Comprehension - Compare & Contrast/Author's Word Choice

Read this sentence from the article.

There are few migrations as dramatic and frightening as when the desert locust are moving across Africa.

What does the author mean by the word dramatic in the sentence above?

• easy

• entertaining

• exciting

• exhausting

How does the locust look DIFFERENT from a grasshopper?

• A locust turns black.

• A locust turns green.

• A locust turns dark yellow or red.

• A locust turns bright orange or pink.

Read this sentence from the article.

And in the sudden darkness there is a terrible thunderous noise.

Why did the author use the word thunderous in the sentence above?

• to show how soft the noise was

• to show how loud the noise was

• to show how scary the noise was

• to show how scratchy the noise was

Read this sentence from the article.

Within minutes they will fly off again, leaving behind them a totally devastated landscape.

the author use the word thunderous in the sentence above?

• beautiful

• different

• interesting

• ruined

How does the landscape look DIFFERENT after the locusts have flown through?

• All of the lakes have dried up.

• All of the plants have been eaten.

• All of the grasshoppers have laid eggs.

• All of the locusts have blocked out the sun.

How are today's locust swarms DIFFERENT from those in ancient times?

• Today's swarms fly lower.

• Today's swarms are larger.

• Today's swarms are smaller.

• Today's swarms eat more plants.

How is the migration of the gray whale DIFFERENT from the migration of other animals?

• Gray whales change color before migration.

• Gray whales go farther than other mammals.

• Gray whales do not go as far as other mammals.

• Gray whales do not change colors before migration.

Read this sentence from the article.

The whales eat and eat and eat, straining the tiny food through strips of baleen in their mouths.

What does the author mean by the word straining in the sentence above?

• to swallow

• to push violently

• to stretch beyond the limit

• to remove by passing through

How are the Arctic waters DIFFERENT from the waters along California and Mexico?

• The Arctic waters have less food.

• The Arctic waters are much colder.

• The Arctic waters are much dirtier.

• The Arctic waters have more people fishing there.

How are gray whales and locusts DIFFERENT?

• Gray whales are fish, and locusts are insects.

• Gray whales migrate, but locusts stay in one place.

• Gray whales live in the sea, but locusts live in the desert.

• Gray whales lay eggs, but locusts give birth to live young.