READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are based on Reading Passage 2
below.

BIRD MIGRATION 2
A
Birds have many unique design features that enable them to perform such amazing feats of
endurance. They are equipped with lightweight, hollow bones, intricately designed feathers
providing both lift and thrust for rapid flight, navigation systems superior to any that man has
developed, and an ingenious heat conserving design that, among other things, concentrates all
blood circulation beneath layers of warm, waterproof plumage, leaving them fit to face life in the
harshest of climates. Their respiratory systems have to perform efficiently during sustained flights
at altitude, so they have a system of extracting oxygen from their lungs that far exceeds that of any
other animal. During the later stages of the summer breeding season, when food is plentiful, their
bodies are able to accumulate considerable layers of fat, in order to provide sufficient energy for
their long migratory flights.
B
The fundamental reason that birds migrate is to find adequate food during the winter months when
it is in short supply. This particularly applies to birds that breed in the temperate and Arctic regions
of the Northern Hemisphere, where food is abundant during the short growing season. Many
species can tolerate cold temperatures if food is plentiful, but when food is not available they must
migrate. However, intriguing questions remain.
C
One puzzling fact is that many birds journey much further than would be necessary just to find
food and good weather. Nobody knows, for instance, why British swallows, which could
presumably survive equally well if they spent the winter in equatorial Africa, instead of several
thousands of miles further to their preferred winter home in South Africa Cape Province. Another
mystery involves the huge migrations performed by arctic terns and mudflat-feeding shorebirds
that breed close to Polar Regions. In general, the further north a migrant species breeds, the further
south it spends the winter. For arctic terns, this necessitates an annual round trip of 25,000 miles.
Yet, en route to their final destination in far-flung southern latitudes, all these individuals overfly
other areas of seemingly suitable habitat spanning two hemispheres. While we may not fully
understand birds’ reasons for going to particular places, we can marvel at their feats.
D
One of the greatest mysteries is how young birds know how to find the traditional wintering
areas without parental guidance. Very few adults migrate with juveniles in tow, and youngsters
may even have little or no inkling of their parents’ appearance. A familiar example is that of the
cuckoo, which lays its eggs in another species’ nest and never encounters its young again. It is
mind-boggling to consider that, once raised by its host species, the young cuckoo makes its own
way to ancestral wintering grounds in the tropics before returning single-handedly to northern
Europe the next season to seek out a mate among its own kind. The obvious implication is that it
inherits from its parents an inbuilt route map and direction-finding capability, as well as a mental
image of what another cuckoo looks like. Yet nobody has the slightest idea as to how this is
possible.
E
Mounting evidence has confirmed that birds use the positions of the sun and stars to obtain
compass directions. They seem also to be able to detect the earth’s magnetic field, probably due
to having minute crystals of magnetite in the region of their brains. However, true navigation also
requires an awareness of position and time, especially when lost. Experiments have shown that
after being taken thousands of miles over an unfamiliar landmass, birds are still capable of
returning rapidly to nest sites. Such phenomenal powers are the product of computing several
sophisticated cues, including an inborn map of the night sky and the pull of the earth’s magnetic
field. How the birds use their ‘instruments’ remains unknown, but one thing is clear: they see the
world with a superior sensory perception to ours. Most small birds migrate at night and take their
direction from the position of the setting sun. however, as well as seeing the sun go down, they
also seem to see the plane of polarized light caused by it, which calibrates their compass. Traveling
at night provides other benefits. Daytime predators are avoided and the danger of dehydration due
to flying for long periods in warm, sunlit skies is reduced. Furthermore, at night the air is generally
cool and less turbulent and so conducive to sustained, stable flight.
F
Nevertheless, all journeys involve considerable risk, and part of the skill in arriving safely is setting
off at the right time. This means accurate weather forecasting, and utilizing favorable winds. Birds
are adept at both, and, in laboratory tests, some have been shown to detect the minute difference
in barometric pressure between the floor and ceiling of a room. Often birds react to weather
changes before there is any visible sign of them. Lapwings, which feed on grassland, flee west
from the Netherlands to the British Isles, France and Spain at the onset of a cold snap. When the
ground surface freezes the birds could starve. Yet they return to Holland ahead of a thaw, their
arrival linked to a pressure change presaging an improvement in the weather.
G
In one instance a Welsh Manx shearwater carried to America and released was back in its burrow
on Skokholm Island, off the Pembrokeshire coast, one day before a letter announcing its release!
Conversely, each autumn a small number of North American birds are blown across the Atlantic
by fast-moving westerly tail winds. Not only do they arrive safely in Europe, but, based on ringing
evidence, some make it back to North America the following spring, after probably spending the
winter European migrants in sunny African climes.

Questions 14-20
Reading passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
List of headings
i The best moment to migrate
ii The unexplained rejection of closer feeding ground
iii The influence of weather on the migration route
iv Physical characteristics that allow birds to migrate
v The main reason why birds migrate
vi The best wintering grounds for birds
vii Research findings on how birds migrate
viii Successful migration despite the trouble of wind
ix Contrast between long-distance migration and short-distance migration
x Mysterious migration despite lack of teaching
14 Paragraph A
iv
15 Paragraph B v
16 Paragraph C ii
17 Paragraph D i
18 Paragraph E vii
19 Paragraph F x
viii
20 Paragraph G
Questions 21-22
Choose TWO letters, A-E
Write the correct letters in boxes 21 and 22 on your answer sheet.
Which TWO of the following statements are true of bird migration?
A Birds often fly further than they need to.
B Birds traveling in family groups are safe.
C Birds flying at night need less water.
D Birds have much sharper eyesight than humans.
E Only shorebirds are resistant to strong winds.
Questions 23-26
Complete the sentences below using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage.
Write your answers in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet.
23 It is a great mystery that young birds like cuckoos can find their wintering grounds without
parental guidance
……………………..
compass directions
24 Evidence shows birds can tell directions like a ……………….. by observing the sun and the
stars.
predators
25 One advantage for birds flying at night is that they can avoid contact with ………………..
visible
26 Laboratory tests show that birds can detect weather without ………………. signs.