Question

Make the Précis of the following passage and infer the meanings of underlined words:
The food habits of birds make them especially valuable to agriculture. Because birds have higher body temperatures, more rapid digestion, and greater energy than most other animals, they require more food. Nestling birds make extremely rapid growth, requiring huge amounts of food. They usually consume as much or more than their own weight in soft-bodied insects every day. Young robins have been observed to gain eight times their original weight the first eight days of their life. Insect-eating birds must fill their stomachs five to six times daily because they digest their food so fast and because of the large amount of indigestible material in insects. One young robin, weighing three ounces, consumed 165 cutworms weighing 51 ⁄2 ounces in one day. If a 10-pound baby ate at the same rate, he would eat 181 ⁄3 pounds of food in a day. Of course, birds cannot control insects completely, but they are of great value. By using soil and water-conserving practices, farmers and ranchers could probably double the population of helpful birds. Field and farmstead windbreaks, living fences, shrub buffers, grass waterways, and farm ponds are only a few of the many land-use practices useful in attracting and increasing beneficial forms of wildlife.

Answer 1

Answer:

Make the Précis of the following passage and infer the meanings of underlined words:

The food habits of birds make them especially valuable to agriculture. Because birds have higher body temperatures, more rapid digestion, and greater energy than most other animals, they require more food. Nestling birds make extremely rapid growth, requiring huge amounts of food. They usually consume as much or more than their own weight in soft-bodied insects every day. Young robins have been observed to gain eight times their original weight the first eight days of their life. Insect-eating birds must fill their stomachs five to six times daily because they digest their food so fast and because of the large amount of indigestible material in insects. One young robin, weighing three ounces, consumed 165 cutworms weighing 51 ⁄2 ounces in one day. If a 10-pound baby ate at the same rate, he would eat 181 ⁄3 pounds of food in a day. Of course, birds cannot control insects completely, but they are of great value. By using soil and water-conserving practices, farmers and ranchers could probably double the population of helpful birds. Field and farmstead windbreaks, living fences, shrub buffers, grass waterways, and farm ponds are only a few of the many land-use practices useful in attracting and increasing beneficial forms of wildlife.