Two Ways to Survive: the Salmon and the Platypus: Grade 4 Reading Comprehension

Near fresh water places are hard to live in, yet both the salmon and the platypus manage it. They solve the same problem in different ways.

The salmon lives in the oceans and the rivers that flow into them. It is about 70 centimeters long for many kinds. It has a strong, muscular body, which lets it swim upstream and leap up waterfalls. It is a carnivore and eats insects, shrimp and small fish.

The platypus, by contrast, lives in rivers and streams in eastern Australia. It is about 50 centimeters long. It has a soft bill that senses tiny electric signals, which lets it find prey underwater with its eyes, ears and nose shut. It is a carnivore and eats insect larvae, shrimp and worms.

Both animals show that there is more than one way to survive in a near fresh water place.

Questions

Compare and contrast What do the two animals have in common?
Both have a strong, muscular body. Both eat exactly the same foods. Both are exactly the same size. Both live in places that are near fresh water.
Compare and contrast Which detail is true of the salmon but not the platypus?
It has a strong, muscular body. It eats insect larvae. It is about 50 centimeters long. It lives in rivers and streams in eastern Australia.
Details How does the platypus use a soft bill that senses tiny electric signals?
They let it hang from branches for hours without tiring. They crush tough bamboo. It lets it find prey underwater with its eyes, ears and nose shut. It acts like armor.
Main idea Which sentence best states the main idea?
Animals cannot live in hard places. Two animals survive the same kind of place in different ways. The salmon is the best animal in the world. The platypus and the salmon live together in one group.
Text structure How is this passage organized?
It lists events in the order they happened. It tells a made-up story with characters. It gives steps to follow. It describes one animal, then the other, then sums up what they share.

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All passages Next: Animal Fact Table 1

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