Tunas, mackerels, and billfishes (marlins, sailfishes, and swordfish) swim continuously. Feeding, courtship, reproduction, and even "rest" are carried out while in constant motion. As a result, practically every aspect of the body form and function of these swimming "machines" is adapted to enhance their ability to swim. Many of the adaptations of these fishes serve to reduce water resistance (drag).
Interestingly enough, several of these hydrodynamic adaptations resemble features designed to improve the aerodynamics of high-speed aircraft. Though human engineers are new to the game, tunas and their relatives evolved their "high-tech" designs long ago. Tunas, mackerels, and billfishes have made streamlining into an art form. Their bodies are sleek and compact. The body shapes of tunas, in fact, are nearly ideal from an engineering point of view. Most species lack scales over most of the body, making it smooth and slippery. The eyes lie flush with the body and do not protrude at all. They are also covered with a slick, transparent lid that reduces drag. The fins are stiff, smooth, and narrow, qualities that also help cut drag. When not in use, the fins are tucked into special grooves or depressions so that they lie flush with the body and do not break up its smooth contours. Airplanes retract their landing gear while in flight for the same reason.
Tunas, mackerels, and billfishes have even more sophisticated adaptations than these to improve their hydrodynamics. The long bill of marlins, sailfishes, and swordfish probably helps them slip through the water. Many supersonic aircraft have a similar needle at the nose.
Most tunas and billfishes have a series of keels and finlets near the tail. Although most of their scales have been lost, tunas and mackerels retain a patch of coarse scales near the head called the corselet. The keels, finlets, and corselet help direct the flow of water over the body surface in such as way as to reduce resistance (see the figure). Again, supersonic jets have similar features.
Because they are always swimming, tunas simply have to open their mouths and water is forced in and over their gills. Accordingly, they have lost most of the muscles that other fishes use to suck in water and push it past the gills. In fact, tunas must swim to breathe. They must also keep swimming to keep from sinking, since most have largely or completely lost the swim bladder, the gas-filled sac that helps most other fish remain buoyant.
One potential problem is that opening the mouth to breathe detracts from the streamlining of these fishes and tends to slow them down. Some species of tuna have specialized grooves in their tongue. It is thought that these grooves help to channel water through the mouth and out the gill slits, thereby reducing water resistance.There are adaptations that increase the amount of forward thrust as well as those that reduce drag. Again, these fishes are the envy of engineers. Their high, narrow tails with sweptback tips are almost perfectly adapted to provide propulsion with the least possible effort.
Perhaps most important of all to these and other fast swimmers is their ability to sense and make use of swirls and eddies (circular currents) in the water. They can glide past eddies that would slow them down and then gain extra thrust by "pushing off" the eddies. Scientists and engineers are beginning to study this ability of fishes in the hope of designing more efficient propulsion systems for ships.
The muscles of these fishes and the mechanism that maintains a warm body temperature are also highly efficient. A bluefin tuna in water of 7°C (45°F) can maintain a core temperature of over 25°C (77"F). This warm body temperature may help not only the muscles to workbetter, but also the brain and the eyes. The billfishes have gone one step further. They have evolved special "heaters" of modified muscle tissue that warm the eyes and brain, maintaining peak performance of these critical organs.
Paragraph 1: Tunas, mackerels, and billfishes (marlins, sailfishes, and swordfish) swim continuously. Feeding, courtship, reproduction, and even "rest" are carried out while in constant motion. As a result, practically every aspect of the body form and function of these swimming "machines" is adapted to enhance their ability to swim.
1. The word enhance in the passage is closest in meaning to
○Use
○Improve
○Counteract
○Balance
Paragraph 3: Tunas, mackerels, and billfishes have made streamlining into an art form. Their bodies are sleek and compact. The body shapes of tunas, in fact, are nearly ideal from an engineering point of view. Most species lack scales over most of the body, making it smooth and slippery. The eyes lie flush with the body and do not protrude at all. They are also covered with a slick, transparent lid that reduces drag. The fins are stiff, smooth, and narrow, qualities that also help cut drag. When not in use, the fins are tucked into special grooves or depressions so that they lie flush with the body and do not break up its smooth contours. Airplanes retract their landing gear while in flight for the same reason.
2. The word they in the passage refers to
○Qualities
○Fins
○Grooves
○Depressions
3. Why does the author mention that Airplanes retract their landing gear while in flight?
○To show that air resistance and water resistance work differently from each other
○To argue that some fishes are better designed than airplanes are
○To provide evidence that airplane engine have studied the design of fish bodies
○To demonstrate a similarity in design between certain fishes and airplanes
Paragraph 4: Tunas, mackerels, and billfishes have even more sophisticated adaptations than these to improve their hydrodynamics. The long bill of marlins, sailfishes, and swordfish probably helps them slip through the water. Many supersonic aircraft have a similar needle at the nose.
4. The word sophisticated in the passage is closest in meaning to
○Complex
○Amazing
○Creative
○Practical
5. According to paragraph4, the long bills of marlins, sailfish, and swordfish probably help these fishes by
○Increasing their ability to defend themselves
○Allowing them to change direction easily
○Increasing their ability to detect odors
○Reducing water resistance as they swim
Paragraph 6: Because they are always swimming, tunas simply have to open their mouths and water is forced in and over their gills. Accordingly, they have lost most of the muscles that other fishes use to suck in water and push it past the gills. In fact, tunas must swim to breathe. They must also keep swimming to keep from sinking, since most have largely or completely lost the swim bladder, the gas-filled sac that helps most other fish remain buoyant.
6. According to the passage, which of the following is one of the reasons that tunas are in constant motion?
○They lack a swim bladder.
○They need to suck in more water than other fishes do.
○They have large muscles for breathing.
○They cannot open their mouths unless they are in motion.
Paragraph 7: One potential problem is that opening the mouth to breathe detracts from the streamlining of these fishes and tends to slow them down. Some species of tuna have specialized grooves in their tongue. It is thought that these grooves help to channel water through the mouth and out the gill slits, thereby reducing water resistance.
7. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information,
○These fishes often have a problem opening their mouths while swimming.
○The streamlining of these fishes prevents them from slowing down.
○The streamlining of these fishes tends to slow down their breathing.
○Opening the mouth to breathe can reduce the speed of these fishes.
8. The word channel in the passage is closest in meaning to
○Reduce
○Remove
○Direct
○Provide
Paragraph 8: There are adaptations that increase the amount of forward thrust as well as those that reduce drag. Again, these fishes are the envy of engineers. Their high, narrow tails with swept-back tips are almost perfectly adapted to provide propulsion with the least possible effort. Perhaps most important of all to these and other fast swimmers is their ability to sense and make use of swirls and eddies (circular currents) in the water. They can glide past eddies that would slow them down and then gain extra thrust by "pushing off" the eddies. Scientists and engineers are beginning to study this ability of fishes in the hope of designing more efficient propulsion systems for ships.
9. According to the passage, one of the adaptations of fast-swimming fishes that might be used to improve the performance of ships is these fishes' ability to
○Swim directly through eddies
○Make efficient use of water currents
○Cover great distances without stopping
○Gain speed by forcing water past their gills
Paragraph 9: The muscles of these fishes and the mechanism that maintains a warm body temperature are also highly efficient. A bluefin tuna in water of 7°C (45°F) can maintain a core temperature of over 25°C (77°F). This warm body temperature may help not only the muscles to work better, but also the brain and the eyes. The billfishes have gone one step further. They have evolved special "heaters" of modified muscle tissue that warm the eyes and brain, maintaining peak performance of these critical organs.
10. According to paragraph 9, which of the following is true of bluefin tunas?
○Their eyes and brain are more efficient than those of any other fish.
○Their body temperature can change greatly depending on the water temperature.
○They can swim in waters that are much colder than their own bodies.
○They have special muscle tissue that warms their eyes and brain.
Again, supersonic jets have similar features.
Paragraph 6: ■Because they are always swimming, tunas simply have to open their mouths and water is forced in and over their gills. ■Accordingly, they have lost most of the muscles that other fishes use to suck in water and push it past the gills. ■In fact, tunas must swim to breathe. ■They must also keep swimming to keep from sinking, since most have largely or completely lost the swim bladder, the gas-filled sac that helps most other fish remain buoyant.
11. Look at the four squares [■l that indicate where the following sentence can be added to the passage. Consequently, tunas do not need to suck in water.Where would the sentence best fit?
○Consequently, tunas do not need to suck in water. Because they are always swimming, tunas simply have to open their mouths and water is forced in and over their gills. ■Accordingly, they have lost most of the muscles that other fishes use to suck in water and push it past the gills. ■In fact, tunas must swim to breathe. ■They must also keep swimming to keep from sinking, since most have largely or completely lost the swim bladder, the gasfilled sac that helps most other fish remain buoyant.
○■Because they are always swimming, tunas simply have to open their mouths and water is forced in and over their gills. Consequently, tunas do not need to suck in water. Accordingly, they have lost most of the muscles that other fishes use to suck in water and push it past the gills. ■In fact, tunas must swim to breathe. ■They must also keep swimming to keep from sinking, since most have largely or completely lost the swim bladder, the gas-filled sac that helps most other fish remain buoyant.
○■Because they are always swimming, tunas simply have to open their mouths and water is forced in and over their gills. ■Accordingly, they have lost most of the muscles that other fishes use to suck in water and push it past the gills. Consequently, tunas do not need to suck in water. In fact, tunas must swim to breathe. ■They must also keep swimming to keep from sinking, since most have largely or completely lost the swim bladder,the gas-filled sac that helps most other fish remain buoyant.
○■Because they are always swimming, tunas simply have to open their mouths and water is forced in and over their gills. ■Accordingly, they have lost most of the muscles that other fishes use to suck in water and push it past the gills. ■In fact, tunas must swim to breathe. Consequently, tunas do not need to suck in water. They must also keep swimming to keep from sinking, since most have largely or completely lost the swim bladder, the gas-filled sac that helps most other fish remain buoyant.
12. Directions: Complete the table below by indicating which features of fishes are associated in the passage with reducing water resistance and which are associated with increasing thrust. This question is worth 3 points.
REDUCING WATER RESISTANCE
●
●
●
INCREASING THRUST
●
●
Features of Fishes
1. The absence of scales from most of the body
2. The ability to take advantage of eddies
3. The ability to feed and reproduce while swimming
4. Eyes that do not protrude
5. Fins that are stiff, narrow, and smooth
6. The habit of swimming with the mouth open
7. A high, narrow tail with swept-back tips
1. ○ 2
This is a Vocabulary question. The word being tested is enhance. It is highlighted in the passage. The correct answer is choice 2, "improve." To enhance something means to "make it better." If something has been "improved," it has been made better.
2. ○2
This is a Reference question. The word being tested is they. It is highlighted in the passage. Choice 2, "fins," is the correct answer. This is a simple pronoun-referent item. The word they refers to something that lies flush with the body when not in use. This is true only of "fins."
3. ○ 4
This is a Rhetorical Purpose question. It asks why the author mentions that "Airplanes retract their landing gear while in flight." The phrase being tested is highlighted in the passage. The correct answer is choice 4, "To demonstrate a similarity in design between certain fishes and airplanes." The paragraph in which the highlighted phrase appears describes how certain fish use their fins. The highlighted phrase is used to provide a more familiar example (airplanes) of the principle involved to help the reader visualize how fins work. The paragraph does not discuss airplanes in any other context, so choices 2 and 3 are incorrect. Air and water resistance are not mentioned in this paragraph, so choice 1 is incorrect.
4. ○ 1
This is a Vocabulary question. The word being tested is sophisticated. It is high lighted in the passage. The correct answer is choice 1, "complex." If something is sophisticated, it is "not simple," so it must be "complex."
5. ○ 4
This is a Factual Information question asking for specific information that can be found in paragraph 4. The correct answer is choice 4, "reducing water resistance as they swim."The overall theme of the passage is how certain fish swim so efficiently. Paragraphs 1 and 2 make the general statement that "practically every aspect of the body form and function of these swimming 'machines' is adapted to enhance their ability to swim. Many of the adaptations of these fishes serve to reduce water resistance (drag)." Paragraph 4 explicitly states (emphasis added) that "Tunas, mackerels, and billfishes have even more sophisticated adaptations than these to improve their hydrodynamics. The long bill of marlins, sailfishes, and swordfish probably helps them slip through the water." This is a specific example of one adaptation that these fish have made to increase their swimming efficiency. None of the other choices is mentioned in the paragraph.
6. ○ 1
This is a Factual Information question asking for specific information that can be found in the passage. The correct answer is choice 1, 'They lack a swim bladder." Paragraph 6 explicitly states ". . . tunas must swim to breathe. They must also keep swimming to keep from sinking, since most hale largely or completely lost the swim bladder . . ." The other choices are not supported by the passage.
7. ○ 4
This is a Sentence Simplification question. As with all of these items, a single sentence in the passage is highlighted:One potential problem is that opening the mouth to breathe detracts from thestreamlining of these fishes and tends to slow them down.The correct answer is choice 4. That choice contains all of the essential ideas in the highlighted sentence. It is also the only choice that does not change the meaning of the sentence. It omits the fact that this is "a problem” and also "that it detracts from streamlining" because that information is not essential to the meaning. Choice 1 says that these fish have trouble opening their mouths while swimming, which is not true. Choice 2, that streamlining prevents fish from slowing down, may be true, but it is not mentioned in this sentence. The fish are slowed down when they open their mouths, which reduces streamlining. Choice 3, that streamlining slows the fishes' breathing, is also not mentioned.
8. ○ 3
This is a Vocabulary question. The word being tested is channel. It is highlighted in the passage. The correct answer is choice 3, "direct." Channel here is used as a verb, meaning to "move" or "push."
9. ○ 2
This is a Factual Information question asking for specific information that can be found in the passage. The correct answer is choice 2, "make efficient use of water currents." Paragraph 8 explicitly states: "Perhaps most important of all to these and other fast swimmers is their ability to sense and make use of swirls and eddies (circular currents) in the water. They can glide past eddies that would slow them down and then gain extra thrust by "pushing off" the eddies. Scientists and engineers are beginning to study this ability of fishes in the hope of designing more efficient propulsion systems for ships." The other choices are not mentioned in connection with the performance of ships.
10. ○ 3
This is a Factual Information question asking for specific information that can be found in paragraph 9. The correct answer is choice 3, "They can swim in waters that are much colder than their own bodies." That paragraph says, "A bluefin tuna in water of 7°C (45°F) can maintain a core temperature of over 25°C (77"F)." So it is clear that choice C is correct. Choice 1 is not stated in the paragraph. Choice 2 is contradicted by the paragraph. Choice 4 is true of billfish, not bluefin tuna.
11. ○2
This is an Insert Text question. You can see the four black squares in paragraph 6 that represent the possible answer choices here. The last sentence of paragraph 5 is also reproduced below.Again, supersonic jets have similar features. ■Because they are always swimming,tunas simply have to open their mouths and water is forced in and over their gilts. ■Accordingly. they have lost most of the muscles that other fishes use to suck in water and push it past the gills. In fact. tunas must swim to breathe.■They must also keep swimming to keep from sinking, since most have largely or completely lost the swim bladder, the gas-filled sac that helps most other fish remain buoyant.
The sentence provided, "Consequently, tunas do not need to suck in water," is best inserted at square 2. The sentence provides an explanation for the muscle loss described in the sentence that follows square 2 and is a result of the fact described in the preceding sentence, which says that because the fish are always swimming, they only have to open their mouths to suck in water. Thus if the provided sentence is inserted at square 2, it provides a logical bridge between cause and effect. The sentence makes no logical sense anywhere else.
12. ○Reducing Water Resistance: 1 4 5; Increasing Thrust 2 7
This is a Fill in a Table question. It is completed correctly below. The correct choices for the "Reducing water resistance" column are 1,4, and 5. Choices 2 and 7 belong in the "Increasing thrust" column. Choices 3 and 6 should not be used in either column.
