Passage 27
All food chains begin with the sun, and all food chains become broken up if one of the links disappears.
All life depends on energy from sunlight. Only plants can use this energy directly. Their leaves are little factories that use sunlight to make food from water and things in the soil and air. Plants in turn serve as food for all other living things. Animals can only use the sun’s energy after it has been changed into food by plants. Some animals feed directly on plants, others eat smaller animals. Meat-eating animals are only eating plants indirectly.
What about human beings? We are members of many food chains. We eat vegetable and fruit. We also eat meat and drink milk. This means the sun’s energy passes through plant to animal before it reaches us.
Nature is a great thing. Any food chain always produces enough for each of its members if it is left alone. When there isn’t enough food for any link in the chain, some of its members die off. So the balance is always kept.
1.If one of it’s members dies off, any food chain will________.
A. come off
B. become better
C. fall apart
D. come into being
2.Which of the following is true?
A. All animals feed on plants indirectly
B. Some animals can use energy from sunlight directly
C. The sun’s energy can reach human beings directly
D. Plants can use the sun’s energy directly
3.What do you learn about the food chain?
A. It is a chain made of food for animals and plants
B. It is a short chain to be easily broken up.
C. It refers to the relationship among living things in nature.
D. It is a chain for feeding plants and animals
4.According to the passage, we may conclude that it is important to __________.
A. keep the balance of nature
B. make full use of the sun’s energy
C. plant a lot of vegetables and fruit trees
D. protect meat-eating animals
5.Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
A. Energy from Sunlight
B. Plants and Animals
C. Food Chains
D. The Making of Food
