What is a burrow?
Read an Informational Passage · ELPAC Grade 2 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
A longer factual text, with questions about the main idea, supporting details and vocabulary.
Read the passage. Then answer the questions.
The Desert Tortoise
The desert tortoise lives in the hot, dry deserts of California. It is our state reptile.
A desert tortoise does not need to drink very often. It gets most of its water from the plants and flowers it eats. After a rain, it may drink from a puddle and keep the water in its body for months.
The desert is very hot in summer. To stay cool, a tortoise digs a burrow. A burrow is a hole in the ground. The tortoise rests in its burrow during the hottest part of the day.
In winter, the desert gets cold. The tortoise goes deep into its burrow and sleeps until spring.
The question
Choose the best answer.
What is a burrow?
- A kind of desert plant
- A puddle after a rain
- A hole in the groundCorrect answer
- A very hot day
Why “A hole in the ground” is correct
This is a vocabulary-in-context question, and the passage defines the word in the very next sentence: 'A burrow is a hole in the ground.' Informational texts at this level often explain a new word right where they use it. Teach your child to read the sentence after a hard word before guessing.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A kind of desert plant — The tortoise eats desert plants, but a burrow is where it rests, not something it eats.
- A puddle after a rain — A puddle is where the tortoise may drink after rain. That is a different paragraph.
- A very hot day — Hot days are why the tortoise needs a burrow, but the burrow itself is a place.
Practice more of this
More reading practice for Grade 2, or see the ELPAC practice test for grade 2. For other grades, see free ELPAC practice tests by grade.
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the California Department of Education or the official ELPAC program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published task formats.