Walking or leaping species of a (15) similar or even larger size access the outer twigs either by snapping off and retrieving the whole branch or by clutching stiff branches with the feet or tail and plucking food with their hands. The weight of a gibbon (a small ape) hanging below a branch arches the terminal leaves down so that fruit-bearing foliage drops toward the gibbon’s face. (10) Small size makes it easy to scramble among twigs and branches in the canopy for insects, flowers, or fruit, but small mammals are surpassed, in the competition for food, by large ones that have their own tactics for browsing among food-rich twigs. Thus, in the trees, where shelter from heat and cold may be scarce and conditions may fluctuate, a small mammal may have trouble maintaining its body temperature. Because a small body has more surface area per unit of weight than a large one of similar shape, it gains or loses heat more swiftly.
(5) Small mammals, being warm blooded, suffer hardship in the exposed and turbulent environment of the uppermost trees. Smaller species, including such rodents as mice and small squirrels ,are not Line as prevalent overall in high tropical canopies as they are in most habitats globally.
TOEFL READING COMPREHENSION TEST 15 Question 1-9 The canopy ,the upper level of the trees in the rain forest, holds a plethora of climbing mammals of moderately large size, which may include monkeys, cats, civets, and porcupines.
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