Days of Patience in the Rescue of an Orphaned Walrus in Alaska

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C1. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which statement best expresses the article’s main idea?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. A young walrus’s vulnerability and the patient effort to rescue it define the episode.
   2. A precise account of the walrus’s injuries explains the rescue’s medical success.
   3. The article argues that remote wildlife rescues should be avoided.
   4. The animal’s reunion with its mother concludes the rescue story.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   A young walrus’s vulnerability and the patient effort to rescue it define the episode.

   The article foregrounds the conditions that made the rescue prolonged.

   The episode centers on a vulnerable animal and a prolonged rescue in Alaska.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What can readers reasonably infer from the rescue taking several days?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The rescuers postponed action until the walrus found its mother.
   2. The task required continued effort rather than a single immediate intervention.
   3. The biologist worked alone after the intern departed.
   4. The account identifies a specific medical treatment that took days.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The task required continued effort rather than a single immediate intervention.

   The duration suggests that helping the animal required continued effort.

   The rescue did not happen at once: those involved needed to persist over days as they worked to help the young walrus.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does “those involved” refer to in the second paragraph?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The walrus and its mother
   2. People living in a settled area
   3. An intern and a biologist
   4. All Arctic wildlife workers
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   An intern and a biologist

   The preceding sentence identifies the people participating in the effort.

   An intern and a biologist took part in the effort.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article list details it cannot establish?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To imply that the rescue was unsuccessful
   2. To suggest that the animal’s injuries were minor
   3. To provide a more exact location for the discovery
   4. To mark the boundaries of what the account can support
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To mark the boundaries of what the account can support

   The limitation keeps the account within its verified evidence.

   The account does not specify the precise location, the animal’s injuries, or what happened after the rescue, so those details cannot be established here.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How does the article’s final paragraph relate to its earlier details?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It synthesizes the animal’s vulnerability and the rescue’s practical difficulty.
   2. It introduces a new explanation for how the walrus became injured.
   3. It resolves the earlier uncertainty about what happened afterward.
   4. It shifts from a rescue account to a description of walrus habitats.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It synthesizes the animal’s vulnerability and the rescue’s practical difficulty.

   It gathers earlier facts into a concise summary of the challenge.

   Its essential facts are modest in number, yet they convey the practical challenge: the walrus was young, injured, alone, and in a remote place.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the relationship between the walrus’s isolation and its rescue?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Its isolation proves that the animal had been abandoned intentionally.
   2. Its isolation contributed to the difficulty of the rescue.
   3. Its isolation meant the rescuers could not locate it.
   4. Its isolation allowed the rescue to finish immediately.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Its isolation contributed to the difficulty of the rescue.

   The article links isolation and condition to the effort required.

   The animal’s condition and isolation made its rescue a demanding task, one that took several days and considerable patience.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How does the article characterize the rescue account’s verified information?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. As comprehensive and supported by extensive medical detail
   2. As doubtful because no exact date is provided
   3. As limited in scope but clear about central facts
   4. As focused chiefly on the rescuers’ personal motives
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   As limited in scope but clear about central facts

   It presents a small set of clear facts while acknowledging limits.

   In this case, the verified details are limited but clear: a five-month-old walrus was injured, had become separated from its mother, and was found in a remote setting.

What to review next

Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.

The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?

The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.