Soal Latihan dan Jawaban Reading Comprehension 80
Large animals that inhabit the desert have evolved a number of adaptations for
reducing the effects of extreme heat. One adaptation is to be light in color, and to
reflect rather than absorb the Sun’s rays. Desert mammals also depart from the normal
mammalian practice of maintaining a constant body temperature. Instead of trying to
(5) keep down the body temperature deep inside the body, which would involve the
expenditure of water and energy, desert mammals allow their temperatures to rise to
what would normally be fever height, and temperatures as high as 46 degrees Celsius
have been measured in Grant’s gazelles. The overheated body then cools down during
the cold desert night, and indeed the temperature may fall unusually low by dawn, as
(10) low as 34 degrees Celsius in the camel. This is an advantage since the heat of the first
few hours of daylight is absorbed in warming up the body, and an excessive buildup of
heat does not begin until well into the day.
Another strategy of large desert animals is to tolerate the loss of body water to a
point that would be fatal for non-adapted animals. The camel can lose up to 30 percent
(15) of its body weight as water without harm to itself, whereas human beings die after
losing only 12 to 13 percent of their body weight. An equally important adaptation is
the ability to replenish this water loss at one drink. Desert animals can drink prodigious
volumes in a short time, and camels have been known to imbibe over 100 liters in a
few minutes. A very dehydrated person, on the other hand, cannot drink enough water
(20) to rehydrate at one session, because the human stomach is not sufficiently big and
because a too rapid dilution of the body fluids causes death from water intoxication.
The tolerance of water loss is of obvious advantage in the desert, as animals do not
have to remain near a water hole but can obtain food from grazing sparse and far-flung
pastures. Desert-adapted mammals have the further ability to feed normally when
(25) extremely dehydrated, it is a common experience in people that appetite is lost even under
conditions of moderate thirst.
Reading Comprehension 80
Diseased of desert animals
Weather variations in the desert
Adaptations of desert animals
Human use of desert animals.
It helps them see their young at night
It helps them hide from predators.
It does not absorb sunlight as much as dark colors.
It keeps them cool at night.
a desert animal that can withstand high body temperatures
an animal that is not as well adapted as the camel
an animal with a low average temperature
a desert animal with a constant body temperature
Just before sunrise
In the middle of the day
Just after drinking
Just after sunset
Drinking polluted water
Drinking too much water very quickly
Lack of water.
Bacteria in water
They do not need to eat much food.
They can travel long distances looking for food.
They easily lose their appetites.
They can eat large quantities quickly
To give instructions about desert survival.
To show how they use camels.
To show how they have adapted to desert life.
To contrast them to desert mammals.
Drinking water quickly
Variation in body temperatures
Eating while dehydrated
Being active at night.