Desert Life
9/30/2022 5:24:05 PM
Do you know?
- Deserts are the driest places on Earth—they get fewer than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain a year.
- Life in deserts is hard due to the scarcity of food and water. However, plants, animals and humans have adapted in various ways to survive there.
Let's explore more in the following passage!
Let's learn some new words before you read the passage:
Listen and complete the passage.
| drought | vegetation | storage |
| striking | burrow | arid |
Living in the desert usually means extreme heat and dry, conditions. There are different types of deserts. Some deserts have more plant life than other deserts. The largest desert in the world is the Sahara Desert. This desert covers over a million square miles of land.
Like all deserts, the Sahara has very little . However, there are some plants that have learned to grow without very much rain. Cacti are examples of plants that can live for almost a year without rain. When a cactus does receive rain, it produces beautiful and flowers.
Many of the animals that live in the desert are the same color as the environment. These sand-colored animals often into the sand to avoid the extreme heat. Many of these animals are nocturnal animals, which means they feed and are active mostly during the night. When there is a severe , many of these animals sleep to save water and their need for food.
Camels are another type of animal commonly found in the Sahara Desert. The camel is able to go for a week without any drinking water. The camel’s hump serves as food . A camel will drink up to 16 gallons of water at one time.
Read and answer the following questions.
Desert Life
Living in the desert usually means extreme heat and dry, arid conditions. There are different types of deserts. Some deserts have more plant life than other deserts. The largest desert in the world is the Sahara Desert. This desert covers over a million square miles of land.
Like all deserts, the Sahara has very little vegetation. However, there are some plants that have learned to grow without very much rain. Cacti are examples of plants that can live for almost a year without rain. When a cactus does receive rain, it produces beautiful and striking flowers.
Many of the animals that live in the desert are the same color as the environment. These sand-colored animals often burrow into the sand to avoid the extreme heat. Many of these animals are nocturnal animals, which means they feed and are active mostly during the night. When there is a severe drought, many of these animals sleep to save water and their need for food.
Camels are another type of animal commonly found in the Sahara Desert. The camel is able to go for a week without any drinking water. The camel’s hump serves as food storage. A camel will drink up to 16 gallons of water at one time.
Source: Daily Warm-ups Reading Grade 5
From reading the text, what do you know about the Sahara Desert?
- There are more animals than plants in this desert.
- Only nocturnal animals can survive the extreme heat there.
- No desert in the world is as large as it.
- Droughts happen there with higher frequency than in other deserts.
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the text?
- A plant species requiring little water to grow
- The size of the Sahara Desert
- A source of water for animals in the desert
- The function of the camel's hump
Without any drinking water, the camel can go for _____ in the desert.
- 4 days
- 5 days
- 6 days
- 7 days
What do animals that live in the desert have in common?
- They store food and water in their body.
- They only forage for food during the night to avoid their natural predators.
- They are brightly-colored animals.
- They have adapted themselves to survive the harsh conditions there.
The writer wrote this text to ____.
- show how camels store food and water
- describe the natural life in the desert
- list types of plants found in the desert
- prove the harshness of life in the desert
Build your vocabulary by learning these intensive phrases/idioms
Choose the word(s) CLOSET in meaning to the underlined words.
This is a fine car. It runs well and is in mint condition.
- in perfect condition
- in affordable condition
- in imperfect condition
- in fundamental condition
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first one, using the word in a bracket. You must use between THREE and FIVE words, including the word given. Do not change the word given.
All the things that could happen from creating a market for your business to closing the sale are considered and dealt with. (COVER)
=> We from creating a market for your business to closing the sale.
Choose the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s).
They think they can blow their rivals out of the water with this new product.
- cooperate with their partners
- defeat their competitors
- maximize their profits
- help their customers