What is the lesson mainly about? (The Texas Horned Lizard)
Basic Understanding of Spoken English · TELPAS Grades 8–9 listening. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 2: understand the main points and important details of spoken stories and informational passages, about everyday life and school subjects.
Listen to the lesson.
The Texas Horned Lizard
Press play to listen. You can pause, rewind, and replay as often as you like.
Show transcript
Mr. Ochoa: Today we're looking at an animal that a lot of your grandparents probably remember seeing in their backyards: the Texas horned lizard. Some people call it a horny toad, but it isn't a toad at all. It's a lizard, and it's the official state reptile of Texas.
Mr. Ochoa: Its body is flat and wide and covered in spines, with larger horns on the back of its head. Its tan, brown and gray colors help it blend in with dry, sandy ground. When a predator comes close, the lizard's first move is usually to freeze and trust its camouflage.
Mr. Ochoa: If that doesn't work, it has a surprising defense. It can squirt a stream of blood from the corners of its eyes. The blood tastes bad to predators like coyotes and dogs.
Mr. Ochoa: Now here's the part I want you to think about. Most of this lizard's diet is one thing: harvester ants. In many parts of Texas, harvester ants have disappeared, partly because of pesticides and partly because of fire ants, which were brought here from South America and push other ants out. When the ants disappeared, the lizards started disappearing, too. Today the Texas horned lizard is listed as a threatened species in the state, and it's against the law to collect one or keep one as a pet.
The question
Choose the best answer.
What is the lesson mainly about?
- How to keep a lizard as a pet
- A Texas reptile and why it has become rareCorrect answer
- Why fire ants are dangerous to people and pets in Texas
- The difference between toads and lizards
Why “A Texas reptile and why it has become rare” is correct
This is a main-idea question. The lesson describes the Texas horned lizard and ends with why it is now threatened. Each wrong answer is a smaller detail from the lesson, which is a common pattern in main-idea questions.
Why the other answers are wrong
- How to keep a lizard as a pet — Mr. Ochoa says it is illegal to keep one as a pet.
- Why fire ants are dangerous to people and pets in Texas — Fire ants are mentioned only because they affect the lizard's food.
- The difference between toads and lizards — This is mentioned in one sentence at the beginning.
Practice more of this
More listening practice for Grades 8–9, or see the TELPAS practice test for 8th and 9th grade.
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Texas Education Agency or the official TELPAS program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published test design.