Ocean Adventures

Which sentence best summarizes the main idea of the text?

• The deepest parts of the oceans remain mysterious.
• Scientists used underwater vehicles to find the Titanic.
• Scientists have developed tools to explore the depths of the oceans.
• Diving equipment and underwater vehicles are amazing.

Specialized diving suits and submersible vehicles allow modern-day explorers to visit the unknown, uncharted depths of the sea. As a result, divers are able go deeper and stay underwater longer so they can discover and map more regions of the oceans.
What does the word uncharted mean in the excerpt?

• unexplored
• invisible
•  unlimited
• unreachable

Which word from the excerpt best explains the meaning of uncharted?

• submersible
• modern-day
• regions
• unknown

Read the paragraph from the text. Early deep-sea divers had to wear heavy diving suits and metal helmets, and air was pumped into the helmet through a long hose. The air hose tethered divers, limiting the depth and distances they could travel. That changed in the early 1940s. An oceanographer, or scientist who studies the oceans, named Jacques Cousteau invented the first underwater breathing system. It freed divers to stay underwater while breathing from a tank they carried. Today, Cousteau’s invention is known as scuba gear.
Which sentence best states the main idea of the paragraph?

• Deep-sea divers must wear scuba gear to swim underwater
• The invention of scuba gear opened up new opportunities for divers.
• Jacques Cousteau was an oceanographer who invented scuba gear
• Diving suits used to be heavy and included metal helmets with long hoses.

Which additional details would best support the paragraph? 
Early deep-sea divers had to wear heavy diving suits and metal helmets, and air was pumped into the helmet through a long hose. The air hose tethered divers, limiting the depth and distances they could travel. That changed in the early 1940s. An oceanographer, or scientist who studies the oceans, named Jacques Cousteau invented the first underwater breathing system. It freed divers to stay underwater while breathing from a tank they carried. Today, Cousteau’s invention is known as scuba gear.

• Most of Earth’s volcanoes are on the ocean floor.
• Scuba gear was originally called an aqua lung
• Robert Ballard was the first person to find the Titanic.

Which additional details would best support the paragraph? 
Early deep-sea divers had to wear heavy diving suits and metal helmets, and air was pumped into the helmet through a long hose. The air hose tethered divers, limiting the depth and distances they could travel. That changed in the early 1940s. An oceanographer, or scientist who studies the oceans, named Jacques Cousteau invented the first underwater breathing system. It freed divers to stay underwater while breathing from a tank they carried. Today, Cousteau’s invention is known as scuba gear.

• Cousteau was born in 1910 in a small town in France.
• The deepest spot in the oceans is about seven miles deep
• Cousteau’s invention allowed divers to explore new places

Read the sentence from the text. The author uses the word submerge to mean “go under water.” 
In 1960, this vehicle became the first to submerge in the deepest part of the ocean, known as the Mariana Trench, plunging two scientists to a depth of more than 10,000 meters!
Which of these words DOES NOT give a clue to the meaning of submerge.

• deepest
• plunging
• depth
• vehicle

Which sentence best summarizes the main idea of the section titled “A Walk on the Ocean Floor”?

• The JIM suit allows divers to walk under the water for about two hours.
• The JIM suit was developed for Sylvia Earle so that she could walk on the ocean floor.
• Divers have used the JIM suit to reach greater depths and explore the bottom of the ocean. 
• Divers can use the JIM suit to protect themselves from water pressure when they are under the water.