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Information and Ideas practice question

Octopuses can change both the color and the texture of their skin in less than a second. Using specialized cells, they blend into coral, sand, or rock, evading predators that rely on sight. Few animals can match the speed or range of their disguises.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

  1. A. Octopuses are the fastest swimmers in the ocean.
  2. B. Octopuses have an exceptional ability to camouflage themselves.Correct
  3. C. Predators cannot see color underwater.
  4. D. Coral reefs provide the only hiding places for octopuses.

Answer: B. Octopuses have an exceptional ability to camouflage themselves.

Every sentence supports the octopus's remarkable disguise ability, so B is the main idea. A and C introduce claims the text never makes; D overstates 'only'.

Why the other answers are wrong

A. Octopuses are the fastest swimmers in the ocean.
The passage never mentions swimming speed; the 'speed' it refers to is how fast the octopus changes color and texture.
C. Predators cannot see color underwater.
The text says predators 'rely on sight,' which is the opposite of claiming they can't see — the octopus's disguise works precisely because they do see.
D. Coral reefs provide the only hiding places for octopuses.
Coral is listed as one of three things octopuses blend into, alongside sand and rock, so 'only' contradicts the passage.

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