Factual information question example
- Read the paragraph
It should be obvious that cetaceans – whales, porpoises, and dolphins-are mammals. They breathe through lungs, not through gills, and give birth to live young. Their streamlined bodies, the absence of hind legs, and the presence of a fluke and blowhole cannot disguise their affinities with land-dwelling mammals. However, unlike the cases of sea otters and pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses, whose limbs are functional both on land and at sea), it is not easy to envision what the first whales looked like. Extinct but already fully marine cetaceans are known from the fossil record. How was the gap between a walking mammal and a swimming whale bridged? Missing until recently were fossils clearly intermediate, or transitional, between land mammals and cetaceans.
- Read the question and answer options:
1. In paragraph 1, what does the author say about the presence of a blow-hole in cetaceans?
1.It clearly indicates that cetaceans are mammals.
2. It can’t conceal the fact that cetaceans are mammals.
3. It is the main difference between cetaceans and land-dwelling mammals.
4. It cannot yield clues about the origins of cetaceans.
Here you can see that this question is asking you to recognize a specific piece of information given in the text. And it’s option 2. It’s paraphrased, but you can recognize it:
It can’t conceal the fact that cetaceans are mammals = Their streamlined bodies, the absence of hind legs, and the presence of a fluke and blowhole cannot disguise their affinities with land-dwelling mammals.
Usually, such questions will start with words like “In paragraph 1 what does the author say about…?” or something alike.