In the world of birds, bill design is a prime example of evolutionary fine-tuning.

            Shorebirds such as oystercatchers use their bills to pry open the tightly sealed shells of

            their prey, hummingbirds have stilettolike bills to probe the deepest nectar-bearing

 Line     flowers, and kiwis smell out earthworms thanks to nostrils located at the tip of their

  (5)      beaks. But few birds are more intimately tied to their source of sustenance than are

            crossbills. Two species of these finches, named for the way the upper and lower parts

            of their bills cross, rather than meet in the middle, reside in the evergreen forests of 

            North America and feed on the seeds held within the cones of coniferous trees.

                The efficiency of the bill is evident when a crossbill locates a cone. Using a lateral

 (10)      motion of its lower mandible, the bird separates two overlapping scales on the cone and

            exposes the seed. The crossed mandibles enable the bird to exert a powerful biting

            force at the bill tips, which is critical for maneuvering them between the scales and

            spreading the scales apart. Next, the crossbill snakes its long tongue into the gap and

            draws out the seed. Using the combined action of the bill and tongue, the bird cracks

 (15)      open and discards the woody seed covering and swallows the nutritious inner kernel.

            This whole process takes but a few seconds and is repeated hundreds of times a day.

                The bills of different crossbill species and subspecies vary ― some are stout and

            deep, others more slender and shallow. As a rule, large-billed crossbills are better at

            securing seeds from large cones, while small-billed crossbills are more deft at

 (20)      removing the seeds from small, thin-scaled cones. Moreover, the degree to which cones

            are naturally slightly open or tightly closed helps determine which bill design is the

            best.

                One anomaly is the subspecies of red crossbill known as the Newfoundland

            crossbill. This bird has a large, robust bill, yet most of Newfoundland's conifers have

            small cones, the same kind of cones that the slender-billed white-wings rely on.

 

            19. What does the passage mainly discuss?

               (A) The importance of conifers in evergreen forests

               (B) The efficiency of the bill of the crossbill

               (C) The variety of food available in a forest

               (D) The different techniques birds use to obtain food

 

            20. Which of the following statements best represents the type of "evolutionary                                   fine-tuning" mentioned in line 1?

                (A) Different shapes of bills have evolved depending on the available food supply.

                (B) White-wing crossbills have evolved from red crossbills.

                (C) Newfoundland's conifers have evolved small cones.

                (D) Several subspecies of crossbills have evolved from two species.

 

            21. Why does the author mention oystercatchers, hummingbirds, and kiwis in lines 2-4?

               (A) They are examples of birds that live in the forest.

               (B) Their beaks are similar to the beak of the crossbill.

               (C) They illustrate the relationship between bill design and food supply.

               (D) They are closely related to the crossbill.

 

 

 

 

            22. Crossbills are a type of

               (A) shorebird                  (B) hummingbird

               (C) kiwi                         (D) finch

 

 

            23. Which of the following most closely resembles the bird described in lines 6-8?

 

 

            24. The word "which" in line 12 refers to

               (A) seed                        (B) bird

               (C) force                        (D) bill

 

            25. The word "gap" in line 13 is closest in meaning to

               (A) opening                    (B) flower

               (C) mouth                      (D) tree

 

            26. The word "discards" in line 15 is closest in meaning to

               (A) eats                         (B) breaks

               (C) finds out                   (D) gets rid of

 

            27. The word "others" in line 18 refers to

               (A) bills            (B) species

               (C) seeds                      (D) cones

 

            28. The word "deft" in line 19 is closest in meaning to

               (A) hungry         (B) skilled          (C) tired             (D) pleasant

 

            29. The word "robust" in line 24 is closest in meaning to

               (A) strong          (B) colorful         (C) unusual        (D) sharp

 

            30. In what way is the Newfoundland crossbill an anomaly?

               (A) It is larger than the other crossbill species.

               (B) It uses a different technique to obtain food.

               (C) The size of its bill does not fit the size of its food source.

               (D) It does not live in evergreen forests.

 

            31. The final paragraph of the passage will probably continue with a discussion of

               (A) other species of forest birds

               (B) the fragile ecosystem of Newfoundland

               (C) what mammals live in the forests of North America

               (D) how the Newfoundland crossbill survives with a large bill

 

            32. Where in the passage does the author describe how a crossbill removes a seed from

              its cone?

               (A) The first paragraph           (B) The second paragraph

               (C) The third paragraph                    (D) The fourth paragraph