D. READING
I. Complete the passage with the words from the box.
belief
preserve
like
for
iconic
highly
pouch
home
No one can resist the cuddly allure of koalas. These (1)
Australia animals are marsupials, a kind of mammal that is born
all marsupials,
undeveloped and is carried in a pouch. (2)
including kangaroos, wombats, baby koalas are called joeys.
Newborn koalas are called pinkies, born blind and about the size of a jellybean. After
birth the pinkie immediately crawls into its mother's (3)
where it'll stay for 6 to
7 months. At around 9 to 10 months the joey leaves the pouch for good, ready to munch on a
variety of eucalypts. The leaves of these trees are (4)
toxic and low on nutrition,
requiring lots of energy to digest. This is why koalas spend so much time snoozing so as to (5)
energy - often sleeping up to 18 - 20 hours a day!
Contrary to popular (6)
the koala is not a bear - though it's certainly as
cute as a teddy bear. One of the best places to see koalas in the wild is Kangaroo Island, a
natural island sanctuary that is (7)
to many of Australia's native animals. It's the
ultimate Australia bucket list destination (8)
animal lovers.