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Reading Comprehension Test for 10th Form Students

The document discusses the role of sea otters in combating global warming by controlling sea urchin populations, which in turn allows kelp forests to thrive and reduce carbon dioxide levels. It highlights the declining sea otter populations due to hunting and predation by killer whales, leading to an imbalance in the ecosystem. A study by scientist Chris Wilmers indicates that restoring sea otter populations could significantly help in preventing carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere.

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19 views

Reading Comprehension Test for 10th Form Students

The document discusses the role of sea otters in combating global warming by controlling sea urchin populations, which in turn allows kelp forests to thrive and reduce carbon dioxide levels. It highlights the declining sea otter populations due to hunting and predation by killer whales, leading to an imbalance in the ecosystem. A study by scientist Chris Wilmers indicates that restoring sea otter populations could significantly help in preventing carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere.

Uploaded by

Любов Любов
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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STAGE II NATIONAL STUDENTS OLYMPIAD IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Reading Comprehension Test for 10 Form Students


th

By Laura Leigh Davidson

Could Sea Otters Save the Planet?

“Furry swimming creatures could be star fighters in the struggle to stop global warming.”

Sea otters have another important job besides swimming around the Pacific Ocean and looking
incredibly cute. Recent scientific studies suggest that these furry swimmers also take a big bite
out of global warming.

How can a sea otter help slow down climate change? A sea otter's favorite meal is sea urchin, a
spiny underwater animal that eats a type of seaweed called kelp. When sea otters eat their
favorite chow, they keep the population of sea urchins down. That allows underwater forests of
sea kelp to flourish.

These kelp forests reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, a harmful greenhouse gas, in the Earth's
atmosphere. Carbon dioxide helps trap heat in the atmosphere. Experts say that too much of this
gas leads to climate change, and many say that global warming may cause changes that could
prove deadly for life on Earth.

BROKEN FOOD CHAIN

Scientists say sea otters could help the planet just by eating, but there's one problem. There aren't
enough sea otters to keep the sea urchin population in check. Therefore, sea urchin populations
are rising while the number of kelp forests is falling.

In the past, sea otters almost became extinct because hunters killed them for their fur. Now, killer
whales—another species brought back from the brink of extinction—may be significantly
lowering sea otter populations. The number of otters is so low, they have been listed as
threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Scientist Chris Wilmers from the University of California, Santa Cruz, recently studied the effect
sea otters have on global warming. His study found that when kelp forests lose their otters, "all
you are left with is piles of urchins and very little else."

Wilmers says that if otters were restored to healthy populations along the coast of North
America, the ocean ecosystem could keep around 10 million tons of carbon from entering the
Earth's atmosphere.

Reading Comprehension Test for 10 Form Students th

Task 1: Chose the multiple-choice item that makes the sentence correct.
1. Sea otters are indigenous to
a. the Atlantic Ocean
b. the Pacific Ocean
c. the Indian Ocean
d. The Mediterranean Sea
2. These furry swimmers could help to combat
a. littering
b. pollution
c. global warming
d. The Greenhouse Effect
3. Sea otters love to eat
a. fish
b. land urchins
c. kelp
d. sea urchins
4. Kelp forests help to reduce the amount of
a. Carbone dioxide
b. Hydrogen
c. Carbone monoxide
d. Calcium hydroxide
5. Humans hunt sea otters for their
a. oil
b. skin
c. fur
d. meat
6. Carbon dioxide is a ______ greenhouse gas.
a. poisonous
b. damaging
c. heavy
d. beneficial
7. Killer whales eat
a. sea otters and kelp
b. fish and kelp
c. sea otters
d. sea urchins
Task 2: Decide if the statements are true or false.
8. The more sea urchins the less kelp; the less sea urchins, the more kelp.
9. If in healthy numbers, sea urchins could keep around 10 million tons of carbon from entering the Earth's
atmosphere.
10. Scientist Chris Wilmers from the University of Santa Cruz recently studied the effect killer whales have on
global warming.
11. Due to the number of otters being so low, the U.S. Endangered Species Act has listed them as threatened.
12. Humans hunt killer whales, killer whales hunt sea urchins, sea urchins hunt sea otters and sea otters eat
kelp.
13. Both sea urchin populations and kelp forests are growing.
14. Carbon dioxide retains warmth in the atmosphere.
15. Wilmers says that otters will be restored to healthy populations along the coast of North America with the
next few decades.

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