Reading Explorer 4, Third Edition

Additional Reading Practice

Unit 1

Read the passage and choose the correct answer for each question.

The Power of Photography

A In 2014, approximately 1.8 billion photographs were uploaded to the Internet each
day. Today, everyone is a subject, and knows it—soon we will be adding ― the unguarded
moment‖ to the endangered species list. Yet certain photographs have the power to do more
than just document lives—they change lives. They can transport us to unseen worlds. They
can profoundly alter the way we see things. And while most of us are taking pictures of our
breakfast, there are those fortunate few who take photographs for a living: professional
photographers.

B People often romanticize the life of a National Geographic photographer. Yes, they
travel the world. They are witnesses to all earthly beauty. But that does not mean it is easy.
They must overcome daily obstacles (flight delays, inhospitable1 weather), and are often
interrupted by disasters (broken bones, imprisonment). Away from home for many months at
a time—missing birthdays, holidays, school plays—they can find themselves in dangerous
situations … or sitting in a tree for a week … or eating bugs for dinner.

C Still, these photographers would not have it any other way. Their work reflects
different passions: human conflict and disappearing cultures, big cats and tiny insects, the
desert and the sea. Yet they share similar qualities as well. They each have a hunger for the
unknown, the courage to be ignorant, and the wisdom to recognize that, as one says, ― the
photograph is never taken—it is always given.‖

D Photographers often sit for days, even weeks, with their subjects, listening to them,
learning what it is they have to teach the world, before at last lifting the camera to the eye.
They have spent years in the worlds of Sami reindeer herders, Japanese geishas, and New
Guinea birds of paradise. Their tremendous commitment can be seen in their photographs.
What is not visible is their sense of responsibility toward those who dared to trust the stranger
by opening the door to their quiet world. These photographers view photography as
teamwork, a collaborative venture between two souls on either side of the lens.

E The images in National Geographic reveal a world of incredible diversity. But

photographers are often asked to photograph places and creatures that may soon disappear. If
National Geographic photographers have one obsession, it is their desire to use their
influence to help save the planet. When they experience the beauty of seals swimming in the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, they also see the habitat in danger: Seal pups are drowning due to
melting ice, a consequence of climate change. When photographers witness the calamity2 of
war in the gold-mining region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they hold onto a
glimmer of hope: Show the gold merchants in Switzerland the damage that has been done,
and maybe they will stop their purchases. This story, at least, had a positive outcome. When
Swiss gold merchants saw photographer Marcus Bleasdale‘s images at a Geneva exhibit,
their Congolese gold purchases stopped almost overnight.
F Every photographer, whether professional or amateur, dreams of the perfect shot. It is
interesting to note that the most iconic National Geographic photograph is not of anyone
famous or anything historic. Instead, it is a photograph of Sharbat Gula, an Afghan girl of
maybe 12. Photographer Steve McCurry encountered her in 1984 at a refugee camp in
Pakistan. Her intense, sea-green eyes spoke to the world from the cover of National
Geographic’s June 1985 issue. The Afghan girl‘s stare pierced our hearts and stopped a
heedless Western world in its tracks. We knew her instantly, and we could no longer avoid
caring about her situation.

G McCurry took this portrait before the invention of the smartphone. In a world
seemingly numbed by a daily avalanche3 of images, can photographs such as this still tell us
something important about ourselves and about the imperiled beauty of the world we live in?
Photographers use their cameras as tools of exploration, and as instruments for change. Their
images are proof that photography matters—now more than ever.

1 If an environment is inhospitable, it is harsh and difficult to live in.

2 A calamity is an event that causes a lot of damage, destruction, and distress to a person.
3 An avalanche is a large and overwhelming quantity of something that comes suddenly.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

a. why National Geographic photographers take so many photographs
b. how to become a professional photographer for National Geographic
c. the types of people who are National Geographic photographers
d. the different types of photographs in National Geographic Magazine

2. In paragraph C, what does the phrase these photographers would not have it any other
way mean?
a. they do not want to change the way things are
b. they are trying to change the way things are
c. they cannot change anything
d. they will change things in the future

3. The main idea of paragraph F is found in the ____ sentence.

a. first
b. second
c. fourth
d. sixth

4. Which of the following is a difficulty that is NOT mentioned in the reading?

a. eating bugs
b. broken bones
c. low pay
d. missing holidays

5. According to the passage, is this statement true (T) or false (F)?

____ Steve McCurry took the picture of Sharbat Gula on a smartphone.

Reading Explorer 4, Third Edition
Additional Reading Practice
Unit 2

Read the passage and choose the correct answer for each question.

Natural Selection

A From the tiniest insects like fruit flies to the largest animals like elephants, the norm is
for females to pick the male with which they want to mate; it is not a mutual choice. The
males, in turn, compete with each other to get a female‘s attention. Each is vying to show her
that he will be the best father for her babies. Evolutionary biologists argue that this is why
males usually have a more prominent appearance. It is why the male peacock has such
abundant and colorful tail feathers. It is why the male guppy, a small tropical fish, is covered
with bright orange and blue spots. It is why male frogs call and male birds sing.

B ―
Basically, the male wants access to the female‘s eggs,‖ explains William Eberhard,
an evolutionary biologist at the University of Costa Rica. ― And he‘ll do whatever it takes to
please her. But it‘s her game; she sets the rules. And she makes the choice.‖

C Charles Darwin was the first scientist to develop a theory of sexual selection and to
recognize that females frequently select mates. He began to develop the notion1 while writing
On the Origin of Species, in which he argued that the related theory of natural selection is the
primary force in the evolution of all species.

D Natural selection goes far in explaining why one individual animal survives to pass on
its genes to the next generation, while another dies without breeding. According to this
theory, female birds are often drab2 so that they can hide from predators while sitting on their
eggs—instead of being brightly colored like their male counterparts. But natural selection
does not explain features that would seem to hinder an animal‘s survival, such as the male
peacock‘s fancy feathers or the guppy‘s bright spots. How did such unlikely inherent traits—
ones that seem to disagree with every Darwinian rule for staying alive—come about? Even
Darwin struggled to find a reason, once writing to a friend, ― The sight of a feather in a
peacock‘s tail makes me sick!‖

E Eventually Darwin found the answer, explaining in his 1871 book, The Descent of
Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, that males‘ bright colors and elaborate songs are the
result of a process he named sexual selection. According to Darwin, sexual selection shapes
species in two ways––first by giving rise to competition among males for mates, and
secondly by females‘ inclination to direct their affections toward particular males.
F The part of Darwin‘s theory suggesting that females choose mates immediately
triggered attacks from all sides. Many scientists found the idea absurd. One man who
supported the theory of evolution, Alfred Russel Wallace, particularly hated the notion of
sexual selection and actively spoke out against it. He argued that males were brightly colored
and given to song because they had so much extra energy during the mating season. For
Wallace, natural selection covered everything, including male competition. And he thought
the idea that females choose mates because they prefer a particular color ridiculous as it
suggested an ability to notice details that he believed to be beyond most animals. Throughout
most of the 20th century, Wallace‘s opinion was the more popular one, and Darwin‘s theory
of sexual selection, containing the idea of female choice, was largely ignored.

G ―Right into the 1970s, people were still laughing at the idea of female choice,‖ says
Michael Ryan, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Texas in Austin. ― One writer
even said that all you had to do was look at our own species to see that females had no input
whatsoever in mating decisions. Now, of course, we have tons of examples that show that
Darwin was right: It‘s most often the females that choose.‖

H So then the big question becomes: What do the females want? Some researchers have
suggested that a male‘s colorful body parts and the unusual sounds they make carry
information about the quality of its genes, health, or parenting abilities. He is, after all,
applying for a very important job. Others believe that there is little information in these
things; they exist solely to attract the female. If she chooses a mate that other females regard
as handsome, she will produce attractive sons who are more likely themselves to be chosen as
mates, and so she has a better chance of passing on her genes. Meanwhile, the mating dance
is often one of the most colorful performances in the natural world.

1 A notion is an idea or a belief about something.

2 Something that is drab is dull and boring.

1. What is the main idea of the passage?

a. male animals are often more brightly colored than females
b. female animals, not males, make most mating decisions
c. bright colors and elaborate songs help males attract females
d. not everyone agrees with the theory of natural selection

2. In the second sentence of paragraph A, what does the phrase each other refer to?
a. males
b. females
c. elephants
d. fruit flies

3. Which of the following is a theory?

a. Male peacocks have a variety of abundant and colorful tail feathers.
b. Female birds sit on their nests and protect their eggs from predators.
c. In the 1970s, people laughed at the idea that females chose their mates.
d. Males are colorful so that they can compete for the females‘ attention.