Unseen Passage: Owl

Reading Comprehension

An owl is a bird. There are two basic types of owls: typical owls and barn owls. Owls live in almost every country of the world. Owls are mostly nocturnal, meaning they are awake at night. Owls are predators—they hunt the food that they eat. Owls hunt for mice and other small mammals, insects and even fish. Owls are well adapted for hunting. Their soft, fluffy feathers make their flight nearly silent. They have very good hearing which helps them to hunt well in the darkness. The sharp hooked beaks and claws of the owl make it very easy to tear apart their prey quickly, although owls also eat some prey whole.

Owl’s eyes are unusual. Like most predators, both the eyes of the owl face front. The owl cannot move its eyes. Owls are far—sighted, which means they can see very well far away…….but they can’t see close very well at all. Fortunately, their distant vision is what they use for hunting and they can see far away even in low light. Owls have facial disks around their eyes, tufts of feathers in a circle around each eye. These facial disks are thought to help the Owl’s hearing. Owls can turn their heads 180 degrees. This makes it look like they might be able to turn their heads all the way around, but 180 degrees is all the owl needs to see what’s going on all around. Perhaps because of the Owl’s mysterious appearance, especially its round eyes and flexible neck, there are a lot of myths and superstitions about them. Many cultures believe that owls are unusually wise. Because owls are nocturnal, some cultures associate them with bad omens. The screech of the barn owl is considered by many to sound eerily human, like a person screaming. However, owls probably do not interact with the fates of humans at all. In fact, some owl species may become extinct because of humans.

Q. Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate option:

1. Which of the following is not true about owls?
   1. Owls eat small animals
   2. Owls are able to fly silently
   3. Owls have the best hearing of all birds
   4. Owls have poor vision
2. The eyesight of the owl is used for …………
   1. flying
   2. hunting
   3. sleeping
   4. none of these
3. The purpose of this short article is ………..
   1. to entertain
   2. to inform
   3. to persuade
   4. none of these
4. Title for this story can be ………..
   1. Owls hunt at night
   2. Owls can fly silently
   3. Owls are interesting animals
   4. Owls have flexible necks
5. Which of the following is true?
   1. The facial disks of the owl help them to see.
   2. Owls have a strong, bent beak.
   3. Most owls hunt for food during the day.
   4. Owls are dangerous to humans.

Answer

1. Owls have poor vision
2. hunting
3. to inform
4. Owls are interesting animals
5. Owls have a strong, bent beak