Section A Exploratory Reading
Use context clues to determine the meaning of the underlined words.
Owls are raptors. This means that like eagles， hawks and falcons， owls are birds of prey.They hunt other animals for food. Owls are nocturnal. They hunt mostly in the evenings and at night when their prey are active. Owls are not fussy eaters. They catch voles （野鼠类），mice， rats， snakes， birds， rabbits， and other small creatures for food. Owls have often been called the “Lords of the Night”. They deserve this title because of their adaptations to hunting after dark. Adaptations are features animals have that enable them to survive. Owls have several adaptations that make them great hunters—day or night. One adaptation owls use in hunting is its great eye⁃sight. Owls have the best night vision of any creature on earth. And，because their eyes are in the front of their heads， they have good depth perception. This enables them to snatch prey even while in flight.Another adaptation that makes owls suited to hunting is their ability to turn their heads much further than most other short⁃necked birds.Owls can barely roll their eyes from side to side， so to take a good look left or right， they must turn their entire heads. An owl can turn its heads a full 270 degrees （three quarters of a full circle）. This is possible because they have fourteen neck bones， a lot for its size. Owls can also remain very still and by moving only their heads， they can see all around. They can move their heads from a left⁃sided look to a right⁃sided look so quickly， people were convinced they could twist their heads completely around. Another adaptation that enables owls to be great hunters is a keen sense of hearing. The disk⁃like pattern of feathers on their faces funnels sounds to their ears. For example， owls can hear a mouse stepping on a twig over 25 meters away. With such keen senses of sight and hearing， owls can hunt their prey in almost complete darkness.
Choose the best answer.
1. “Owls are not fussy eaters.” The underlined word is likely to mean________.
A. hungry B. careless C. healthy D. picky
2. “Owls have the best night vision of any creature on earth.” The underlined word is likely to mean________.
A. eyesight B. flying C. hearing D. balance
3. “Another adaptation that enables owls to be great hunters is a keen sense of hearing.” The underlined word probably means________.
A. dull B. sharp C. simple D. slow
Explanations
1. The key is D. The sentence “They catch voles， mice， rats， snakes， birds， rabbits， and other small creatures for food ” tells us that owls catch many kinds of small creatures for food. They are not picky about their prey kinds.
2. The key is A. The “eye⁃sight” in the sentence “One adaptation owls use in hunting is its great eye⁃sight ” acts as the first clue. The following sentence “And， because their eyes are in the front of their heads， they have good depth perception” confirms the meaning of vision as eye⁃sight.
3. The key is B.The sentences“For example，owls can hear a mouse stepping on a twig over 25 meters away. With such keen senses of sight and hearing， owls can hunt their prey in almost complete darkness.” explain how sharp a sense of hearing owls have.
Reading Skill： Word Inference
Efficient reading requires the use of various problem⁃solving skills. For example， it is impossible for you to know the exact meaning of every word you read， but by developing your guessing ability， you will be able to understand enough to arrive at the total meaning of a sentence， paragraph， or essay. Context clues help you improve your ability to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words. （Context refers to the sentence and paragraph in which a word occurs.） In using the context to decide the meaning of a word you have to use your knowledge of grammar and your understanding of the author's ideas. You should keep the following points in mind when you come across a new word or expression while reading：
1）Use the meanings of the other words in the sentence （or paragraph） and the meaning of the sentence as a whole to reduce the number of possible meanings.
2）Use grammar and punctuation clues which point to the relationships among the various parts of the sentence.
3）Be content with a general idea about the unfamiliar word； the exact definition or synonym is not always necessary.
4）Learn to recognize situations in which it is not necessary to know the meaning of the word.
Specifically， there are， at least， five major types of context clues：
1. Definition or Restatement—it restates or explains the meaning of difficult words.Look for these words and punctuation： or， in other words， that is， which is， that is to say，namely；— ， （ ），：.
Example： The new tax law was imposed， that is， forced on us by town leaders， and we felt that it was unfair.（With the help of the context clue that is， we can figure out that imposed means forced.）
2. Example—it explains the meaning by giving an example. Look for these words： such as，for example， for instance， including， to illustrate， a good case in point is…
Example： The children enjoyed colorful beads， bits of glass， cheap rings and necklaces，mirrors， and other such trinkets.（With the help of the context clue such， we can figure out that trinkets include small，fancy items of little worth such as colorful beads， bits of glass， cheap rings and necklaces and mirrors.）
3. Comparison—a difficult word is often compared to a familiar word. Look for these words：like， as… as， as if， in the same way， likewise， similarly.
Example：Miss Frost was tall，fat and milled⁃aged.The principal of the school was an older woman， almost as plump as her， and much shorter.（With the help of the context clue as… as， we can figure out that plump means fat.）
4. Contrast—a difficult word may be contrasted with a familiar word. Look for these words：but， on the other hand， however， yet， although， while， whereas， on the contrary， in／by contrast， instead.
Example： The Greens live in the houses that were sweltering in summer but freezing in winter.（With the help of the context clue but， we can figure out that sweltering means hot，contrasted with the word freezing.）
5. Common sense or background knowledge.
Example： Trees bring water up from the ground， allowing water to evaporate into the atmosphere. （From our common sense we can figure out that evaporate means change from a liquid state into gas.）