Why does the author include the information about insects in paragraph 4?
Analyze and Evaluate Information and Ideas · TELPAS Grades 8–9 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 3: make inferences, draw conclusions, and think about why the author wrote a text and how it is built.
Read the passage. Then answer the questions.
The Bats Under the Bridge
On summer evenings in downtown Austin, crowds gather along the shore of Lady Bird Lake and on the Congress Avenue Bridge itself. They are not waiting for a concert or fireworks. They are waiting for bats. Around sunset, a dark ribbon begins to pour out from under the bridge, and for close to an hour it keeps coming: as many as a million and a half Mexican free-tailed bats, heading out to feed.
The bats did not always live there. When the bridge was rebuilt in 1980, engineers left narrow gaps, about an inch wide, between the concrete beams underneath. The gaps turned out to be almost perfect for bats, which need tight, dark, warm spaces where they can roost safely during the day. Within a few years, the bridge held one of the largest city bat colonies in North America.
At first, many people in Austin were alarmed. Newspaper stories warned that bats could spread disease, and some residents asked the city to get rid of the colony. Bat scientists and conservation groups worked to change that view. They explained that bats rarely bother people who leave them alone, and that no one should ever pick up a bat found on the ground. They also pointed out what the bats do each night.
A single free-tailed bat can eat a huge number of insects in one night, including moths whose caterpillars damage crops such as corn and cotton. Together, the colony eats several tons of insects every night. Farmers in Central Texas benefit, even if they never see a bat.
Today the bats are one of Austin's best-known attractions. Visitors from around the world come to watch the evening flight, and signs near the bridge explain the bats' habits. A colony that people once wanted to remove has become something the city is proud of.
The question
Choose the best answer.
Why does the author include the information about insects in paragraph 4?
- To warn that the bats could carry disease to crops
- To explain why the bats leave Austin in the winter
- To show one reason the bats are useful to peopleCorrect answer
- To describe what the bats look like when they fly
Why “To show one reason the bats are useful to people” is correct
This question asks about the purpose of part of a text. Paragraph 3 ends by saying scientists "pointed out what the bats do each night," and paragraph 4 explains that the bats eat tons of insects that damage crops. The detail shows how the bats help people, which explains why the city's opinion changed.
Why the other answers are wrong
- To warn that the bats could carry disease to crops — The passage does not say the bats spread disease to crops; it says they protect crops by eating insects.
- To explain why the bats leave Austin in the winter — Winter is not discussed in the passage.
- To describe what the bats look like when they fly — Paragraph 4 is about what the bats eat, not how they look.
Practice more of this
More reading 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.