Fast Focus: Majestic Reptiles

Fast Focus: Majestic Reptiles

Grab your Fast Focus booklet and read the passage. Afterwards, use the passage to answer the questions that follow. Good luck!

Majestic Reptiles

Leatherbacks, Loggerheads, Pacific Greens, Ridleys, and Hawksbills: these may be the world's coolest reptiles. The noble and graceful seat turtle soars and glides on the ocean's currents. They inhabit an underwater world of wonder and beauty. Learning about these amazing reptiles may help us save them.

A Mad Scramble

A baby sea turtle's first hours are filled with danger. The tiny reptiles hatch from eggs buried in the sand. The rurtles must climb out of the sandy nest, cross the open beach and swim into the deep sea waters. This is quite a journey for a 2-inch long newboard. They are not alone on this short journey either. Many predators prowl the beach. Hundreds of birds, crabs and mammals are waiting to make a meal of these reptile babies.

Dangerous Seas

If a turtle hatchling survives its first day and makes it to the water, it will confront many other risks. Turtles must avoid predators like tiger sharks. They may become caught in fishing nets. Much of their nesting habitat is lost every year. Sea turtles are hunted by poachers. Water pollution, including plastic debris and chemical waste from factories, can make them sick. Rising temperatures in Earth's oceans change their feeding range.

Saving the Turtles

All in all, these beautiful creatures face difficult lives and a very uncertain future. In fact, of the seven types of sea turtles, five are listed as endangered specifies. Scientists are working hard to save them. Knowing how difficult the first day is for turtles, many groups now work to help turtle hatchlings make it to the ocean. Some organizations work to restore turtle nesting habitat. Other groups study how pollution hurts turtles and are working to clean it up. These efforts are slowly making a difference. We must continue to learn about sea turtles so that we know how best to help save these amazing creatures.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following sentences best states the author's primary claim?

• "Leatherbacks, Loggerheads, Pacific Greens, Ridleys, and Hawksbills: these may be the world's coolest reptiles."

• "A baby sea turtle's first hours are filled with danger."

• "Water pollution, including plastic debris and chemical waste from factories, can make them sick."

• "We must continue to learn about sea turtles so that we know how to best help save these amazing creatures.

Multiple Choice

Which part of the article best supports the idea that we should learn more about sea turtles in order to help them?

• The title Majestic Reptiles

• A Mad Scramble

• Dangerous Seas

• Saving the Turtles

Multiple Choice

Look at this sentence from paragraph 1.

"Learning about these amazing reptiles may help us save them."

Which of the following sentences from the text does NOT support this claim by the author?

• Other groups study how pollution hurts turtles and are working to clean it up.

• All in all, these beautiful creatures face difficult lives and a very uncertain future.

• Some organizations work to restore turtle nesting habitat.

• Knowing how difficult the first day is for turtles, many groups now work to help turtle hatchlings make it to the ocean.

Multiple Choice

This article was most likely written for-

• people who care about sea turtles

• young children

• ocean scientists

• reptiles

Multiple Choice

This passage is nonfiction.

• True

• False