READ THE PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW.
Plants and animals have the hard job of surviving in a very wild world. How do they
do it? There are many ways plants and animals have adapted in order to survive.
Camouflage is one way animals adapt to survive. For some animals, this means
that their fur, scales, or skin are a similar colour to the land around them. Deer, for
example, have brown fur that blends in with the trees, so it’s harder for predators to
see them. This saves them from becoming prey to a larger animals. Some animals
can change colour to match their environment. Many people think of chameleons
when they think of this type of camouflage, but rabbits are a great example as well.
Some rabbit’s fur will change colours depending on the season. Their fur might be
brown in the spring, summer and fall to match the trees, but the brown fur will fall
out and white fur will grow in the winter to blend in with the snow. This way the
rabbit is safer from predators year-round.
Some insects, instead of blending in with their environment, look like something else
that will deter animals from eating them. A walking stick looks just like a stick so
that predators will pass it by without noticing it. Katydids mimic leaves. Some moths
and butterflies have designs on their wings that make them look like snakes or owls,
to scare away their predators.
For some plants, however, they don’t want to blend in; they want to stand out to
survive! Many plants grow flowers with colourful petals to attract bees. The bees
help pollinate the flowers so that they can produce new flowers.
Instead of hiding, some plants and animals develop structures that aim to hurt
anything that tries to hurt them. Some plants develop thorns so that animals will not
eat them. Some animals have extremely sharp teeth, horns and claws so they can
fight off other animals. Porcupines and hedgehogs have spikes, called quills or spines,
covering their backs so animals won’t dare to mess with them, let alone eat them!
Which word in the passage means the same as ‘imitate’?
A Pollinate
B Camouflage
C Mimic
D Blend
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