Since water is the basis of life, composing the greater part of the tissues of all living things, the crucial problem of desert animals is to survive in a world where sources of flowing water are rare. And since man’s inexorable necessity is to absorb large quantities of water at frequent intervals, he can scarcely comprehend that many creatures of the desert pass their entire lives without a single drop.

   Uncompromising as it is, the desert has not eliminated life but only those forms unable to withstand its desiccating effects. No moist- skinned, water-loving animals can exist there. Few large animals are found. The giants of the North American desert are the deer, the coyote, and the bobcat. Since desert country is open, it holds more swift-footed running and leaping creatures than the tangled forest. Its population is largely nocturnal, silent, filled with reticence, and ruled by stealth. Yet they are not emaciated.

   Having adapted to their austere environment, they are as healthy as animals anywhere else in the word. The secret of their adjustment lies in the combination of behavior and physiology. None could survive if, like mad dogs and Englishmen, they went out in the midday sun; many would die in a matter of minutes. So most of them pass the burning hours asleep in cool, humid burrows underneath the ground, emerging to hunt only by night. The surface of the sun-baked desert averages around 150 degrees, but 18 inches down the temperature is only 60 degrees.

The phrase “those forms” in the passage refers to all of the following EXCEPT ..........

Câu hỏi liên quan

• When taking the university entrance exams, ..............

• What is stated in paragraph 1 about Adler?

• When she published her first book, Carson was closest to the age of .........

ZUNIA12

• Which of the sentences below expresses the essential information in the italic sentence in paragraph 3? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

• The author uses the word “indeed” in the second paragraph for what purpose?

• What did the professor learn from the study?

• The word ”them” in line 12 refers to _________ .

• The word "them" in the passage 2 refers to_________.

• The expression “ keep tabs on” is closest meaning to ___________.

• "It” in the passage refers to_______.

• Man can hardly understand why many animals live their whole life in the desert, as .........

• Which one of the statements doesn’t refer to smallpox?

• What does the word “it” refer to?

• Which of the following is harmful according to the passage?

• Why are there white rings on each end of the football?

• In what year did Melville’s book about his experiences as a cabin boy appear?

• What did the five campers do when they saw a group of apelike creatures?

• The word “accepting” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to________.

• It can be inferred from the passage that the courtship of great horned owls ................

• The word “ integral” in line 13 is closest in meaning to ..........