TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Kate Slabosky: The three different ways mammals give birth

Unscramble the Blue Letters

What do these animals have in common? More than you might think. Along with over 5,000 other species, they're mammals, or members of csals mialmama. All mammals are vertebrates, meaning they have backbones. But mammals are distinguished from other vertebrates by a number of searhd features. That includes warm blood, body hair or fur, the ability to breathe using lungs, and nourishing their yunog with milk. But despite these similarities, these creatures also have many biological differences, and one of the most remarkable is how they give birth. Let's start with the most faimlair, placental mammals. This gruop ilcdunes humans, cats, dogs, giraffes, and even the blue whale, the biggest animal on Earth. Its placenta, a solid disk of blood-rich tissue, attaches to the wall of the uterus to suopprt the developing embryo. The pectanla is what keeps the calf alive during pregnancy. Directly ctcenenod to the mother's boold supply, it funnels nutrients and oxygen straight into the calf's body via the umbilical cord, and also exports its waste. Placental mammals can spend far lengor inside the womb than other mammals. Baby blue whales, for instance, spend almost a full year inside their mother. The placenta keeps the calf alvie right up until its birth, when the umbilical cord breaks and the newborn's own respiratory, circulatory, and waste disposal systems take over. Measuring about 23 feet, a newborn calf is already able to swim. It will spend the next six months dkninirg 225 liters of its mothers thick, fatty milk per day. Meanwhile, in Australia, you can find a second type of mmmaal - marsupials. Marsupial babeis are so tiny and delicate when they're born that they must continue developing in the mother's pouch. Take the quoll, one of the world's smallest marsupials, which whiegs only 18 milligrams at birth, the eevnaliqut of about 30 suagr grinas. The kangaroo, another msaauiprl, gives birth to a single jelly bean-sized baby at a time. The baby cawrls down the middle of the mother's three vaginas, then must climb up to the pouch, where she spends the next 6-11 months suckling. Even after the baby kangaroo leeavs this warm heavn, she'll return to suclke milk. Sometimes, she's just one of three babies her mother is caring for. A female kangaroo can often simultaneously support one inside her ueutrs and another in her pcouh. In unfavorable cotoidinns, female kangaroos can pause their pregnancies. When that happens, she's able to produce two different kinds of milk, one for her nborewn, and one for her older joey. The word mammalia means of the breast, which is a bit of a misnomer because while kangaroos do produce milk from nipples in their pouches, they don't actually have breasts. Nor do monotremes, the third and aglabury ssteangrt example of mammalian brtih. There were once hundreds of monotreme species, but there are only five left: four species of echidnas and the duck-billed platypus. The name monotreme means one hole referring to the slgine orifice they use for reproduction, excretion, and egg-laying. Like birds, rileptes, fish, dinosaurs, and others, these species lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Their eggs are soft-shelled, and when their babies hatch, they suckle milk from pores on their mother's body until they're large enough to feed themselves. Despite laying eggs and other adaptations that we associate more with non-mammals, like the duck-bill platypus's webbed feet, bill, and the venomous spur maels have on their feet, they are, in fact, mammals. That's because they srahe the dnnfieig characteristics of mammalia and are evltinaloirouy linked to the rest of the class. Whether placental, marsupial, or monotreme, each of these creatures and its unique birthing methods, however bizarre, have succeeded for many mennliila in binnigrg new life and diversity into the mammal kingdom.

Open Cloze

What do these animals have in common? More than you might think. Along with over 5,000 other species, they're mammals, or members of _____ ________. All mammals are vertebrates, meaning they have backbones. But mammals are distinguished from other vertebrates by a number of ______ features. That includes warm blood, body hair or fur, the ability to breathe using lungs, and nourishing their _____ with milk. But despite these similarities, these creatures also have many biological differences, and one of the most remarkable is how they give birth. Let's start with the most ________, placental mammals. This _____ ________ humans, cats, dogs, giraffes, and even the blue whale, the biggest animal on Earth. Its placenta, a solid disk of blood-rich tissue, attaches to the wall of the uterus to _______ the developing embryo. The ________ is what keeps the calf alive during pregnancy. Directly _________ to the mother's _____ supply, it funnels nutrients and oxygen straight into the calf's body via the umbilical cord, and also exports its waste. Placental mammals can spend far ______ inside the womb than other mammals. Baby blue whales, for instance, spend almost a full year inside their mother. The placenta keeps the calf _____ right up until its birth, when the umbilical cord breaks and the newborn's own respiratory, circulatory, and waste disposal systems take over. Measuring about 23 feet, a newborn calf is already able to swim. It will spend the next six months ________ 225 liters of its mothers thick, fatty milk per day. Meanwhile, in Australia, you can find a second type of ______ - marsupials. Marsupial ______ are so tiny and delicate when they're born that they must continue developing in the mother's pouch. Take the quoll, one of the world's smallest marsupials, which ______ only 18 milligrams at birth, the __________ of about 30 _____ ______. The kangaroo, another _________, gives birth to a single jelly bean-sized baby at a time. The baby ______ down the middle of the mother's three vaginas, then must climb up to the pouch, where she spends the next 6-11 months suckling. Even after the baby kangaroo ______ this warm _____, she'll return to ______ milk. Sometimes, she's just one of three babies her mother is caring for. A female kangaroo can often simultaneously support one inside her ______ and another in her _____. In unfavorable __________, female kangaroos can pause their pregnancies. When that happens, she's able to produce two different kinds of milk, one for her _______, and one for her older joey. The word mammalia means of the breast, which is a bit of a misnomer because while kangaroos do produce milk from nipples in their pouches, they don't actually have breasts. Nor do monotremes, the third and ________ _________ example of mammalian _____. There were once hundreds of monotreme species, but there are only five left: four species of echidnas and the duck-billed platypus. The name monotreme means one hole referring to the ______ orifice they use for reproduction, excretion, and egg-laying. Like birds, ________, fish, dinosaurs, and others, these species lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Their eggs are soft-shelled, and when their babies hatch, they suckle milk from pores on their mother's body until they're large enough to feed themselves. Despite laying eggs and other adaptations that we associate more with non-mammals, like the duck-bill platypus's webbed feet, bill, and the venomous spur _____ have on their feet, they are, in fact, mammals. That's because they _____ the ________ characteristics of mammalia and are ______________ linked to the rest of the class. Whether placental, marsupial, or monotreme, each of these creatures and its unique birthing methods, however bizarre, have succeeded for many _________ in ________ new life and diversity into the mammal kingdom.

Solution

haven
newborn
grains
evolutionarily
group
mammal
shared
longer
conditions
includes
single
young
share
support
drinking
familiar
millennia
reptiles
pouch
males
uterus
suckle
babies
placenta
bringing
crawls
weighs
defining
birth
leaves
marsupial
equivalent
arguably
sugar
blood
alive
strangest
mammalia
connected
class

Original Text

What do these animals have in common? More than you might think. Along with over 5,000 other species, they're mammals, or members of class mammalia. All mammals are vertebrates, meaning they have backbones. But mammals are distinguished from other vertebrates by a number of shared features. That includes warm blood, body hair or fur, the ability to breathe using lungs, and nourishing their young with milk. But despite these similarities, these creatures also have many biological differences, and one of the most remarkable is how they give birth. Let's start with the most familiar, placental mammals. This group includes humans, cats, dogs, giraffes, and even the blue whale, the biggest animal on Earth. Its placenta, a solid disk of blood-rich tissue, attaches to the wall of the uterus to support the developing embryo. The placenta is what keeps the calf alive during pregnancy. Directly connected to the mother's blood supply, it funnels nutrients and oxygen straight into the calf's body via the umbilical cord, and also exports its waste. Placental mammals can spend far longer inside the womb than other mammals. Baby blue whales, for instance, spend almost a full year inside their mother. The placenta keeps the calf alive right up until its birth, when the umbilical cord breaks and the newborn's own respiratory, circulatory, and waste disposal systems take over. Measuring about 23 feet, a newborn calf is already able to swim. It will spend the next six months drinking 225 liters of its mothers thick, fatty milk per day. Meanwhile, in Australia, you can find a second type of mammal - marsupials. Marsupial babies are so tiny and delicate when they're born that they must continue developing in the mother's pouch. Take the quoll, one of the world's smallest marsupials, which weighs only 18 milligrams at birth, the equivalent of about 30 sugar grains. The kangaroo, another marsupial, gives birth to a single jelly bean-sized baby at a time. The baby crawls down the middle of the mother's three vaginas, then must climb up to the pouch, where she spends the next 6-11 months suckling. Even after the baby kangaroo leaves this warm haven, she'll return to suckle milk. Sometimes, she's just one of three babies her mother is caring for. A female kangaroo can often simultaneously support one inside her uterus and another in her pouch. In unfavorable conditions, female kangaroos can pause their pregnancies. When that happens, she's able to produce two different kinds of milk, one for her newborn, and one for her older joey. The word mammalia means of the breast, which is a bit of a misnomer because while kangaroos do produce milk from nipples in their pouches, they don't actually have breasts. Nor do monotremes, the third and arguably strangest example of mammalian birth. There were once hundreds of monotreme species, but there are only five left: four species of echidnas and the duck-billed platypus. The name monotreme means one hole referring to the single orifice they use for reproduction, excretion, and egg-laying. Like birds, reptiles, fish, dinosaurs, and others, these species lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Their eggs are soft-shelled, and when their babies hatch, they suckle milk from pores on their mother's body until they're large enough to feed themselves. Despite laying eggs and other adaptations that we associate more with non-mammals, like the duck-bill platypus's webbed feet, bill, and the venomous spur males have on their feet, they are, in fact, mammals. That's because they share the defining characteristics of mammalia and are evolutionarily linked to the rest of the class. Whether placental, marsupial, or monotreme, each of these creatures and its unique birthing methods, however bizarre, have succeeded for many millennia in bringing new life and diversity into the mammal kingdom.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
placental mammals	2
calf alive	2
suckle milk	2

Important Words

ability
adaptations
alive
animal
animals
arguably
associate
attaches
australia
babies
baby
backbones
biggest
bill
biological
birds
birth
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blue
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born
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breast
breasts
breathe
bringing
calf
caring
cats
characteristics
circulatory
class
climb
common
conditions
connected
continue
cord
crawls
creatures
day
defining
delicate
developing
differences
dinosaurs
disk
disposal
distinguished
diversity
dogs
drinking
earth
echidnas
eggs
embryo
equivalent
evolutionarily
excretion
exports
fact
familiar
fatty
features
feed
feet
female
find
fish
full
funnels
fur
giraffes
give
giving
grains
group
hair
hatch
haven
hole
humans
hundreds
includes
instance
jelly
joey
kangaroo
kangaroos
kinds
kingdom
large
lay
laying
leaves
life
linked
liters
live
longer
lungs
males
mammal
mammalia
mammalian
mammals
marsupial
marsupials
meaning
means
measuring
members
methods
middle
milk
millennia
milligrams
misnomer
monotreme
monotremes
months
mother
mothers
newborn
nipples
nourishing
number
nutrients
older
orifice
oxygen
pause
placenta
placental
platypus
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pouch
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pregnancies
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produce
quoll
referring
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reptiles
respiratory
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return
share
shared
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simultaneously
single
smallest
solid
species
spend
spends
spur
start
straight
strangest
succeeded
suckle
suckling
sugar
supply
support
swim
systems
thick
time
tiny
tissue
type
umbilical
unfavorable
unique
uterus
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wall
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