You are in free guest mode.
Timed Practice
Revision List
Attempt History
Progress Tracking
Create a free account to unlock these tools
Practice Writing: Summarize Written Text
ID: #361
Cow and Grass B1
The co-evolutionary relationship between cows and grass is one of nature's underappreciated wonders; it also happens to be the key to understanding just about everything about modern meat.
For the grasses, which have evolved to withstand the grazing of ruminants, the cow maintains and expands their habitat by preventing trees and shrubs from gaining a foothold and hogging the sunlight; the animal also spreads grass seed, plants it with his hooves, and then fertilises it with his manure.
In exchange for these services, the grasses offer ruminants a plentiful and exclusive supply of lunch. For cows (like sheep, bison, and other ruminants) have evolved the special ability to convert grass— which single-stomached creatures like us can't digest—into high-quality protein. They can do this because they possess what is surely the most highly evolved digestive organ in nature: the rumen. About the size of a medicine ball, the organ is essentially a forty-five-gallon fermentation tank in which a resident population of bacteria dines on grass. Living their unseen lives at the far end of the food chain that culminates in a hamburger, these bacteria have, just like the grasses, coevolved with the cow, whom they feed. Truly this is an excellent system for all concerned: for the grasses, for the bacteria, for the animals, and for us, the animal eaters.
For the grasses, which have evolved to withstand the grazing of ruminants, the cow maintains and expands their habitat by preventing trees and shrubs from gaining a foothold and hogging the sunlight; the animal also spreads grass seed, plants it with his hooves, and then fertilises it with his manure.
In exchange for these services, the grasses offer ruminants a plentiful and exclusive supply of lunch. For cows (like sheep, bison, and other ruminants) have evolved the special ability to convert grass— which single-stomached creatures like us can't digest—into high-quality protein. They can do this because they possess what is surely the most highly evolved digestive organ in nature: the rumen. About the size of a medicine ball, the organ is essentially a forty-five-gallon fermentation tank in which a resident population of bacteria dines on grass. Living their unseen lives at the far end of the food chain that culminates in a hamburger, these bacteria have, just like the grasses, coevolved with the cow, whom they feed. Truly this is an excellent system for all concerned: for the grasses, for the bacteria, for the animals, and for us, the animal eaters.
* Summarize in the box below (between 5 and 75 words)
A.I. Score
With a free account:
Retry and compare every attempt.
Sample Answer 1
For the grasses, which have evolved to withstand the grazing of ruminants, the cow maintains and expands their habitat by stopping trees and shrubs from gaining a foothold and hogging the sunlight; the animal also spreads grass seed, plants it with his hooves, and then fertilises it with his manure, and in exchange for these services, the grasses offer ruminants a plentiful and exclusive supply of lunch.
Sample Answer 2
There is a co-evolutionary relationship among cows, grass and bacteria as cows have rumen where bacteria could digest grass into high-quality protein while they help the grass spread seed by their hooves and also provide manure to it.
The close association between the cow and grass can largely be attributed to the fact that not only do they help each other thrive, but they also play an integral role in their reproduction, thus contributing to their survival.
Explanation
For the grasses, which have evolved to withstand the grazing of ruminants, the cow maintains and expands their habitat by
preventingstopping trees and shrubs from gaining a foothold and hogging the sunlight; the animal also spreads grass seed, plants it with his hooves, and then fertilises it with his manure, and in exchange for these services, the grasses offer ruminants a plentiful and exclusive supply of lunch. -> Relationship of cow and grass explained in both lines
Be the first!
No community answers here yet — submit yours and help others learn.
Saving...