning to
A. sunniest
B. cloudiest
C. coldest
D. nicest

3. Look at the word #traditional# in paragraph 2. Write out the word in the bold text that
is closest in meaning to #traditional.#

4. It is NOT mentioned in the passage that the emperor penguin's traditional nesting sites
are
A. on frozen seawater
B. extremely crowded
C. not at all warm
D. without sunlight

5. The passage states that the male emperor penguin

A. warms the egg
B. heads north in May
C. lays the egg
D. looks for food

6. Look at paragraph 3, Write out the word in the bold text that is closest in meaning to
"majority."
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Easy 2 TOEFL Preparation

7. Write out the sentence in paragraph 3 that explains ~how long the emperor penguin
keeps the egg warm.

8. The following sentence can be added to paragraph 4.

Around ~two months later~, the female emperor penguin comes back.
Where would it best fit into the paragraph?

9. It is implied in the passage that, for the male emperor penguin, staying with the egg is
A. very hard on the body
B. relatively easy
C. quite unimportant
D. less important than it is to the female

10. Which paragraph that describes what happens just after the emperor penguin chick
hatches?

11. Which paragraph that describes the roles of the female and male emperor penguins in
relation to the egg?

Re-designed by Herman