The largest Mollusks in the World

One of the most mysterious and elusive creatures found in the abyss is the giant squid. This
creature has never been seen alive by marine biologists due to its delicate biological response once
outside water (if ever fortunate enough to come to the hands of scientists), and accordingly very little
is known about its aquatic behaviors. Once conceived to be mere mythological creatures concocted
by ancient people’s fascination with monsters, we now have some concrete evidence that
corroborates their existence and facilitates research. Fishermen and sailors have provided
photographic documentation of the creatures for many years. Besides, although all of them were
dead by the time they were witnessed by a human, a few real giant squids have washed up ashore
around the world, which were valuable specimens for scientists to investigate and uncover many
aspects of these gigantic deep-sea dwellers. Since the scope of activity for these beasts is usually
confined under 2500m, despite numerous scientific and engineering feats accomplished by mankind,
the mere idea of conducting research in its wild habitat or capturing one was out of the question and
this was why the corpses of this organism were always welcomed by the scientific community. Not
couple decades ago, some argued based on several futile attempts to track down these species
that the inherent nature of uncertainty involved in this investigation does not deserve the
attention and fund that it was receiving but such is not the case with ever more inquisitive
scientists these days.
First things first, what are really these creatures? They are mollusks, organisms that possess
soft bodies and shells that protect them. Unlike clams and other common examples of mollusks, they
have shells inside their bodies. These leviathans can grow up to a humongous size with the maximum
size of 13 meters and 10 meters respectively for females and males. This ranks them the 2 nd largest
invertebrate only next to the colossal squid whose maximum size ever recorded was 14 meters.
While many people often get confused between these two giant sea-dwelling behemoths due to their
visual similarities, these two are actually quite distinct organisms despite sharing some
characteristics. [■A] According to the biological classification scheme, they both are classified as
mollusks but the giant squid belongs to the genus Architeuthis in the family Architeuthidae, which
includes as many as eight species. In contrast, the Colossal Squid has only one species hamiltoni
belonging to the genus Mesonychoteuthis in the family Cranchiidae. Although it is true that two
tentacles which are significantly longer than the other eight arms in both species account for much of
their lengths, the Colossal Squids, often called the Antarctic or Giant Cranch Squid, are known to
have a longer mantle (torso) than giant squids, although their tentacles are shorter. [■B] With a
definitely wider and stouter body, the colossal squid easily outweighs the giant squid. Another
important difference arises from their tentacle structure. Unlike the giant squid, whose arms and
tentacles are covered with only suckers lined with small teeth, the Colossal Squid’s arms and
tentacles are equipped with sharp hooks which give them added benefits when hunting. [■C] They
boast the largest eyes, about 30 cm, among all living organisms in existence on earth. While some
argue that the eyes of the Colossal Squid are slightly bigger than those of the other, they agree on the
fact that no other species can dare to challenge their size. [■D]
As surprising as it might be, these gargantuan creatures are not without their natural
predators, the most menacing of which is the sperm whale. A few partly decomposed sperm whales
washed up on beaches with big sucker marks on their skin, not to mention several beaks of the giant
squid found in those whales’ stomachs, which all serve as perfect evidence of their fights. Even
though many people believe a giant squid is an equal match for a sperm whale, this is a common
misconception. Let’s just say the frequency of a giant squid lying in shredded pieces in a sperm
whale’s stomach is far higher than the opposite. Scientists postulate that when a fight occurs between
the two, an adult giant squid or even a colossal squid, which weighs much more than a giant squid
but much less than a sperm whale, simply cannot bear the brunt of the attack notwithstanding its
razor-sharp beak and hooks on its tentacles and all it can try is to prolong the battle so that the whale
might drown at some point. Most of the time, however, this strategy is of little avail because the
sperm whale with its endowed gift can stay underwater without surfacing for almost an hour.
Unfortunately, nobody has ever witnessed an actual fight between these two with his own eyes, thus
leaving us to use our imagination to picture the battle, but the verified fact that they do engage in
fights has always been instrumental for the research. Because sperm whales are very skilled at
locating giant squids, scientists successfully used them to trace and film these deep-sea residing
creatures by attaching mini-cameras on the whales.
Although it is true that it wasn’t until the 21st century when these creatures began to receive
much highlight with a number of breakthroughs in marine technology and equipment, the history of
these creatures is quite ancient dating back to as old as the fourth century B.C when Aristotle used
the term “teuthus” to refer to a large squid differentiating it from a smaller counterpart, the teuthis.
Tales of giant squids sinking ships, whether credible or fallacious, have been widespread among
sailors since ancient times, and may have led to the famous Norwegian legend of Kraken, a tentacled
sea monster as vast as an island that can easily engulf and sink any ship effortlessly. The immensity
of this beast is well portrayed in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean II, III and there are several other
second rated movies that feature either a gigantic squid or a humongous octopus such as Kraken:
Tentacles of the Deep, Eye of the Beast, Octopus I, Octopus II: River of Fear, all of which serve as a
testimony to the fact that a giant tentacled creature, whether it’s a squid or an octopus, is the second
most frequently used subject for many SF movies dealing with marine organisms only next to sharks.
However, it should be noted that as most other SF movies do, these movies are no exception in terms
of exaggerating the size and strength of the creatures so much that at some point they make people
believe the real counterparts of the creatures, which indeed do exist in the deep oceans but definitely
not as big as those rendered in the movies, are also part of people’s groundless fancy.
Researchers around the globe are taking an active role in uncovering many unknown secrets
surrounding these creatures and humans are only just beginning to understand how they behave and
live. While some might think the research is steadily approaching a culmination, for example, with
the dissection of a giant squid weighing almost 500 kilograms having been conducted live on the
internet in 2008, many marine experts generally consent on the fact that at this point the amount of
information available about the abyss is not even close to the tiny amount of information scientists
have gleaned about the solar system. However, as long as they don’t abandon their investigation
effort, the day will finally come when people can savor in the gigantism of the deep-sea dwelling
creatures in an aquarium with their own eyes.

1. The word corroborate in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

(A) discover
(B) rebut
(C) confirm
(D) extol

2. The word witness in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

(A) spot
(B) survive
(C) describe
(D) seize

3. What can be inferred about the research on the giant squid?

(A) Emboldened by the previous successes, now many scientists are willing to go out to the oceans
to capture a live specimen.
(B) It has never been vivisected and most of the findings came from post-mortem analysis.
(C) Scientists are the only reliable source of information about this creature.
(D) Due to the intrinsic difficulties related to the research, scientists are losing interests.

4. Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in
paragraph 1? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential
information

(A) Due to the enormous cost and technological constraints, some skeptics doubted whether these
marine expeditions would bring any substantial results and many criticisms ensued claiming that
either the fund should be used for more productive research or more a feasible investigation scheme
needs to be devised.
(B) Nowadays, many scientists are very curious about this species despite previous failures to locate
them, which caused some to suspect whether the amount of spotlight and financial support the
research was getting could be justified or not because there is such a slim chance of encountering one
in the pursuit.
(C) Because of successive failures to capture this creature alive, the government has decided to
curtail its funding for the research, discouraging some scientists while others continued their research
anyway.
(D) There have been strong controversies regarding the benefits of the research but overall people
find the investigation rather a waste of valuable capital and energy and would like to see them go
into more practical applications.

5. Look at the four squares [■A~■D] that indicate where the following sentences could be added to
the passage.
Regardless of all these differences, however, there is one aspect that both species share and
draws the most attention from people: the size of their eyes.

Where would the sentence best fit?

Click on a square[■] to add the sentence to the passage.

6. According to paragraph 2, all of the following are true about the Colossal Squid EXCEPT
(A) Its larger body mass makes it heavier than the giant squid.
(B) It has two alternative names that people frequently use to describe it.
(C) Its eyes are significantly larger than those of the giant squid.
(D) Only one species exists.

7. According to paragraph 3, which of the following is true about the sperm whale?
(A) They only consume giant squids.
(B) They often lose in a fight against a giant squid because of the lethal damage from the squid’s
hooks.
(C) Their ability to hold a breath for a long time assists their hunting.
(D) Because they eat too many of giant squids, they hinder the research.

8. In paragraph 3, why does the author say Let’s just say the frequency of a giant squid lying in
shredded pieces in a sperm whale’s stomach is far higher than the opposite?
(A) To indicate that a giant squid is not a successful hunter.
(B) To describe the condition of a giant squid’s body found in a whale’s stomach.
(C) To give an example of a misconception that people usually hold.
(D) To emphasize the likelihood of a sperm whale’s victory over a giant squid.

9. In paragraph 3, how does the author explain the close relationship between the giant squid and the
sperm whale?
(A) By explaining why the sperm whale’s favorite diet is the giant squid
(B) By comparing and contrasting their aquatic behaviors
(C) By showing instances of their fights and the role a sperm whale plays in the squid research
(D) By taxonomically classifying them and detailing their physical appearances

10. The word their in paragraph 2 refers to

(A) Giant squids
(B) Colossal squids
(C) Both species
(D) mollusks

11. The word fallacious in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to

(A) extraordinary
(B) verifiable
(C) arcane
(D) erroneous

12. What is true according to paragraph 4?

(A) Very few directors make movies about giant squid because of the difficulties involved in filming.
(B) SF movies play a pivotal role in fostering people’s strong belief that such organisms might
actually exist.
(C) Movies about giant squids are more popular than those about giant octopuses.
(D) There is some doubt regarding whether a giant squid can submerge a ship.

13. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below.
Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important
ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that
are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Once thought to be an imaginary creature, the giant squid has been garnering increasing
attention from the scientific circle.

(A) The dissection carried out in 2008 marked a turning point in the research by revealing all the
secrets that scientists have been desperate to find out.
(B) These creatures, although sometimes exaggerated by people’s rendition, have been around
for quite a long time, stimulating people’s curiosity and making their way into the popular
culture.
(C) Both belonging to mollusks, there exist two families of this creature, each of which has its
distinctive characteristics and adaptations.
(D) Kraken is famous to sink a ship and there are many top-rated movies portraying the creature.
(E) The predatory relationship between a giant squid and a sperm whale is useful for the purpose
of research.
(F) The giant squid’s eyes, ranging almost 30 cm, are the largest among those of all the marine
animals.

==============================================================
Extra problems

1. The word abandon in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to

(A) forsake
(B) deploy
(C) denounce
(D) allocate

1. The word prolong in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

(A) abjure
(B) scrutinize
(C) protract
(D) subjugate

1. The word feats in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

(A) exploit
(B) onset
(C) shortcoming
(D) affiliation

8. In paragraph 5, the author mentions the amount of information available about the solar system in
order to
(A) provide an example of a field people are currently most intrigued in
(B) highlight the dearth of data regarding the abyss
(C) argue that it is high time people consider subsidizing space explorations
(D) compare what aspects space and underwater investigations have in common
(E) describe people’s overall ignorance and the reason behind it