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Elephants: The Big Eaters

Elephants are the largest land animals in the world. People all over the world

admire elephants for their size and strength. There are two main kinds of elephants—

African and Asian. African elephants have larger ears and longer tusks than Asian

elephants. African elephants are also bigger and taller. An adult male African elephant

can weigh as much as 15,000 pounds. An adult male Asian elephant weighs ―only‖

about 10,000 pounds. It would take about 200 fourth graders to add up to 10,000

pounds!

Because they are so big, elephants eat a lot of food. The bigger the elephants

are, the more food they need to eat to stay healthy. Adult male African elephants eat

between 400 and 600 pounds of food each day. That is about the same weight as

1,600 to 2,400 hamburgers!

Did you know elephants do not eat meat? They are plant-eaters. They enjoy

eating about 80 different kinds of plants. Which plants they eat depends on what is

growing nearby. Elephants eat just about all the parts of trees and shrubs. They eat

leaves, twigs, branches, bark, fruit, nuts, and roots. Elephants also like to eat different

types of grasses.

Elephants have three main tools for eating. They have their trunk, their teeth, and

their tusks. The elephant’s trunk looks like a very long nose. Together, the elephant’s

nose and upper lip make up its trunk. The elephant’s trunk acts like a hand. It picks up

leaves and twigs and puts them into the elephant’s mouth. The trunk can be used like

an arm. It breaks off tree branches. The trunk also acts like a hose. It sucks up water and

squirts it into the elephant’s mouth.

Even though it is a very large animal, an elephant has only four teeth inside its

mouth. All four teeth are called molars. They have rough edges to help the elephant

chew hard plant parts like twigs and branches. Each molar weighs more than 10

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pounds and can be 10 inches long. One set of molars is in the front of the elephant’s

mouth. These two teeth are used the most. Slowly they get smaller and smaller from so

much chewing. Once they have worn down, they break into pieces and fall out. Then

the back two molars move forward to be used. When that happens a new pair of

molars grows in at the back of the elephant’s mouth. The pair is then ready to move

forward when needed. This happens six times during an elephant’s life.

Can you believe an elephant’s tusks are really a special kind of tooth growing

out of its mouth? Elephant tusks are the largest and heaviest teeth of any living

mammal. Tusks are made of a beautiful creamy white material called ivory. Tusks grow

about seven inches a year. The tusks of an older elephant may be as long as eight feet.

Tusks help elephants eat because they can dig out the roots of plants and shrubs. Tusks

are also used to tear bark off the tree trunks and branches. Elephants even use their

tusks to dig holes to find water below the ground.

During the daytime and at night, most elephants in the world are busy eating.

For this reason, finding enough food and water can be difficult for elephants. Even a

small herd of elephants soon will eat most of the grasses, shrubs, and trees growing in

one area. The herd then has to travel to a new place to find plants to eat. A herd of

elephants may migrate more than 3,000 miles in one year. Every day they need to find

lots of food.

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1. Part A: What is the main idea of paragraph 2?

a. The bigger that elephants are, the more food they need to eat.

b. Adult male African elephants eat between 400 and 600 pounds of food each day.

c. Because they are so big, elephants eat a lot of food.

d. They are plant eaters.

Part B: Which of the following details supports your answer.

a. Adult male African elephants eat between 400 and 600 pounds of food each day.

b. They enjoy eating about 80 different kinds of plants.

c. That is about the same weight as 1,600 to 2,400 hamburgers.

d. They enjoy eating about 80 different types of plants.

2. Which paragraphs does the chart on the second page of the text best support? Select all

that apply.

a. Paragraph 1

b. Paragraph 2

c. Paragraph 3

d. Paragraph 4

e. Paragraph 5

3. Why are an elephant’s molar teeth so important? Cite evidence from the text to support

your answer.

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4. Why can finding food and water be difficult for elephants?

a. Most elephants in the world eat during the day and night.

b. Even a small herd of elephants soon will eat most of the grasses, shrubs, and trees

growing in one area.

c. The herd then has to travel to a new place to find plants to eat.

d. Every day they need to find lots of food.

5. What are the purposes of Tusks? Select all that apply.

a. Tusks help elephants eat because they can dig out the roots of plants and shrubs.

b. Tusks are made of beautiful creamy white material called ivory.

c. Tusks grow about seven inches a year.

d. Tusks are used to tear off bark off the tree trunks and branches.

e. Elephant tusks are the largest and heaviest teeth of any living mammal.

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6. What relationship can be identified in the following sentences?

“One set of molars is in the front of the elephant’s mouth. These two teeth are used the most.

Slowly they get smaller and smaller from so much chewing.”

a. comparison

b. generalization

c. compare and contrast

d. cause and effect

7. Which of the following sentences support the idea that elephants use their trunk for

eating? Choose all that apply.

a. “They have their trunk, their teeth, and their tusks.”

b. “The elephant’s trunk acts like a hand. It picks up leaves and twigs and puts them

into the elephant’s mouth.”

c. “Together, the elephant’s nose and upper lip make up its trunk”.

d. “The trunk also acts like a hose. It sucks up water and squirts it into the elephant’s

mouth.”

e. The elephant’s trunk looks like a very long nose.”

8. What is the purpose of the chart on the second page of the selection?

a. It shows the reader how many elephants there are in the world.

b. It shows how much each elephants weighs.

c. It compares the weight of an elephants to the amount of food it eats a day.

d. It shows the amount of food an African elephant eats.

9. What do elephants eat? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

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10. Part A: What is “Elephants: The Big Eaters” MAINLY about?

a. What elephants eat

b. When elephants eat

c. How elephants find food

d. How much elephants weigh

Part B: Select two sentences that support your answer to Part A.

e. “During the daytime and at night, most elephants in the world are busy eating.”

f. “An adult male Asian elephant weighs “only” 10,000 pounds.”

g. “The elephant’s trunk acts like a hand. It picks up leaves and twigs and puts

them into the elephant’s mouth.”

h. “A herd of elephants may migrate more than 30,000 miles in one year.”

i. “Tusks are also used to tear bark off tree trunks and branches.”

11. Read the sentence.

“During the day and at night, most elephants in the world are busy eating.”

The word busy means “active”. Changing busy to busiest means;

a. Not active

b. Less active

c. Most active

d. Too active

12. Based on the chart, if an elephant eats 250 pounds of food in one day, it is MOST LIKELY

that the elephant weighs;

a. 5,000 pounds

b. 6,500 pounds

c. 8,500 pounds

d. 9,000 pounds

13. Which pair of words from “Elephants: The Big Eaters” are OPPOSITE in meaning?

a. lot, large

b. day, night

c. weight, pounds

d. eating, growing

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Millions from Chips

Only a true entrepreneur₁ could find all the riches that come from

baking.

Debbi loved baseball as much as cooking, and, at the age

of thirteen, she became one of the first thirteen-year-old girls to

work retrieving balls for a professional baseball team. These wages

allowed her to pursue her love of baking. With the ingredients she

bought, she baked and experimented until she had the perfect

chocolate chip cookie recipes. How did she know it was so good?

All her family, friends, and everyone else who tasted these delights

raved about what great cookies they were.

Later when Debbi Fields married and was living in her own home, she found

herself wanting even more to make her happy. She loved her husband and her life, but

she wanted to make her mark on the world.

Family and friends were always clamoring for her chocolate chip cookies and

she began to wonder if there might be a future in her own original recipe for America’s

favorite treat. Those same family members and friends told this twenty-year-old woman

that her ideas wouldn’t work. When she turned to bankers and other investors for help in

setting up her own business, she found that these people shared the same opinion.

Through hard work and diligence, Debbi Fields finally got a loan and opened her first

store, Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chippery.

Business was slow and her husband’s prediction that she wouldn’t sell fifty dollars

of cookies the first day looked likely to come true. Not one to give up, the amazing

woman decided that people who tried her cookies would also buy them, so she went

outside with a tray of cookies and gave one to each person who walked by. Her

husband turned out to be right. She didn’t sell fifty dollars’ worth of cookies that first day;

she sold seventy-five dollars’ worth!

Since August 16, 1977, the day her shop opened in Palo Alto, California, Mrs.

Fields has become one of the most successful business people in the world. She didn’t

stop with just that one store, but opened dozens of others around the country. When

Debbi Fields began offering more than just chocolate chip cookies to customers, she

changed the name of her chain of stores to Mrs. Fields Cookies. Her business ideas

brought tremendous success, and her company grew to over six hundred stores not

only in the United States but also in countries around the world!

Debbi Fields even developed a business plan for getting her cookies to markets

where she had no shops. Soon her factories were producing and selling thousands of

packages of her famous chocolate chip cookies in grocery stores across the country.

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You have probably seen them and may have enjoyed these delicious snacks for

yourself.

How does Debbi Fields explain her success; she gives credit to her pursuit of

quality, not just high-quality ingredients for her cookies, but also the quality of service

that her company provides to her customers and clients. When Debbi Fields says,

“Good enough never is,” you can bet that she means it.

This amazing woman’s success was achieved with more than a recipe and hard

work, but also exceptional use of every technique and technology available. When she

began expanding her company in 1989, Debbi and her husband, Randy Fields, were

among the first manufacturers to utilize the latest computer technology as part of a

business plan. Randy Fields developed computer software that reconfigured her

factories, shipping system, and all office tasks in such a way that the company required

far fewer home office employees. Mrs. Fields, Inc. cut waste and dramatically improved

efficiency and increased productivity. The computer system they developed became

as famous as Debbi Fields cookies. Business leaders and educators came to study and

then marvel at what the couple had accomplished. As a matter of fact, their computer

system is now taught at Harvard University as the standard all businesses should strive to

achieve.

Best-selling author and television star were later added to her list of titles. Debbi

Fields wrote two hugely popular cookbooks. The first book 100 Recipes from the Kitchen

of Debbi Fields achieved a significant first. No other cookbook had reached the

number one spot on the New York Times bestseller list. Her second cookbook

concerned another favorite American treat—chocolate. Together, these two books

sold over two million copies. Debbi Fields also hosted her own weekly cooking show

Great American Desserts. A hit on public television, the show inspired her third

cookbook.

By 1993, Debbi Fields found she wanted to change her life again. This time she

wanted to put all her time and energy into her family. She sold her company and

moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where she raised her own five children and five

stepchildren she gained after her divorce and remarriage.

However, she still keeps her hand in business affairs. Because of her

achievements in the food industry, she was invited to become a member of the Board

of Directors for Outback Steakhouse. WKNO asked her to join the board for their

television and radio stations. Debbi Fields also continues her writing career, and has

become activity in many charitable causes.

After selling Mrs. Fields, Inc., Debbi Fields still takes part as a member and leader of the

company’s board of directors. By 2000, Mrs. Fields Cookies, Inc. was estimated to be

worth $450 million. She had truly made a unique mark on the world.

₁ entrepreneur: a person who takes all the risks of creating a business or company

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14. How did Debbi sell cookies on her first day at her store?

a. She sold seventy-five dollars’ worth.

b. She went outside with a tray of cookies and gave one to each person who

walked by.

c. Business was slow.

d. Debbi Fields finally got a loan and opened her first store, Mrs. Fields Chocolate

Chippery.

15. Which of the following words could replace the word tremendous in the following

sentence? Mark all that apply

“Her business ideas brought tremendous success, and her company grew to over six

hundred stores not only in the United States but also in countries around the world!”

a. enormous

b. wonderful

c. huge

d. interesting

e. terrible

16. How does Debbi Fields explain why she is so successful? Cite evidence from the

selection to support your answer.

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17. Part A: What is the main idea of paragraph 9?

a. No other cookbook had reached the number one spot on the New York Times

bestseller list.

b. Her second cookbook concerned another favorite American treat – chocolate.

c. Not only was Debbi a great cook, but she was also a best-selling author and a

television star.

d. A hit on public television, the show inspired her third cookbook.

Part B: Which sentences below best supports your answers to Part A? Mark all that apply.

e. Debbi Fields also hosted her own weekly cooking show Great American Desserts

f. This time she wanted to put all her time and energy into her family.

g. No other cookbook had reached the number one spot on the New York Times

bestseller list.

h. By 1993, Debbi Fields found she wanted to change her life again.

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18. What made Debbi think that there was a future to be made from her own original recipe

for America’s Favorite treat? Use details from the passage to support your answer.

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19. What do bankers and investors have in common?

a. Cookies are their favorite types of treats.

b. They lend money to people who set up businesses.

c. They all clamored for Debbi’s cookies.

d. They helped Debbi bake the cookies.

20. What was the effect of Debbi Fields developing a business plan for getting her cookies to

markets where she had no shops?

a. Soon her factories were producing and selling thousands of packages of her

famous chocolate chip cookies in grocery stores across the country.

b. She uses high quality ingredients in her cookies.

c. She opened stores in those areas.

d. Her company grew to over six hundred stores around the world.

21. Which of the following words have the same suffix as “clamoring”. Choose all that

apply.

a. Clamor

b. Suffering

c. Baking

d. Clamored

e. Calmer

22. Which of the following words BEST describe Debbi Fields? Select all that apply.

a. Pretty

b. Likable

c. Intelligent

d. Dull

e. Determined

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23. How did Debbi afford to first pursue her love of baking. Cite evidence from the text to

support your answer.

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24. Which of the following sentences from the text are facts? Mark all that apply.

a. “By 1993, Debbi Fields found she wanted to change her life again.”

b. “This amazing woman’s success was achieved with more than a recipe and hard

work…”

c. “She still keeps her had in business affairs.”

d. “Not one to give up, the amazing woman decided that people who tried her

cookies would also buy them…”

25. Put the following events in the order that they occurred in the text from 1-5.

_____ “This time she wanted to put all of her time and energy into her family.”

_____ “At the age of thirteen, she became one of the first thirteen-year-old girls to work

retrieving balls for a professional baseball team.”

_____ “Bestselling author and television star were later added to her list of titles.”

_____ “She was invited to become a member of the Board of Directors for Outback

Steakhouse”.

_____ “Business was slow and her husband’s prediction that she wouldn’t sell fifty dollars

of cookies the first day looked likely to come true.”

26. What genre of literary text is this selection?

a. Autobiography

b. Realistic fiction

c. Narrative non-fiction

d. Biography

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Victory

She gritted her teeth,

And took a breath

As she crouched at the line.

She paused,

The sound of her own heart

Beating, beating, beating.

A quick glance to the right,

And to the left was all it took.

No one would pass her this time.

This time would be different.

This time she would

Feel the rush,

Hear the cheers,

Be at the finish first.

She would finally feel the heavy weight,

Lifted from her heart,

And draped around her neck instead.

Joy would fill places,

Where before only worry lived.

This time, victory was hers.

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27. How is the character in the poem feeling in the first stanza?

a. Excited

b. Calm

c. Nervous

d. Sleepy

28. Which of the following words could replace the word “glance” in the third stanza? Mark

all that apply.

a. Turn

b. Look

c. Nod

d. Peek

e. Smile

29. Explain what the author means when he says;

“She will finally feel the heavy weight,

Lifted from her heart,

And draped around her neck instead.”

Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.

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30. What does the character in the story want to achieve the most?

a. Cheers from the crowd

b. First place in her race.

c. Not to feel worried anymore.

d. To be the best.