One Chesapeake resident is helping rebuild the oyster reefs that once shaped the bay

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

C2. 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.

   What is the article’s central argument?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Oyster cultivation is primarily a profitable coastal enterprise.
   2. Oyster restoration can repair ecological functions beyond the species itself.
   3. Wild oysters have fully recovered through improved management.
   4. Private piers are replacing public conservation programs.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Oyster restoration can repair ecological functions beyond the species itself.

   The article links oyster restoration with broader ecological recovery while acknowledging continuing deficits.

   His work reflects a broader ecological principle: restoring a species can also mean rebuilding the network of habitats and natural processes that depend on it.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does “in turn” indicate in the second paragraph?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. A chronological reversal
   2. A contrasting qualification
   3. A resulting ecological effect
   4. An unrelated observation
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   A resulting ecological effect

   It marks a consequential relationship between clearer water, sea grass, and improved habitat.

   Healthier sea grass, in turn, provides better conditions for crabs and other organisms.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article mention the seahorse?

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   1. To demonstrate an unexpected habitat benefit
   2. To identify a threatened Chesapeake species
   3. To challenge Consoli’s observations
   4. To explain why oysters require deeper water
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To demonstrate an unexpected habitat benefit

   The example concretely illustrates the habitat-forming capacity of oyster structures.

   Consoli says he even discovered a seahorse among the habitat formed by the oysters.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What relationship exists between historical overharvesting and poorer water quality?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Overharvesting directly increased sea-grass growth.
   2. Population reduction coincided with wider environmental deterioration.
   3. Poor water quality caused all historical harvesting.
   4. Habitat loss prevented oysters from being harvested.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Population reduction coincided with wider environmental deterioration.

   The article presents overharvesting as contributing to ecological degradation beyond population loss.

   That transformation was associated with poorer water quality and the loss of habitat for other species.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How is North’s assessment positioned in the article?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. As evidence that restoration has already succeeded
   2. As a warning against overstating recent gains
   3. As a rejection of scientific monitoring
   4. As proof that farming causes disease
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   As a warning against overstating recent gains

   Her assessment qualifies the optimism suggested by recent farming expansion and partial recovery.

   Still, Elizabeth North, a fisheries oceanographer at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, says current oyster populations are probably only a fraction of their historic levels.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What can reasonably be inferred about Consoli’s monitoring?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. He intends to harvest them immediately.
   2. He regards cultivation as requiring ongoing evaluation.
   3. He believes oyster health is impossible to measure.
   4. He plans to abandon the project after expansion.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   He regards cultivation as requiring ongoing evaluation.

   Monitoring suggests that adding oysters is intended as an adaptive, accountable intervention.

   He wants to act as a caretaker, adding more oysters to the bay while monitoring their condition.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article begin with the suspended bags?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To introduce the practical setting of the restoration effort
   2. To compare two competing aquaculture technologies
   3. To establish that the bay is inaccessible to researchers
   4. To explain why oyster reefs historically disappeared
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To introduce the practical setting of the restoration effort

   The opening establishes a concrete scene before developing the project’s wider significance.

   At the southern tip of Maryland’s Kent Island, John Consoli tends oysters growing in mesh bags suspended from a pier that extends into the Chesapeake Bay.

8. Question 8 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the final paragraph contribute to the article’s organization?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It narrows the focus to oyster farming costs.
   2. It reframes the project as an example of systemic restoration.
   3. It disputes the scientists’ population estimates.
   4. It introduces a separate threat unrelated to oysters.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It reframes the project as an example of systemic restoration.

   It broadens the discussion from one project to a general ecological interpretation.

   His work reflects a broader ecological principle: restoring a species can also mean rebuilding the network of habitats and natural processes that depend on it.

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.