Worksheets"Polar Bears At-Risk"
Total questions: 11
Worksheet time: 20mins
Polar bears were listed as ________ under the Endangered Species Act in 2008
perpetual
threatened
brittle
Use the context of this sentence to figure out the meaning of the word "perpetual":
"Most sea ice moves throughout the year and the white bears are on a perpetual walk to stay within their living area. Ecologists compare it to living on a treadmill that has picked up speed."
enormous arctic animals
very cold; frigid
continuous or repeating
Select a phrase from this sentence that provides clues that the meaning of perpetual is ongoing or continuous:
Most sea ice moves throughout the year and the white bears are on a perpetual walk to stay within their preferred living area...
throughout the year
the white bears
the lead author
An idiom is a common saying with a well-known meaning. What is the intended meaning of "It was the straw that broke the camel's back"?
One piece of straw was placed on a camel's back, and its back broke
One final difficulty caused a huge, final problem
Camels are only able to carry straw in the desert
Which phrase in this part is a figure of speech?
Increased sea ice drift rates likely worsen the stress. It is like adding another straw to the camel's back.
It is like adding straw to the camels' back
Increased sea ice drifts likely worsen
fewer hunting opportunities
How does the following figure of speech impact the meaning of the text? (RI.2.4)
The bears are already stressed by fewer hunting opportunities in the warming Arctic, Durner said. Increased sea ice drift rates likely worsen the stress. It is like adding "another 'straw to the camel's back,’ he said."
It compares polar bears in the arctic to the camels in the deserts
It introduces the consequences of climate change on polar bears
It develops the idea that polar bears are able to eat straw
How does this section contribute to the reader’s understanding of the article?
The author of the study described how 20 bears in the Chukchi Sea had to walk farther than the south Beaufort bears. So the bears in the Chukchi Sea area burn more calories. However, they are in better shape because they find more seals for food.
It establishes that melting ice does not affect polar bears
It highlights the idea that increased walking for polar bears is not all bad cause they find more seals to eat.
It lists the data collected in various studies regarding the seals and polar bears in Alaska.
Researchers concluded that the bears need to eat more to make up for burning more calories as they chase after the faster-moving sea ice.
What is CAUSING polar bears to need to eat more?
Polar bears need to eat more seals because they are using up more energy since they have to keep up with the fast moving ice
Polar bears need to eat more seals because they are getting bigger and stronger from all the seals available in the Arctic
Polar bears are being caused to eat more seals because there is an abundance of seals around.
Read this section: In the new study, researchers looked at data from female polar bears wearing radio collars in the Beaufort and the Chukchi Seas. Sea ice changed in amount and thickness as melting seasons lengthened. Researchers concluded that the bears need to eat more to make up for burning more calories on faster-moving sea ice. They must kill 2 to 6 percent more seals per year, the study said.
Question: How does this part develop the central idea of the article?
It distinguishes the differences between the actions of male and female polar bears.
It conveys the only time that polar bears have been researched for a decade at a time.
It explains how researchers collected information and the findings regarding the conditions of polar bears.
________ is the primary cause of shrinking sea ice
A treadmill
lack of seals
climate change
What is the author’s primary point of view or message in this article?
To describe the movement of the thinning ice in Alaska.
To present the struggles facing polar bears due to climate change.
To compare the different species of animals that live in the artic regions
