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Explanation:
Keep "The Octopus" open
on your desktop or use a printed copy so you can refer
to it as we go through the possible answers.
- First, identify
the purpose of the reading selection. This is a
non-fiction, science selection, and the purpose
is to learn new information.
- Next, look for
key words in the question.
You might select these: octopus,
different, mollusk family.
- Now, read each
answer, thinking and deciding if it might be the best
answer to the question. Try to decide yes,
no, maybe.
CHOICE A:
It is a vertebrate. Let's refer back to the
text to check this answer. The first sentence of "The
Octopus" says that the octopus is an "invertebrate."
The selection even tells you that an "invertebrate"
is an animal without a backbone. You can infer that
a "vertebrate" is different from
an "invertebrate" and is most likely
an animal with a backbone, so the octopus is NOT a
vertebrate. CHOICE A = NO.
CHOICE B:
It lives in warm waters. Go back to the
text and find the sentence that tells about where
the octopus lives: "Octopuses live on the
bottom of most temperate offshore waters." You
will need to know what temperate means. You can
figure it has to do with temperature. You can check
out the meaning on Webster's
Online Dictionary which says temperate means
mild, not freezing, and not boiling. The middle
or mild temperature could be close to warm. Let's
see what other choices you have. CHOICE
B = MAYBE.
CHOICE C:
It has a soft body. For this choice, we need
to really read the selection closely and be aware
of adjectives. The sentence from the reading that
tells information about the octopus' body is: "It
is a mollusk, an invertebrate with a relatively
soft body. Yes, it uses the words "soft
body," but with the word relatively
added, the meaning changes slightly. Compared
to a hard rock, the octopus' body is soft, or it is
softer than a block of cement. "Relatively"
means it is on the soft side, but is probably not
as soft as a jellyfish with an extremely soft body.
Let's check out our last option. CHOICE
C = MAYBE.
CHOICE D:
It does not have a hard outer shell. Go
back to the selection and find the sentence that
tells about the octopus' outer shell: "Many
mollusks--clams, oysters, snails--have protective
shells, but the octopus does not." This
is almost a paraphrase of CHOICE D. It is true
that the octopus does NOT have a hard outer (protective)
shell. CHOICE D = YES.
Since CHOICE D is true, you would select that as
the correct answer. That means that choices B and
C, previously considered as maybe
answers, can now be eliminated.
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