READTHEORY Passage and Questions Name Date • Reading Comprehension Assessment Directions: Read the passage Then answer the questions below An Amazing Process The life cycle of a butterfly is an amazing process in nature In just a few simple steps, a short, stubby caterpillar develops into a gorgeous, multicolored butterfly But it doesn't happen by magic This transformation from caterpillar to butterfly —called a "metamorphosis"— involves a series of critical growth stages, each of which must be successfully completed to ensure the production of a viable, healthy butterfly The cycle begins when an adult butterfly lays a handful of tiny rounds eggs onto a leaf Compared to humans raising their young, butterflies have a much easier job They simply find the kind of plant their future offspring will be able to eat, lay their eggs onto it, then go on their merry way When one of these eggs hatches, a larva (known to most as a "caterpillar") emerges Thus begins the larva stage When the larva emerges, it starts its life by eating the leaf it was born onto It is critical that the mother butterfly lay her eggs on the type of leaf the larva will like to eat And to make things complicated, larvae are picky; each larva type likes to eat only certain types of leaves Since the larva is tiny and cannot travel to a new plant, it is imperative that it hatch on the kind of leaf it wants to eat The larva must eat a large amount to store enough energy for the next stage of its metamorphosis Following the larva stage is the pupa stage The pupa stage is one of the most magnificent stages of a butterfly’s life As soon as a larva is done growing and has reached its full length and weight, it forms itself into a pupa, also known as a "chrysalis" From outside the chrysalis, it appears as though the larva is just resting, but the inside chrysalis a multitude of changes are rapidly taking place Within the chrysalis, the larva undergoes a remarkable transformation Its tissue, limbs, and organs all undergo significant change When the chrysalis stage is finished, the larva will be ready for the final stage of the butterfly's life cycle Finally, when the larva has done all of its forming and changing inside the chrysalis, the adult butterfly emerges When the butterfly first emerges, its wings are soft and folded against its body After the butterfly has rested, it will pump blood into the wings to get them working and flapping properly When it feels confident with the operation of its wings, it is ready to fly Usually within a three or four-hour period, the butterfly will master flying and will begin its search for a mate in order to reproduce When in the final stage of its life, the adult butterfly is constantly on the lookout to reproduce And when a female lays her eggs on a leaf, the butterfly life cycle begins anew 1) As used in paragraph 1, the word metamorphosis most nearly means A B C D growth change birth adaptation READTHEORY Questions 2) In paragraph 2, the author does each of the following EXCEPT A B C D show how easy it is for a butterfly to raise its young explain the first step in butterfly metamorphosis discuss how humans raise their young provide a definition for the term "larva" 3) In the second sentence of paragraph 3, we learn that "It is critical that the mother butterfly lay her eggs on the type of leaf the larva will like to eat." Which of the following conjunctions would best be used to start this sentence? A B C D For this reason, However, Nevertheless, On the other hand, 4) As used in the passage, "chrysalis" is another word for A B C D larva caterpillar pupa butterfly 5) Which of the following things must a butterfly before it is able to master flying? I emerge from the chrysalis II pump blood into its wings III practice for three to four hours A B C D I only I and II only II and III only I, II, and III 6) Using the information in the passage as a guide, we can understand that the most difficult part of the butterfly life cycle is A B C D emerging from the chrysalis forming the chrysalis around the pupa choosing a suitable mate to reproduce with finding a proper leaf to lay eggs on 7) According to the passage, how many stages are in the butterfly life cycle? A B C D 8) Which stage of the butterfly metamorphosis you think is most important? Why? _ _ _ _ READTHEORY Questions _ _ _ _ 9) Can you think of another animal that goes through a similar process as the butterfly? What makes this process similar? What makes it different? Discuss _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10) In the final paragraph, we learn that as soon as the adult butterfly masters flying, it "is constantly on the lookout to reproduce And when a female lays her eggs on a leaf, the butterfly life cycle begins anew." Why you think that, like most other animals, the butterfly is so eager to reproduce, especially when the life cycle is so difficult? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ READTHEORY Answers and Explanations 1) B Question Type: Vocabulary metamorphosis (noun): a change of form, structure, or substance In paragraph 1, the author writes, “In just a few simple steps, a short, stubby caterpillar develops into a gorgeous, multicolored butterfly But it doesn't happen by magic This transformation from caterpillar to butterfly —called a ‘metamorphosis’— involves a series of critical growth stages, each of which must be successfully completed to ensure the production of a viable, healthy butterfly.” We can use context clues—hints about the meaning of the unknown word based on known words or phrases around it— to help arrive at a close definition for metamorphosis Before giving the specific term, "metamorphosis," the text gives us another word: "transformation." So a metamorphosis must be a kind of transformation A good synonym for transformation is change After reading the remainder of the passage, we see that a "short, stubby caterpillar" (called a larva), changes in form and structure to "a gorgeous, multicolored butterfly." This is outlined in a series of steps, or changes Using this information, we can understand that the word "metamorphosis" most nearly means "change." Therefore (B) is correct Although the butterfly does grow a lot during the larva stage, this is only one step in the metamorphosis process, whereas the butterfly changes in all four steps Likewise, birth is only part of the larva stage This is only one step in the metamorphosis process, whereas the butterfly changes in all four steps So, choices (A) and (C) are incorrect The passage does not mention adaptation, which refers to any alteration in the structure or function of an organism or any of its parts that results from natural selection and by which the organism becomes better fitted to survive and multiply in its environment This is an evolutionary change, not a change that happens during the course of an organism's life Choice (D) is incorrect 2) C Question Type: Detail Although the author does compare how humans raise their young to how butterflies raise their young, he or she does not actually discuss how humans raise their young Since we are looking for the exception, this means choice (C) must be correct In paragraph 2, the author writes, "The cycle begins when an adult butterfly lays a handful of tiny rounds eggs onto a leaf Compared to humans raising their young, butterflies have a much easier job They simply find the kind of plant their future offspring will be able to eat, lay their eggs onto it, then go on their merry way When one of these eggs hatches, a larva (known to most as a ‘caterpillar’) emerges Thus begins the larva stage." Here, the author compares how humans raise their young to how butterflies raise their young, stating that butterflies "have a much easier job." This lets us know that the author wants to show how easy it is for a butterfly to raise its young This eliminates choice (A) The author also writes that "When one of these eggs hatches, a larva (known to most as a "caterpillar") emerges Thus begins the larva stage." By describing the birth of a larva, the author does explain the first step in butterfly metamorphosis This eliminates choice (B) In paragraph 2, the author writes, "When one of these eggs hatches, a larva (known to most as a "caterpillar") emerges." This lets us know that a larva is a newly hatched caterpillar This means the author does give a definition for the term "larva" This eliminates choice (D) 3) A Question Type: Inference In the second sentence of paragraph 3, we learn that "It is critical that the mother butterfly lay her eggs on the type of leaf the larva will like to eat." To figure out which conjunction would best be used to start this sentence, we need to look at how this sentence is used in context In the preceding sentence, the author writes, "When the larva emerges, it starts its life by eating the leaf it was born onto." Since the larva starts its life by eating the leaf it was born onto, then this is a good reason why it is critical that the mother butterfly lay her eggs on the type of leaf the larva will like to eat So, the first sentence gives a reason for the sentence in question This means choice (A) is correct, as the conjunction "For this reason" fits logically with the flow of the passage in context The passage calls for a conjunction that shows that something comes as a result of something else The conjunction "However" is used to indicate a contradiction, not that something comes as a result of something else Therefore choice (B) is incorrect The passage calls for a conjunction that shows that something comes as a result of something else The conjunction "Nevertheless" is used to show that something is true despite the truth of something else, not that something comes as a result of something else Therefore choice (C) is incorrect The passage calls for a conjunction that shows that something comes as a result of something else The conjunction "On the other hand" is used to make a comparison, not that something comes as a result of something else Therefore choice (D) is incorrect 4) C Question Type: Detail In paragraph 4, the author writes, "As soon as a larva is done growing and has reached its full length and weight, it forms itself into a pupa, also known as a ‘chrysalis’.” This lets us know that "chrysalis" is another word for "pupa" Choice (C) is correct The passage does not provide information to support choices (A), (B), and (D) Therefore they are incorrect 5) D Question Type: Detail In paragraph 6, the author writes, "Finally, when the larva has done all of its forming and changing inside the chrysalis, the adult butterfly emerges When the butterfly first emerges, its wings are soft and folded against its body After the butterfly has rested, it will pump blood into the wings to get them working and flapping properly When it feels confident with the operation of its wings, it is ready to fly Usually within a three or four-hour period, the butterfly will master flying and will begin its search for a mate in order to reproduce." This lets us know that the butterfly must first finish "all of its forming and changing" and "emerge" before it has its wings it must use to fly This supports option (I) This also lets us know that the butterfly must "pump blood into the wings to get them working and flapping properly" before it is able to fly This supports option (II) Finally, this lets us know that the butterfly will master flying within "a three to four-hour period." We can understand that it must spend this time practicing This supports option (III) Therefore (D) is correct 6) D Question Type: Global READTHEORY Answers and Explanations Although all of the stages in the butterfly life cycle are meant to seem "Amazing" (as mentioned in the title), or at least interesting, the author makes special note of the difficulty involved in finding a proper leaf to lay eggs on This is discussed in paragraph 3, where the author uses the words "critical," "complicated," and "imperative" to describe the act of finding a proper leaf to lay eggs on This supports the idea that this is the most difficult part of the butterfly life cycle This means choice (D) is correct In paragraph 6, the author writes, "Finally, when the larva has done all of its forming and changing inside the chrysalis, the adult butterfly emerges." While we may imagine that emerging from a chrysalis may be difficult, the author does not provide information to support this So choice (A) is incorrect In paragraph 4, the author writes, "As soon as a larva is done growing and has reached its full length and weight, it forms itself into a pupa " While we may imagine that forming the chrysalis may be difficult, the author does not provide information to support this So choice (B) is incorrect In paragraph 6, the author writes, "Usually within a three or four-hour period, the butterfly will master flying and will begin its search for a mate in order to reproduce." While we may imagine that choosing a mate may be difficult, the author does not provide information to support this So choice (C) is incorrect 7) A Question Type: Global To answer this question, we need to count the total number of butterfly life cycle stages described in the passage In paragraph 2, the author talks about when the "Cycle begins." The author concludes this paragraph by stating, "Thus begins the larva stage." The author continues to discuss the larva stage in paragraph This lets us know the larva stage is stage In paragraph 4, the author writes, "Following the larva stage is the pupa stage." The author continues to discuss the pupa stage in paragraphs and This lets us know the pupa stage is stage In paragraph 6, the author writes, "Finally, when the larva has done all of its forming and changing inside the chrysalis, the adult butterfly emerges." This lets us know that the pupa stage is over and the butterfly is now an adult In the final paragraph, the author writes, "When in the final stage of its life, the adult butterfly is constantly on the look out to reproduce." This lets us know that the adult stage is stage So, the stages are larva, pupa, and adult There are three total stages as outlined by the author This means choice (A) is correct The passage does not provide information to support choices (B), (C), and (D) Therefore they are incorrect