Name: Date: Period: Reading Grade Replacement: Due April 16 Directions: Read the passage and answer the following questions. Write on the passage and questions to show your thinking. A Last Look at the Amazon Jungle by Peter Lourie (1) Two Brazilian friends and I traveled to the Amazon rainforest, one of our planet s last frontiers. We wanted to see what this great South American jungle was like before roads where built and settlers cut and burned the forest and turned the land into farms and pasture. Wanting to see the forest the way it had been for thousands of years, we went by boat into the jungle. To keep track of our experiences, we took cameras, tape recorders, and notebooks with us. (2) For a month, we traveled the Guapore River, which forms the border between Brazil and Bolivia. We observed the numerous sights and sounds of the Amazon. Our boat glided along the banks, while tall, dark green trees and thick bushes sloped along the river s edge. Our boat s engine echoed off this dense wall of vegetation, and the air held the sharp odor of rotting earth and tropical flowers. Cicadas whined during the long, muggy days, as the he sun shone, a yellow ball high in the sky. (3) One sign that civilization had not yet arrived was the presence of dolphins. River dolphins tolled quietly on the surface, then dove out of sight. They looked much like bottle-nosed ocean dolphins. The Natives, who have lived in these jungles for thousands of years, refuse to hunt the dolphins because they consider them magic creatures. Further downriver, where settlers have already built towns and cut jungle, dolphins have been hunted so much that there are none left. (4) Along the river bank, we spotted red howler monkeys in a cluster of fig trees, their bronzed bodies gleaming in the sun. But we saw far more birds. A great variety came to the river to feed: green-headed parrots, red-and-blue macaws, black ducks, herons, kingfishers, bright green hummingbirds, and Amazon vultures. (5) We stopped one night at a colonist s thatched hut. His name was Joaquim. He welcomed us, and his wife, Maria, made us coffee over an open fire. Like pioneers who settled the American West, these Amazon colonists live rugged lives. Many, like Joaquim, come from the crowded cities to make a home on a piece of land in the jungle. Most of them have no running water, no refrigeration, no ice, and no electricity.
(6) Inside Joaquim s hut, a kerosene lantern spread a yellow light over the mud-and-straw walls. The light shone across the hand-packed dirt floor. There was simple furniture, a wooden table and chairs. The high ceiling of dried palm leaves kept the hut cool during the day. The river below kept it cool at night. (7) We ate a dinner of rice, fish, and wild fruit from Joaquim and his family. After dinner we all set up our hammocks. Everyone in the Amazon jungle sleeps in hammocks. I had never slept in a hammock, so it took me a long time to get to sleep. (8) We left Joaquim s dock in the early morning before the sun had warmed the air. We noticed that he had cleared the dense jungle along the river, and the charred stumps of trees told us more settlers were coming. (9) Later that day we fished with hooks and lines off the back of the boat, catching piranha, small bony fish with huge sharp teeth. A school of piranha can devour a wounded animal in minutes. We fried the piranha in oil till they were crisp and ate them bones and all. They were delicious. (10) We traveled for weeks on the river, occasionally hearing distant sounds of chainsaws as the only sign of the civilization we d left behind. We continued observing the lush vegetation and wildlife until around a bend in the river, a village came into sight. Built high on a hill were several thatched huts like Joaquim s. The villagers had cleared the jungle around the huts. Red and blue flowers grew neatly around the huts, and chickens pecked at scraps of food on the ground. Children ran to the river s edge to watch us. (11) We rested a few hours here before starting our journey home. We had been on the river for three weeks, and we had seen the jungle in its pure form, peaceful. It hasn t really changed in a thousand years. But only a hundred miles away, bulldozers were clearing the dense jungle for a road that will bring cars and many people to this untouched Amazon village.
(12) What is happening in the Amazon today is much like what happened in the American West in the 1800s. When the West was settled, railroads were built, buffalo were killed, and the prairies were cultivated. But what took eighty years to accomplish in the United States, will take far fewer years in the Amazon with bulldozers and modern machinery. (13) The Amazon Basin of South America covers an area roughly the same size as the United States. The many river basins here supply a fifth of the earth s fresh water supply and half of its tropical rainforests. But this last frontier is nearly gone. (14) Perhaps colonization is necessary in a modern world, and the nations of the Amazon region are following in the footsteps of many others. But the planet will lose its precious rainforests with the coming of civilization, until one day, all that is left may be the photographs and notes that myself and others like me collected. (15) We headed back to civilization the way we came. As we moved downriver with the current, five dolphins rose and dove and swam around our boats as if to say goodbye forever. Citation: Highlights, Vol. 37, Number 2, Issue No. 376 (Feb. 1982). 1) If the passage was given a new title, which of the following would fit best? A. A Horrible Time in the Amazon Jungle B. The Rugged Life of Amazon s Colonists C. A Journey up the River of Change D. The Destruction of the World s Rainforests
2) What organizational pattern did the author use in paragraphs 2-4? A. Cause / Effect B. Sequence C. Description D. Compare / Contrast 3) Which of the following did the author not see while in the Amazon rainforest? A. Piranhas B. Tigers C. Chickens D. Dolphins 4) Why does the author describe the inside of Joaquim s hut? A. To illustrate the history of American pioneers B. To convince the reader to visit this region of South America C. To emphasize to readers how well Joaquim and his wife get along D. To give readers an accurate picture of Amazon colonists living conditions 5) What does the author explain so that readers understand the threats facing the rainforests? A. The living conditions of the Amazon colonists B. The best method to catch piranha C. The settling of the American West D. The Amazon Natives hunting habits 6) According to the passage, what happened when the American West was settled in the 1800s? A. Huts with palm-leaf roofs were built. B. Dolphins were killed. C. Rainforests were destroyed. D. Railroads were built. 7) Why will it take less time for people to settle in the Amazon than it did for the people to settle in the West? A. Machines are more advanced today. B. The Amazon is smaller than the American West. C. Rainfall has slowed down in the Amazon. D. The animals are helping to destroy their own habitat. 8) In the last sentence of the article, the author is showing readers that A. the wildlife of the Amazon welcomes the coming civilization. B. these dolphins will probably be hunted as the Amazon is colonized. C. he is considering moving to the Amazon jungle. D. he and his friend formed life-long bonds with every animal they met.
9) Overall, how does the author organize the information in this article? A. He arranges events in order of least important to most important. B. He takes turn giving his opinions and the opinions of the colonists. C. He describes his experiences in detail to show how he feels about the colonization of the Amazon. D. He explains the many causes of Amazon deforestation. 10) Which of the following does the author not use to make his points in the article? A. Imagery B. An illustrative map C. Excerpts from biographies D. Personal observations 11) Which of the following best summarizes the article? A. The author and two friends are spending a month traveling through the Amazon rainforest on the Guapore River. The river creates the border between Brazil and Bolivia. It is an important source of fresh water to the planet. B. The author and two friends spend a month traveling through the Amazon rainforest. They are hoping to build roads, turn land into farms and pastures, and bring in many settlers to this uncivilized area. For now, distant sounds of chainsaws are the only signs of civilization in the jungle. C. The author and two friends are spending a month traveling through the Amazon rainforest. They meet up with their guide Joaquim to live as people in the United States did in the 1800s; no electricity, no ice, no refrigeration. They catch fish for food and sleep in hammocks. D. The author and two friends spend a month traveling the Guapore River to experience the Amazon rainforest. They observe and record sights and sounds of the rainforest. Although civilization has not overtaken this area of the rainforest, they know it is coming.