The Beetle That Drinks Fog
Written by Studio AM.
Your result
- Words per minute
- Score
- Pace
Words per minute mean something only with the score beside them. They describe this passage on this read. With fewer than 3 right, try the next slower pace.
Choose a pace and select Start. The passage is paced and timed, then the questions check what you understood. How pace mode works
Reading time 0:00
The Namib Desert receives little rain, but fog sometimes drifts inland from the Atlantic Ocean. Some darkling beetles use that brief moisture. Before sunrise, a beetle climbs a dune and raises the back of its body toward the moving fog.
Tiny droplets collect on the beetle's surface. As they join, they become heavy enough to roll over its body toward its mouth. The beetle's posture uses gravity to guide the water. It does not create fog or pull a full drink directly from dry air.
Different Namib beetle species have different bodies and behaviors, so one famous description should not be applied to all of them. Researchers have studied how surface texture, waxy regions, shape, and stance affect collection. Engineers have also explored fog-catching materials inspired by these features.
The beetle's drink depends on a chain of conditions: fog must arrive, droplets must gather, and the body must direct them. In a dry place, a small moving cloud can become a usable source of water.
The passage is hidden while you answer. It comes back with your result.
Questions
Choose an answer. The explanation appears after you answer.
-
Question 1 of 4
What is the main idea of the passage?
The answer is C: Some Namib beetles collect fog droplets and guide them toward the mouth through body surface and posture.
The passage explains collection, joining droplets, gravity-guided flow, and variation among species.
-
Question 2 of 4
Why does the beetle raise the back of its body?
The answer is D: The position helps collected water roll toward its mouth.
The second paragraph links the beetle's posture with gravity directing joined droplets.
-
Question 3 of 4
What does “drifts” mean in the opening paragraph?
The answer is A: moves slowly through the air
The fog travels inland from the ocean, and “drifts” describes that gentle air movement.
-
Question 4 of 4
When does the beetle climb the dune?
The answer is B: before sunrise
The first paragraph places the climb before sunrise, when coastal fog may be present.
Score: none answered yet.