Question

17 read the paragraph from the passage. when you imagine the ocean floor, perhaps your mind swims with huge, mysterious creatures full of sharp teeth and scaly skin. exotic animals like the giant spider crab, fangtooth fish, and giant tube worm make their homes at the bottom of earth’s oceans. however, at even deeper depths, between 9,800 and 13,000 feet (3,000–4,000 meters), there lives a creature so small, round, and adorable that scientists, upon spotting the elusive beast, are likely to say nothing more than “aww!” (paragraph 1) which central idea does this paragraph support? a the dumbo octopus is more common than other forms of sea life. b the dumbo octopus is unlike other creatures living in the deep sea. c the dumbo octopus has similar features to giant tube worms. d the dumbo octopus has adapted to harsh conditions on the ocean floor. 18 how does the author use description and cause - and - effect text structures to add meaning to paragraph 5? a by explaining how and why the dumbo octopus is similar to and different from other octopuses b by explaining how and why the dumbo octopus is a popular food source for predators c by explaining how and why the dumbo octopus has superior hearing skills d by explaining how and why the dumbo octopus uses certain body parts

Explanation:

Question 17

To determine the central idea the paragraph supports, analyze each option:

• Option A: The paragraph doesn't discuss the commonness of the Dumbo octopus, so A is incorrect.
• Option B: The paragraph contrasts the usual "huge, mysterious" deep - sea creatures with the small, adorable Dumbo octopus, showing it is unlike other deep - sea creatures. This matches the content.
• Option C: The paragraph presents the Dumbo octopus as different from creatures like giant tube worms (which are described as exotic and presumably not small/adorable), so C is wrong.
• Option D: The paragraph focuses on the appearance and contrast with other deep - sea creatures, not adaptation to harsh conditions, so D is incorrect.

To solve this, analyze each option:

• Option A: The question is about paragraph 5 (not provided, but from the option, it's about Dumbo octopus vs other octopuses). However, the text structures (description and cause - effect) for comparing with other octopuses is less likely as the focus of the given paragraph 1 is on deep - sea creature contrast. But among the options, if we consider the text structures: description would be of the octopus's features, and cause - effect would be explaining why it has those features (or why it uses body parts). But let's check other options.
• Option B: There's no indication the Dumbo octopus is a popular food source, so B is wrong.
• Option C: There's no mention of hearing skills, so C is incorrect.
• Option D: The author could use description to tell about the Dumbo octopus's body parts and cause - effect to explain how and why it uses them (e.g., why a certain body part is used for survival). This is a more logical use of description (of body parts) and cause - effect (why it uses them) text structures.

Answer:

B. The Dumbo octopus is unlike other creatures living in the deep sea.

Question 18