The green anole lizard is usually sold in pet shops as a chameleon, by which name it has been known to generations of American children. The true chameleon and the green anole are actually different animals, but they do have much in common. They are both lizards. Most live in trees or bushes, subsisting mainly on insects. Both can change color, although the anole’s ability to do so is considerably more limited than the chameleon’s. This is the trait that has made chameleons and anoles popular as pets.
However, the anole’s color change, in contrast to the chameleon’s, is not, as many people think, related to the color of the background. Instead it is determined by such factors as light and temperature or by such emotions as fright, triumph, or defeat. The chameleon is an animal of the Old World, whereas the anoles are found in the warmer regions of North and South America. The chameleon lays from two to forty eggs at a time, the anole only a single egg.
Recently biologists have become familiar with the anole as an excellent animal for laboratory studies of the interaction between behavior and hormones. The particular value of the green anoles as experimental animals is that they are abundant and that under the appropriate conditions they will establish in the laboratory the same social system and behavior they display in their natural environment.
859. What is the main theme of the passage?
a. Characteristics of the chameleon and green anole lizard.
b. Recommended pets for children.
c. Experimenting with lizards.
d. The influence of hormones on behavior.
860. According to the passage, American children know of the green anole because it is _____.
a. frequently used in scientific experiments
b. popular as a pet
c. a common garden animal
d. written about in school textbooks
861. All of the following are true about anoles EXCEPT that they _____.
a. are classified as lizards b. eat insects
c. are found in Europe d. are mistaken for chameleons
862. Which of the following might determine and anole’s color
a. Its age and size b. The color of the laboratory
c. The number of eggs it has laid d. The weather
863. Chameleons differ from anoles in that they ______.
a. do not make good pets b. lay more eggs
c. can change color twice d. are quite rare