Question

Read this excerpt from "Close Encounters of the Bear Kind" by Susan E. Quinlan.

John is a biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. His study area is the Tanana Valley, a boggy lowland in central Alaska. It's prime black bear habitat, but most of the ground is too wet for dens. Unfortunately, the only dry areas that seem good for dens also happen to be used by the U.S. Army for winter training. So to protect both bears and soldiers, the army hired John to find out where most bears in the area hibernate.


John spent last summer fitting bears with radio collars like the one that is now leading him to a den. The collar has a transmitter that sends out a beep John can track to its source. It also has an activity sensor that speeds up the beeps when the bear moves.


Which answer best summarizes this text?


The U.S. Army wants to locate bears that have dens on their training grounds. It hired John, a biologist in Alaska, to find out where the bears hibernate.

The U.S. Army doesn’t want its soldiers in training to have conflict with hibernating bears. It was decided that a biologist would be able to find the hibernating bears and their dens.

The U.S. Army conducts winter training activities in Tanana Valley, Alaska in an area that is a favorite hibernation spot for black bears. The army hired John, a biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, to find out where most of the bears hibernate so they could be avoided. John uses radio collars to track and locate the bears.

The U.S. Army conducts winter training activities in Tanana Valley, Alaska. Many bears hibernate in that area. The bears that hibernate there are black bears. The bears hibernate there because the ground is dry. The army hired John, a biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, to find out where most of the bears hibernate so the bears could be avoided.

Answer 1

The U.S. Army conducts winter training activities in Tanana Valley, Alaska in an area that is a favorite hibernation spot for black bears. The army hired John, a biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, to find out where most of the bears hibernate so they could be avoided. John uses radio collars to track and locate the bears.

Step-by-step explanation:

took the test

Answer 2

The U.S. Army wants to locate bears that have dens on their training grounds. It hired John, a biologist in Alaska, to find out where the bears hibernate.

Step-by-step explanation:

A summary is a shortened version of a piece of writing, such as a paragraph, excerpt, chapter, or an entire book. It should include the main ideas of the text and only the most important details.

The option that fulfills these criteria is the first one. It summarizes what the text is about - about how the U.S. Army wants to locate bears that have dens on their training ground and how it hired a biologist named John to find them. The main point is covered and there are no unnecessary details.

The second option is the second best. However, it doesn't include some important details - the location and the name of the biologist.

The third and fourth options are incorrect because they include too much detail.