ADVANCED READING AND WRITING

(Brief-answer Questions)

Reading – I

26. Read the following composition attentively and answer any five of the questions:

The ocean abounds with life. Many different kinds of plants and animals live in the ocean and the study of these is called Marine Biology. The ocean is the home of the largest animal in the world, the blue whale and of the smallest one as well. The plants and the animals in the sea can be divided into two groups, those that cannot swim but just float or drift in the water, called plankton and those that can swim freely in the sea. The plankton plants and animals are so small that they cannot be seen without a microscope. The plankton plants are called 'the pasture of the sea', because they are the basic foods for all sea animals. Since plants need sunlight to make their food from the minerals in the water, sea plants can grow only within about 150 meters (500 feet) of the ocean's surface, up to which light can reach. So, animal life which depends on sea-plants is almost abundant in the surface layer of the ocean. In the deep sea where sunlight cannot reach, there is no plant life. Yet some animals do live there. The deep sea animals and the fishes that live in the dark, cold hostile world have developed strange forms and habits which help them in their struggle for existence. The deep sea fishes are obviously carnivorous animals. They have gigantic mouths with sharp teeth, but their bodies are small. These fishes can expand their stomach to swallow prey six times larger than itself. Thus it can make one meal last a long time as food is scarce in the deep sea. Some deep sea fishes are blind and have feelers to guide them. But most of them produce their own light which illuminates their surroundings and helps them to find food. [NU 2012]

      (a) What is Marine Biology?

      Ans. Marine Biology is the study of plants and animals living in the ocean.

      (b) Why cannot the plankton plants and animals be seen without microscope?

      Ans. The plankton plants and animals cannot be seen without microscope because they are very small.

      (c) Why do sea plants need sunlight?

      Ans. Sea plants need sunlight to make their food from the minerals in the water.

      (d) Why is there no plant life in the deep sea?

      Ans. There is no plant life in the deep sea because sunlight cannot reach there.

      (e) How do the blind fishes in the deep sea find their food?

      Ans. The blind fishes in the deep sea find their food by producing their own light that illuminates their surroundings.

      (f) What do you understand by "carnivorous animals"?

      Ans. “Carnivorous animals” mean the animals that have gigantic weapons and feed on flesh with the help of those weapons.