Gapped Text (Objective) 1.4

Read the passage. Choose the best answer from options A, B, C, and D.

In the past, you saw exotic animals at the zoo. When you went to a farm, you saw common animals that might (__1__) on your dinner table. Nowadays, the lines have been blurred and what was once considered wild is now a commercial product that people eat and wear. The farming of ostriches is a new trend that has made its way across the globe. Although an ostrich's natural (__2__) is the savannahs and deserts of Africa, it can survive anywhere where sufficient food supplies can be found.

Ostriches are the world's largest and heaviest birds. (__3__) flightless, they are incredibly fast runners. The male ostrich is black and white, while its female counterpart is greyish brown and smaller in size. In the wild, a male will have about six hens in his flock. While he mates with all of these hens, he selects one as his main mate. This female puts her eggs in the middle of the nest to (__4__) their survival over the other hens'' eggs.

Nests are actually holes dug in the earth. (__5__) to popular belief, ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand. Instead, they lay their bodies atop the eggs and place their necks along the ground. Both males and females incubate eggs, which can weigh (__6__) 1.5 kg and are the largest in the world. Males also help care for chicks after they are born. However, observers note that ostrich parents can be a bit absent-minded (__7__) it comes to watching over their eggs. If left unattended, other adult ostriches may roll the eggs from the nest and even enjoy them as a snack.

1	A) catch up	B) wind up	C) make up	D) stand up
2	A) vacancy	B) location	C) scenery	D) habitat
3	A) As	B) However	C) Though	D) Because
4	A) ensure	B) insure	C) assure	D) sure
5	A) Owing	B) Contrary	C) In addition	D) With regards
6	A) such as	B) as wide as	C) up to	D) much less
7	A) if	B) until	C) once	D) when

Type your answers in the spaces provided.

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