SAT OwlQuestion bank / Text Structure and Purpose
Every autumn, monarch butterflies from eastern North America travel as far as 4,000 kilometers to spend the winter in the mountain forests of central Mexico. None of the butterflies that make this trip has made it before. The monarchs that left Mexico the previous spring died along the way north, and their descendants, several generations later, are the ones flying south. Scientists are still working to understand how these insects find a place they have never seen.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
To argue that monarch butterflies should be protected by law
To describe a puzzling feature of monarch butterfly migration
To compare monarch butterflies with other migrating insects
To explain why monarch butterflies live for only a few weeks
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
The text describes the monarchs' long migration and points out that the butterflies flying south have never been to Mexico. It ends by noting that scientists still don't understand how they find their way. Its purpose is to describe this puzzle, choice B.
Choice D focuses on lifespan, which the text mentions only to explain why each migrating generation is new to the route.
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