Read the passage and answer the questions below

THE DUCKBILL PLATYPUS

Australias
duckbill
platypus is a very unusual
animal. It is very strange-looking and
for many years scientists did not know how to
classify it. The platypus has webbed feet and a bill like a duck. It doesnt have wings, but
has fur instead of feathers. It also has four legs instead of two. The name platypus means
flat footed.
The baby platypus gets milk from its mother, like a mammal, but it is hatched from
a tough-skinned egg, like a reptile. A platypus also has a poisonous spur on each of its back
legs that is like the tip of a vipers fangs. Scientists have put the platypus along with
another strange animal from Australia called the spiny anteater in a special class of
mammal called monotremes.
The platypus has an amazing appetite! It has been estimated that a full grown
platypus eats about 1,200 earthworms, 50 crayfish, and numerous tadpoles and insects
everyday. This carnivore uses its bill to strain its tiny prey. The platypus is an excellent
swimmer and diver. It dives under the water of a stream and searches the muddy bottom
for food. It can store food in cheek pouches while it is hunting underwater.
A mother platypus lays one or two eggs, which are very small only about an inch
long and leathery in appearance. During the seven to 14 days it takes for the eggs to
hatch, the mother never leaves them, not even to eat. The tiny platypus, which is only a
half-inch long, cuts its way out of the shell with a sharp point on its bill. This point is
known as an egg tooth, and it will fall off soon after birth. (Many reptiles and birds have
egg teeth, but they are unknown in other mammals.) By the time it is four months old, the
baby platypus is about a foot longhalf its adult sizeand is learning how to swim and
hunt.

1. Where does the platypus come from?

2. What makes a duckbill platypus like other mammals?

3. What makes a duckbill platypus like a reptile?

4. What other animal is in the class of mammal called monotremes?

5. Why does a platypus dive underwater?

6. Which of these words is closest in meaning to estimate?

A precise
B measure
C discover
D guess
7. What does the word carnivore mean?
A a vegetarian
B an animal that eats other animals
C an animal that swims
D an animal that eats plants and other animals
8. On which of these animals would you see an egg tooth?
A tiger
B rabbit
C crocodile
D kangaroo
9. Why do you think a baby chick has an egg tooth?
A so that it can hunt for food
B so that it can break out of its shell
C so that it can eat eggs
D so that it can get milk from its mother
10. When does a baby platypus learn how to swim and hunt for food?
A after four months old
B after seven days old
C after fourteen days old
D after birth