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Woodpeckers use their beaks to excavate nesting holes in tree trunks. They prefer dead trees which provide softer wood and are inhabited by bark beetles, a rich food source. Woodpeckers also drum on trees to declare territories and attract mates, with each species having a unique drumming pattern. Different woodpecker species specialize in different foods, such as ants or acorns. The sapsucker is specialized to drill holes in sap-producing trees to collect insects and sap.

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541 views4 pages

Read 5

Woodpeckers use their beaks to excavate nesting holes in tree trunks. They prefer dead trees which provide softer wood and are inhabited by bark beetles, a rich food source. Woodpeckers also drum on trees to declare territories and attract mates, with each species having a unique drumming pattern. Different woodpecker species specialize in different foods, such as ants or acorns. The sapsucker is specialized to drill holes in sap-producing trees to collect insects and sap.

Uploaded by

Nguyễn Trung Văn
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Woodpeckers also use their powerful beaks to

excavate nest holes in tree trunks, drilling first of all a


neat horizontal hole, then chiseling downward for a foot
or so and there cutting out a chamber. They frequently
choose dead trees, no doubt because the rotting wood is
softer to work than that of living trees. Such trees also
are usually infected by bark beetles, which provide a rich
food supply conveniently near at hand.
The drumming noise made by the rapid blows of a
woodpecker’s beak on a tree trunk is one of the most
characteristic sounds of the forest. The birds do not
produce it solely when they are feeding or excavating a
nest. They beat tattoos on echoing timber for the same
reason that other birds sing, to declare possession of a
territory and to attract a mate. Each species has its own
length of drumroll with its own characteristic interval
between one burst and the next.
Different species of the woodpecker family specialize in
different foods. The green woodpecker, as well as taking
bark-boring beetles, often descends to the ground to
forage for ants. The wryneck is even more dependent
upon ants. It is not primarily a climber at all and lacks the
stiff propping tail of other woodpeckers, but it does have
the usual long sticky tongue, which it flicks into a nest of
ants to bring out 150 of them at a time. The acorn
woodpecker exploits its wood-boring skills by drilling
neat holes in tree trunks, the diameter of which exactly
accommodates acorns. It will cover a favored tree with
several hundred such holes and store several acorns in
each of them, so accumulating a massive larder for the
winter. An even more specialized group within the
family, the sapsuckers, bore holes in tree trunks for a
quite different purpose. They choose living trees of
species that produce liberal flows of sap and drill
numerous small, squarish holes in them. The liquid that
trickles out attracts insects that the sapsucker collects
and then mixes with the sap to produce a little
sweetmeat.
40. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The sounds made by different species of birds (B)
The characteristics of one kind of bird
(C) The importance of insects as a food source for birds (D)
The damage done to trees by one species of birds
41. The word “excavate” in line 1 is closest in meaning to
(A) dig (B) protect (C) clean (D)
investigate
42. The word “that” in line 4 refers to
(A) hole (B) chamber (C) wood (D) supply
43. It can be inferred from the passage that the different
species of woodpeckers can be identified by the
(A) melody of their song (B) design of their nest
(C) pattern of the drumming noise they make (D)
size of their beak
44. The word “interval” in line 12 is closest in meaning to
(A) note (B) pause (C) call (D) tapping
45. The words “as well as” in line 14 are closest in meaning
to
(A) besides (B) easily (C) after (D)
instead of
46. According to the passage, the wryneck differs from
other woodpeckers in that it does NOT
(A) have a long tongue (B) make any noise (C)
build its own nest (D) have a rigid tail
47. The word “which” in line 19 refers to
(A) acorns (B) holes (C) tree trunks (D)
skills
48. The word “massive” in line 21 is closest in meaning to
(A) secret (B) potential (C) huge (D)
fresh
49. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a species
of woodpecker that eats insects?
(A) The sapsucker (B) The green woodpecker
(C) The wryneck (D) The acorn woodpecker
50. The sapsucker’s behavior is different from the behavior
of other species in which of the following ways?
(A) It searches for insects on the ground instead of in trees.
(B) It does not drill holes in trees.
(C) It is the only species that stores food for the winter
months.
(D) It chooses trees that produce large quantities of sap.

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