ĐỌC HIỂU 2
The color of animals is by no means a matter of chance; it depends on many considerations, but in the majority of cases tends to protect the animal from danger by rendering it less
conspicuous. Perhaps it may be said that if coloring is mainly protective, there ought to be but few brightly colored animals. There are, however, not a few cases in which vivid colors are themselves protective. The kingfisher itself, though so brightly colored, is by no means easy to see. The blue harmonizes with the water, and the bird as it darts along the stream looks almost like a flash of sunlight.
Desert animals are generally the color of the desert. Thus, for instance, the lion, the antelope, and the wild donkey are all sand-colored. “Indeed,” says Canon Tristram, “in the
desert, where neither trees, brushwood, nor even undulation of the surface afford the slightest protection to
its foes, a modification of color assimilated to that of the surrounding country is absolutely necessary. Hence, without exception, the upper plumage of every bird, and also the fur of all the smaller mammals and the skin of all the snakes and lizards, is of one uniform sand color.”
The next point is the color of the mature caterpillars, some of which are brown. This probably makes the caterpillar even more conspicuous among the green leaves than would otherwise be the case. Let us see, then, whether the habits of the insect will throw any light upon the riddle. What would you do if you were a big caterpillar? Why, like most other defenseless creatures, you would feed by night, and lie concealed by day. So do these caterpillars. When the morning light comes, they creep down the stem of the food plant, and lie concealed among the thick herbage and dry sticks and leaves, near the ground, and it is obvious that under such circumstances the brown color really becomes a protection. It might indeed be argued that the caterpillars, having become brown, concealed themselves on the ground, and that we were reversing the state of things. But this is not so, because, while we may say as a general rule that large caterpillars feed by night and lie concealed by day, it is by no means always the case that they are brown; some of them still retaining the green color. We may then conclude that the habit of concealing themselves by day came first, and that the brown color is a later adaptation.
Q1: What is the main idea of this passage?
- Animals inherit their coloration from their parents and pass on the same genes to their offspring
- the coloring of mature caterpillars is very difficult to explain without considering the behavior patterns they exhibit
- The coloring of animals changes widely over time and in different parts of the world
- The color of an animal is not coincidental, but is an adaptation developed over time to aid its survival
Q2: What does “
conspicuous” most probably mean?
- noticeable
- difficult to see
- vulnerable
- dreadful
Q3: Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
- Desert animals usually adapt their color to the color of the desert
- Eye-catching colors are not protective in any case
- Some mature caterpillars are not brown
- Most vulnerable creatures stay hidden by day and go out for food by night
Q4: What does “
its” in the second paragraph refer to?
- tree
- brushwood
- lion
- desert animal
Q5: Why is it particularly important for desert animals to match their coloration to the environment?
- Because food and water are especially scarce in the desert
- Because the barren, sparse environment of the desert ensures a lack of natural protection and cover
- Because the color tones of the desert are particularly suited to swift evolutionary adaptation
- Because the color of the desert is remarkably similar to the natural colors of many animals