16Hit1600
Expression of IdeasEasy–MediumEmphasising what is unusual about a place

Expression of Ideas practice question

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: - The Okavango River rises in the highlands of Angola. - Instead of flowing to the sea, it spreads into a delta in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. - The water evaporates or soaks into the sand and never reaches the ocean. - The delta floods each year in the dry season, because the rain falls months earlier upstream.

The student wants to emphasise what is unusual about the Okavango River. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

  1. A. Unlike most rivers, the Okavango never reaches the sea: it spreads into a delta in the Kalahari Desert, where its water evaporates or soaks into the sand.Correct
  2. B. The Okavango River rises in Angola.
  3. C. Rivers usually flow to the sea.
  4. D. The Kalahari is a desert in Botswana.

Answer: A. Unlike most rivers, the Okavango never reaches the sea: it spreads into a delta in the Kalahari Desert, where its water evaporates or soaks into the sand.

The contrast with most rivers and where the water actually goes.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. The Okavango River rises in Angola.
Its source is not what makes it unusual.
C. Rivers usually flow to the sea.
States the norm without the exception.
D. The Kalahari is a desert in Botswana.
About the desert, not the river.

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