The desert cottontails are types of rabbits that live in the dry, dusty areas of New Mexico, Arizona, and Western Texas. They can also live as far north as Montana and as far west as California. This type of cottontail is similar to other rabbit species because it has an easily noticed white tail, but it has larger ears that usually stand straight up. It has the potential to weigh up to 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg) and grow to 20 inches (51 cm) in length.
Desert cottontails tend to be most active during the morning and late afternoon hours. During the day they avoid the hot desert sun, and seek shelter to keep themselves cool. Desert cottontails will eat almost any type of plant. Because the desert plants they eat usually contain moisture, desert cottontails rarely need to drink water.
The cottontail has many predators, including bobcats, mountain lions, owls, eagles, rattlesnakes, and coyotes. Sometimes they can outsmart the large predators by running very fast and diving into small holes where bigger animals cannot go. They usually run in a zigzag pattern so they’re harder to catch. Cottontails are one of the few species of rabbits that can also climb trees when they try to escape a predator.
When she is ready to have babies, a female cottontail will make a nest of grass and fur. They can have as many as ten baby cottontails at one time! And sometimes they can have four litters in a single year. Baby desert cottontails stay with their mother for three weeks before they go out on their own.
A/ COMPREHENSION (7 points)
(NB: For comprehension questions in these tests, all your answers should be based on the text)
1/ ARE THESE SENTENCES TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY (2pointd)
a.desert cottontails are kinds of rabbits.
b. Desert cottontails are active during all day.
2/ ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS (2 points)
a. Where do desert cottontails live?
b. How many babies can a female cottontail have in one year?
3/ COMPLETE THESE SENTENCES FROM THE TEXT (1 point)
a. Cottontails can ……………
b. A female cottontail makes a nest when …………….
4/ WHAT DO THE UNDERLINED WORDS IN THE TEXT REFER TO ? (1 point)
a. it (paragraph 1)
b. she (paragraph 4)
5/ FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS MEANING ALMOST THE SAME AS : (1 point)
a. Look for (paragraph 2)
b. Quickly (paragraph 3)
B/LANGUAGE (7 POINTS)
1/ FILL THE BLANKS WITH THE CORRECT WORD FROM THE LIST ( 1 point)
worldwide – reduce – homepage – entertainment – related to – set up
- Wars can cause economic problems ————.
- John goes to the disco just for ————.
2/ FILL THE BLANKS WITH THE APPROPRIATE PREPOSITION (2 points)
a. I go to the park ——– the afternoon.
b. We play football ——— Sundays.
c. Sylvester gets up ——– o’clock.
d. A military helicopter flies ——– our village twice a day.
3/ PUT THE VERBS BETWEEN BRACKETS IN THE CORRECT TENSE (2 points)
a. Andrew (never/smoke).
b. Look at those clouds. It (rain).
c. Listen! Somebody (knock) at the door. Can I see who?
d. Mr Pitt (fall) downstairs while he was going down to the livingroom.
4/ REWRITE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES USING THE WORDS BETWEEN BRACKETS (2 points)
a. I have been working in this office for a month. (since)
b. They have been living in France since 1970. (for)
c. Ahmed is too young to drive a car. (enough)
d. I can’t swim. The water is not warm enough. (too)
5/ MATCH THE SENTENCE WITH THE FUNCTION (2 points)
a. As far as I am concerned, Tangiers is the best place to live in. A. giving advice
b. What a good idea! B. expressing opinion
c. He is fond of playing chess. C. expressing surprise
d. To improve your English, you should watch English channels. D. expressing feelings and emotions
C/ WRITING (4 points)
The topic will be added later.
